TRON Legacy: A Review

The storyline slightly differs from the 1982 original; however TRON: Legacy works well as a sequel and definitely still holds its technological appeal in its application of cutting-edge computer-generated special effects. The Plot revolves around the disappearance of the original hero of the series, Flynn (played yet again by Jeff Bridges) and his son (played by Garrett Hedlund) Sam’s adventure into a world that exists inside the fictional, highly advanced computer operating system ENCOM.
In our current movie climate, it seems like most of the sequels that have come out recently don’t really hold true to their original stories’ charm. This one however appears to have fallen very close to the proverbial parent tree and then some; especially if you get the chance to see it in 3D. It’s one of those movies that mark a milestone in what our computer graphic technology can do these days, not dissimilar to James Cameron’s Avatar that came out last year. There is no point in the movie where this is more abundantly clear than the second stab taken at recreating the infamous “light Bike” scene. Almost every element, all the way down to the background scenery and the outfits worn by the characters throughout the movie, closely resemble those from the original; yet still hold a modern day appeal.
Twenty years ago, Flynn becomes trapped in his computer generated world, never to be seen again. This causes his son to grow up fatherless, like the lost little puppy and renounce his father’s company which by now has become a major corporate empire. No one is sure what’s happened to Flynn, the common belief is that he’s run away from his family and his problems. Unwilling to accept this, one of Flynn’s friends promptly contacts Sam to let him know that he’s received a page from his dad’s office. Sam reluctantly investigates the cause of this, only to discover a secret underground vault in his dad’s old arcade. After entering a few wrong keystrokes into one of those outdated and confusing DOS prompts, he gets blasted by a suspicious looking giant laser and is transported into the world of the computer (put your 3D glasses on now!). After just enough time goes by for Sam to realize where he is, all hell breaks loose and he is taken by evil red and orange people/ programs to do battle with deadly Frisbees in a giant floating arena.
After the first of many lightshow like fight scenes he is introduced to several important new characters including TRON (one of the good guys from the original movie who ‘fights for the user’) and Clu; a program that is essentially a clone of Flynn (also played by Jeff Bridges) who was originally created to help Flynn create a perfect world. Clu apparently takes this “perfect world” thing way too far over the years and becomes tyrannical Dictator while TRON bites the bullet and pretty much does whatever Clu wants. There are definitely some similarities in this sequel between TRON and the Gimp from the 1994 classic Pulp fiction.
Flynn eventually comes back into the picture as an old man with some very ‘dude like’ qualities that resemble one of Jeff Bridges’ most notable roles in The Big Lebowski as a ‘bum’ whose main forms of recreation are “the usual; bowling, driving around and the occasional acid flashback.” The combinations of the two characters actually go really well together for a flick like this. Plus it definitely doesn’t hurt to have the face of the original movie in a sequel that came out twenty eight years later. Unfortunately this does lead to a unique plot-hole in that both movies are supposed to be set around the timeframe of their release dates, however according to the storyline; they’re supposed to be twenty years apart from eachother. Nevertheless, this makes neither movie less enjoyable.
Some of the action scenes and stunts can be a tad bit unbelievable at times, however there’s definitely room for some forgiveness saying as the bulk of the film is set in an environment of infinite possibility. Plus, who can blame Hollywood for wanting to show off their latest and greatest special affects in a movie like this. The bulk of movie goers that are interested in seeing this type of thing are usually willing to sacrifice a little reality for a digitally spectacular light show.
All in all, on a scale of one to ten, (one being the lowest and ten being the highest) I’d give this one an overall seven. As far as popcorn flicks go, I’d give it about a nine, however the story is probably only worth a six and a half. Essentially, I would highly recommend this movie to the kind of person that sees a film for its raw entertainment value, but I’m not sure the more analytical types would as thoroughly enjoy the simplicity of the plot. TRON is definitely no psychological thriller, but it’s a pretty cool movie if you get the chance to check it out.