TRON: Legacy

Jeff Bridges – Kevin Flynn / Clu
Garrett Hedlund – Sam Flynn
Olivia Wilde – Quorra

Yes, I am a Tron geek. And yes, I did see the original in the theater. And yes, I bought tickets for this film a month in advance. And yes, I paid 20 bucks for 3D IMAX. And yes, I did go to the theater 2 hours early to get a good spot in line. And yes, saying “and yes” this many times is as annoying as fuck.

Sigh. This movie could have been so much better. That’s not to say that it isn’t worth viewing, however. But in the end, this film miraculously seemed to mirror the exact formula of the original Tron. Sick visuals (for its time), cool music, and maybe not the world’s greatest story. But the original Tron, for all its flaws, has the advantage of nostalgia, being a pioneer in computer graphics-driven film, and Jeff Bridges in the main role. And while I may punch you in the face for talking shit about either movie, yeah, okay, I have to admit that story-wise, both versions may need the teensiest of help.

Kevin Flynn, CEO of the world’s most powerful software company Encom, turns up missing one day, leaving his young son Sam behind. Twenty years go by and Sam is all growns up, and as the leading shareholder of Encom, spends most of his time just hangin’ out (and maybe pulling the occasional hack into Encom’s system, just to fuck with them). When Alan Bradley (Flynn’s old colleague, and creator of the security program TRON) shows up at Sam’s place saying he got “paged” from his dad’s old arcade, even a cynical Sam must investigate. He shows up at “FLYNN’S,” turns on the lights/1980’s jukebox/arcade games, and proceeds to snoop around. We then shift our curiosity from why in the hell Alan still has a pager beyond 1995, to “who the hell has been paying the PG&E bill at Flynn’s for 20 years?”

Soon Sam gets sucked into the computer world using a giant iTouch that runs something like MS-DOS, and a laser. When Flynn was beamed into “the grid” in the first film, he came in dressed like a program. Apparently computers these days are not only much, much faster, but they also dress you. An odd choice, but at least it gives us a glimpse of Gem. From here on out it’s sick visuals, a sicker soundtrack, and Olivia Wilde. Besides being crazy hot, she also carries the film character-wise. Sam doesn’t give us much to go on, and the screenwriters have turned Flynn into some sort of Zen fuddy-duddy. Wilde pretty much steals the show as the wide-eyed yet bad-ass Quorra.

Sure the story has more holes than my 80’s jeans and an ending that can only be described as “mildly ridiculous.” But, maybe it was the music. Maybe it was the effects. Maybe it was Quorra and Gem. Or maybe I’m still just a Tron geek. Overall, I just flat-out enjoyed the ride.

Grade: B
Advice: Sure it could have been way better. But between the visuals, the awesome Daft-Punk
soundtrack, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, and Beau Garrett, this film is highly worth sitting through.