'Tron: Legacy' in 3D: It Might Have Saved My Life, But, Otherwise, Not Vitally Important to See It

There are a couple of old sayings that might come in handy to discuss "Tron: Legacy" in 3D. One is "Too many cooks spoil the broth." The other is "A camel is a horse made by a committee." There are at least 8 writers credited with having written this sci-fi movie sometimes referred to as "Tron 2." The script sounds like it was written by at least that many different personalities, and it seems as though not a one of them had an original vision for the film.(*Note: special effects and visual effects not included in that criticism.)

I was struck, as I watched this story of a young boy's (Garrett Hedlund as Sam Flynn) reunion with his father (Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn), a game designer who has been sucked into the game and---(like the television series "Fringe")---has learned how to cross over into a parallel universe, that it was a hugely derivative film. Considering that the original 1982 "Tron" is widely viewed as among the pioneering films of CG (computer generated) technology, it's disturbing that the 8+ people in charge of forging a story that would hang together, make some sense, and impress us with more than just the special effects, were deeply indebted to at least 10 far more original films that came to mind immediately.

What were those earlier films, to which "Tron" is so deeply indebted?

The original "Tron," which looked like nothing so much as a man trapped within an Etch-a-Sketch , is one. In the original "Tron" the plot line read, "A hacker is literally abducted into the world of a computer and forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program." If that doesn't sound promising as riveting cinema, it wasn't. I remember walking out of the film saying, "Well, if that's the future of cinema, I prefer the past." (A comment I've made often enough since then.)

Bruce Boxleitner played Alan Bradley and Tron in the original film. He appears again in this film (an homage) as Alan Bradley, Kevin Flynn's (Jeff Bridges) old partner in a company that makes video games. It is Bradley (Boxleitner) who tells young Sam Flynn that he received a page from Sam's MIA father who disappeared years ago. It is young Sam (now 27) who follows that tip to reuniting with his father on "the grid," a parallel universe.

There are some well-chosen songs interjected at the point where young Sam is going back to his father's old office and tinkering with the games and computers that remain there, covered with dust ("Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" by Annie Lenox and "Some Day Love Will Find You" are two.). The entire idea of a young boy who has not seen his father in years being reunited with him via technology reminded me a bit of the Dennis Quaid/James Cavaziel 2000 film "Frequency."

Taking the derivative comments a bit further, before discussing the camel-like script, there were echoes of "The Matrix" (especially in the appearance of Quorra as played by Olivia Wilde); the original "Superman" (especially in the ridiculous get-up, white mane and all, that fine actor Michael Sheen has to wear as Castor/Zuse); Bruce Willis' film "The Fifth Element" came to mind for its futuristic touches; "Star Wars," of course, for the armies and flying fight scenes; and, thematically, the concept of the Idris race, represented by Quorra, reminded of the "Avatar" indigenous people. The concept that Quorra is the last remaining member of that gentle, intelligent race reminded me of the premise of the 2006 film "Children of Men," where the human race has lost the ability to procreate and there is one pregnant woman left who must be saved.

The idea of having to fly through "the portal" which is only open for 1 milli-cyle (or 8 hours) reminded me of both "Star Wars" and "Independence Day," especially the finale scene where Randy Quaid gives his all to deliver the payload to the hovering spacecraft through a very narrow portal.

But the "Tron: Legacy" script -- . ah, the script.

That reminded of several writers sitting around brainstorming, all of whom knew that Jeff Bridges had played "the Dude" in the Coen brothers film "The Big Lebowski." They apparently decided that Kevin Flynn was "the Dude" in space. Otherwise, why have him say things like, "You're messin' with my Zen thing, Man," and "Check that out," and "Dogs are cool." This is a man who hasn't seen his son for years, yet he sounds like a stoner, walks around barefoot in a white Nehru jacket, and lives in an all-white futuristic habitat. We never know exactly what happened to young Sam's mother (she's dead as the film begins) and Quorra's parentage is never quite pinned down, either. At one point, Bridges refers to her as "your sister," which would remove romance from the menu. If Quorra had parents, who were they? And does she live with Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) or what? And why do the women who welcome Sam to the planet have so much eye make-up on that they can barely open their eyes?

I cannot fail to point out the weird turn chosen by fine British actor Michael Sheen in portraying the character Castor/Zuse. Sheen played Prime Minister Tony Blair in "The Queen" and also David Frost in "Frost/Nixon" the movie and the stage play. His decision -- or that of the herd of screenwriters responsible--- to depict the character as an albino poof (as the British refer to homosexuals), was very strange. It was not the finest hour for an actor of such distinction. (Probably not going to be on Michael Sheen's career highlight reel in future years.)

At one point, my husband turned to me and said, "I have no idea what is going on," which amused me. That was the problem with the first "Tron." The storyline hasn't improved with the passage of 28 years.

On a positive note, the special effects were---well---special. I counted the number of contributors from Quantum Creation FX special effects, visual effects, and stunt people and the number totaled 563, with 463 of that number responsible for visual effects. It was also fun watching the computer generated young Jeff Bridges play opposite today's Jeff Bridges.

If the film had just had one truly talented Aaron Sorkin-like writer with one truly original vision, who wasn't busy ripping off "the Dude's" lingo or any number of other films' concepts (I've mentioned 10 for starters), we might have had something interesting to watch. The fights with the discs were cool, and the special effects were way better than the embarrassingly bad ones in the 1982 original film.

But, alas, the best thing I can say about "Tron: Legacy" in 3D is that it kept us from being on the highway where a truly horrible traffic accident occurred at the exact time we would have been on that road.

For that, I owe "Tron: Legacy" thanks.