Tron: Legacy - Movie Review

The 1982 film "Tron" has had an interesting history. At the time of it's release it was a bold experiment in melding animation with live action and using computers to create images. However at the time of its release it was not particularly successful. Over the years it has developed a noted and rather loyal cult following as well as a certain degree of cultural awareness. It's a film that has been rumored to have a sequel in the works off and on for over a decade. Now the film has finally been made using technology that is leaps and bounds beyond anything imagined in 1982. "Tron: Legacy" is like the original in that it's a gamble for Disney. Thankfully it's one that has mostly paid off.

"Tron: Legacy" is set almost 30 years after the events of the original film. During an opening flashback audiences see Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) telling his young son Sam about his adventures inside the computer. He tells Sam that he's discovered something new and amazing in the computer world of the Grid. Flynn never comes home from that night. The film moves forward to Sam as an adult (played by Garrett Hedlund.) He's clearly a computer genius like his father but he'd rather play pranks on Encom (the company Flynn was running) than actually take any real responsibility. One night he's pointed towards his father's old arcade, and when he goes there he finds a secret work space. Having not known for years if his father ran away from the world or had somehow died Sam tries to figure it out, inadvertently sending himself into the Grid. He is quickly apprehended and forced to play deadly games at the whim of the despot CLU (Jeff Bridges digitally de-aged to look 25 years younger.) Fortunately Sam is rescued by Quorra (Olivia Wilde) who is an apprentice to the still very much alive Flynn. As father and son are reunited they must find a way to return to the real world before the portal back closes. CLU however has something much more diabolical in mind.

Obviously the visual aspects of "Tron: Legacy" are without a doubt the most obviously striking thing about the film. First there's the 3D, which is very well executed overall and actually used as part of the narrative. The sequences in the beginning that take place in the real world are all in 2D and it's only when Sam enters the Grid that the 3D is used. It's a small thing but also a nice step towards directors truly thinking about how best to use 3D as a medium for story telling. The overall look of the film is quite impressive even setting aside the 3D. The minds behind the movie have managed to completely update the look of everything using the latest technology. Yet they've also been able to retain just enough of the look from the original that it still feels like "Tron." Also of special mention is Daft Punk's amazing soundtrack. While feeling electronic enough to be appropriate to the world the film is set in, the score is also quite epic and bolsters the film as a whole.

As far as the performances in "Tron: Legacy" without a doubt the highlight is Jeff Bridges, pulling double duty as Flynn and CLU. Some have likened Bridges' performance as the aged Flynn as being more like his character of The Dude in "The Big Lebowski" given his dated turns of phrase and laid back feel. However given the nature of Flynn and how long he's been out of touch with the real world the interpretation makes sense. More than that Flynn is a character who is laid back by nature yet at the same time now literally has the weight of a world on his shoulders, and Bridges is able to convey that. Playing the digitally de-aged CLU admittedly is more of a visual punch than a character one. The digital work also isn't flawless and does come off as dwelling somewhat in the "uncanny valley." However since CLU is a computer program and not an actual human the movie gets away with that. As for the other actors Garrett Hedlund does well enough as Sam and is easy to root for, though admittedly it's a bit of a shallow role. Olivia Wilde as Quorra does a good job of balancing just enough emotion to make her fun but keep her believable as something inside a computer. Also of note is an gleefully over the top performance by Michael Sheen as an electronic club owner. Bruce Boxleitner also returns to reprise his character of Alan Bradley from the original film. It's a nice touch for the fans and he clearly enjoys being back in the role.

For all the fun to be had, there are a number of issues with "Tron: Legacy." The biggest one has to do with the fact that the film introduces a number of rather interesting and profound ideas but does very little with them. While slightly frustrating for those hoping for a deeper experience that in and of itself wouldn't be such a huge problem, except one of those ideas is a plot point. Flynn tells his son about a race of beings he called ISOs who he encountered on the grid. Basically they're a form of digital life which sprang up independent of anything else, essentially it's like they created themselves. This is the idea that Flynn was so excited about when he left Sam all those years ago, but it's one that's never very well explored or even explained. While the ISOs certainly don't need an explanation of their origin (that's kind of the point actually) exactly what their existence could mean isn't really very well explained. Flynn says how their existence could change everything from science to religion but he never really explains how. The implications of such beings are certainly deep but the movie never really looks at the implications with more than a passing glance. That's not to say that massive exposition was needed but by not delving into these philosophical notions at least a little it muddles the film somewhat. The ISOs are such a large part of what motivates Flynn that to not look at them more closely makes it difficult to understand exactly what's at stake in the first place.

"Tron: Legacy" also has a more general issue which is harder to pin down, and that is the film overall just feels somewhat detached. Whereas a film like "Avatar" created a living breathing world for the audience to experience, the world of "Tron: Legacy" is more clinical, more sterile. This is true of the original as well, and it makes sense given that it's all inside a computer. However between an inorganic location and most the characters being coldly inhuman it's difficult to invest much in the events or characters (with the notable exception of Flynn.) This issue may have been unavoidable since the story is about programs and machines, but it still keeps the audience at a bit of an emotional distance.

In the end even with it's issues "Tron: Legacy" has enough things going for it to be a worth while trip to the theater. Fans of the original will likely come away with the most satisfaction. However even those who weren't part of the fan base will at least have a fun time and it's certainly never dull to look at. There is already word of another sequel being worked on, with scripts being written even as we speak. Perhaps sequels could delve more deeply into the ideas that this film only skimmed the surface of and create something more meaningful in the grand scheme.

Final Score: 3.5 out of 5