Tron: Legacy Review
Tron: Legacy
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Written by: Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, Michael Sheen, Beau Garrett
Of all the many 1980s relics recently being brought back to the big screen as massive blockbusters, one of the most unexpected of the bunch has got to be Disney’s Tron. Although the 1982 film was heralded for its use of early computer graphics, it was not a particularly huge commercial hit and had mostly faded into obscurity. The movie had a cult following, sure, but it was now dated and didn’t seem like something that could be made “cool” again. A 2003 video game sequel called Tron 2.0 led to some renewed interest, but when Disney announced a full-blown movie sequel was in development a few years ago, a lot of people questioned the potential — until they saw the first trailer, that is.
Music video director Joseph Kosinski had managed to maintain the distinctive look of the original movie while also updating it to appear modern and futuristic. This addressed what was perhaps the biggest obstacle to selling the film, and quickly made Tron: Legacy one of the most anticipated movies of the year based on the visuals alone. But would amazing visuals be enough to carry the film for a full 90 minutes? Could the rest of the movie live up to the advertised spectacle, or would Tron: Legacy end up being nothing more than a dull, overblown special effects showcase?
The story picks up some thirty years after the original with Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) having mysteriously disappeared. His son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), is the majority shareholder of his company Encom, but he is at odds with the current management, who are trying to sell software that he believes should be available for free. When he receives a mysterious message from his father’s old arcade, he discovers a hidden computer lab and ends up being transported to The Grid, where his father has essentially become imprisoned by his own creation. His program Clu is now trying to eradicate any imperfections in the system after having derezzed the previous security program Tron. Together with the help of Isomorphic Algorithm Quorra (Olivia Wilde), they set out to reach the portal back home, where Sam can tap into the system as an outside user and terminate Clu. But Clu is after Kevin’s Identity Disc, which will give him ultimate power and allow him to eventually escape into the real world.
If that sounds a little bit confusing or complicated, well, then you’re likely to have some issues with Tron: Legacy. There are definitely a lot of nonsensical plot elements in Tron: Legacy that will leave people scratching their heads, even if they’ve seen the original film. This is not a science-fiction masterpiece on the same level as The Matrix or Inception where the rules of the virtual world hold together under their own internal logic. There are a handful of long-winded scenes of exposition that are filled with technical mumbo-jumbo, most of which doesn’t even seem all that important. That’s not to say that the movie is completely impenetrable for the average viewer, however; the main plot is very straightforward. It’s just the details that can sometimes get foggy. In particular, I was unclear on the fate of Tron and the role of the ISOs, among other things.
Tron: Legacy is at once a broad blockbuster and a strange, trippy art film. The sleek look and elaborate action sequences are exciting and fresh, despite the use of conventions like bullet time. Although many of the gladiatorial games seem simple and uninteresting on the surface (ie. throwing frisbees at each other), they manage to find interesting twists for each of them. The light cycle race is particularly thrilling. At the same time, there are a lot of things in the world that seem to exist just to look cool… not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that.
Much of the movie feels like it takes place at a rave (okay, some of it actually does), and a lot of the costumes look like something out of The Matrix. Ridiculous, yes, but somehow fitting. Although the glowing neon visuals do start to feel a bit repetitive by the end of the film, this actually makes the final scene work in a pretty profound way. It’s worth noting that the 3-D in this film is not as mindblowing as I had hoped it would be, but I did like the fact that they employed it as a subtle difference between the real world and The Grid.
The musical contribution from Daft Punk is one of the most inspired creative choices in this film. The French duo’s soundtrack is a mix of traditional score and pounding electronic music that really sets the tone and helps sell the visuals. Without it, the movie would have been significantly less immersive. Thankfully, they don’t overdo it, as there are also long stretches of silence in the film which seems to be keeping in line with the original. Daft Punk’s tongue-in-cheek cameo is also enjoyable as well.
Garrett Hedlund does a good job of anchoring the film in the same way that Sam Worthington played the determined everyman in Avatar. He’s not particularly well-known at the moment, but with this and Country Strong hitting theatres within a few weeks of each other, I wouldn’t be surprised if he is soon getting offered just as many major roles as Worthington. Olivia Wilde, who topped Maxim’s list of hottest women last year, is more than just a pretty face and plays Quorra with a sense of playfulness and naivete. Meanwhile, Michael Sheen makes nightclub owner Zuse one of the few memorable supporting characters with a delightfully over-the-top performance.
As for Jeff Bridges, he ends up stealing the show like only Jeff Bridges can. He plays dual roles, one as the cold and sinister Clu, and the other as an old and wise Flynn. The digital tech used to create the younger version of himself is impressive and perhaps the most advanced we’ve seen to date, but it is still far from perfect. Some scenes with Clu look great, but others are very distracting as he looks like something out of The Polar Express or one of Robert Zemeckis’ other performance capture films. The older Flynn, on the other hand, has become a mystical Jedi-like figure who wears a hooded robe and meditates all the time. With anyone else I might have found this cheesy, but with Jeff Bridges I couldn’t help but love it… especially when The Dude shines through here and there.
Overall, I had a good time with Tron: Legacy in spite of its flaws. I can understand why the average moviegoer might find it clunky and dull at points, but I was able to laugh off some of its indulgences and inherent goofiness and just roll with it. It has considerably more energy than the original, and although the story is not particularly deep, the visuals are every bit as stunning as expected. There are more than enough enjoyable performances to make for a fun popcorn flick, and to be honest, I’m not sure what more we could have asked of a Tron sequel in the first place. — Sean
SCORE: 
Recommended If You Like: Tron, The Matrix Reloaded, Star Wars
Comments (26)
Nice review Sean. Thanks for not spoiling any of your reviews before the jump. Many people do this all too often. I know when reading one of your reviews, especially when it’s a film I want to see that it won’t be spoiled for me before the jump.
Much appreciated.
Posted by Adam on December 19th, 2010I actually thought that the 3D was the best part, where did you sit man? I think is better to choose a seat as far as possible from the screen. Overall I hated the movie, I saw a lot of unexplored potentials and I really do hate that on a film.
Posted by kyri on December 19th, 2010I think it is worth going a second time for some of the game scenes along with the music.
Posted by Xidor on December 19th, 2010What was the consensus on when to record the next podcast? I saw your tweet, and my vote is to wait until Jay is back. I would love to get his thought on Tron Legacy too.
Posted by rjdelight on December 19th, 2010Kyri: I kind of forgot it was in 3-D, which tends to happen with most 3-D movies for me. I don’t know if that that means I was more immersed or if they just didn’t do anything interesting with it. I was sitting relatively close, I guess.
RJ: Next podcast will be either Wednesday or Thursday, but Jay’s still not 100% sure he’ll be able to make it because he’s still putting the finishing touches on the Reed Xmas Special.
Posted by Sean on December 19th, 2010If you notice 3D, it’s either badly done or gimmicky. That’s a good thing, Sean.
The 3D was well done (I noticed, because I was consciously looking at it!), but my favorite uses of 3D in film are still How to Train Your Dragon and Avatar.
Posted by Gordon on December 19th, 2010Great review, Sean. Couldn’t have agreed with you more.
Posted by Derek on December 20th, 2010It was good; not great.
I got the same feeling I got after seeing Avatar, pretty visuals trying to hide a weak story.
Posted by swarez on December 20th, 2010There were so many things in this movie that made no sense and a ton of inconsistencies. It’s like they didn’t think this universe through and just threw everything in there in hopes that it would work. I mean, a digital hobo?
Sean makes some great points in his review even though he was sitting in the wrong place, and
Posted by kyri on December 20th, 2010well to be honest the first film is not critically acknowledged for its plot either. It just had for its time some groundbreaking visuals. I went in hopeful that If I reduce my expectations and turn off my brain then ok I will probably have a nice time. But even with my reptilian 13-oldbrain I couldn’t breath probably while watching it and I just couldn’t stop rolling my eyes.(ok maybe that was the 3d Glasses) Here is the thing I always get a bad headache after this whole 3d experience. So If I am putting my self to this physical eye torture ever again I want the film to be able to give me at least a pleasant headache. Over-all I felt this film was pretty loyal to the first one It just wears a mask to hide its non-sense. It had some good moments but overall I didn’t had a great time. I even got depressed after it for some reason. And I am a guy who liked The BOX and Hated Kick-Ass. Go figure.
I reckon that this one is designed for fans of Tron who are going in to see power of the visuals, ready for not as strong plot, the thing that usually happen when authors focus on mind-blowing development of effects. The same thing happened with many more before. I agree, Sean, good not excellent, yet I would say worth seeing.
Posted by Julie K. on December 20th, 2010It’s funny how they claim they focused on the visuals but yet the races on the old Tron feel faster and more thrilling. The duft punk song almost tricked me into believing I was having fun. But the truth is this movie was NOT FUN.
Posted by kyri on December 20th, 2010I wish I had the option to see this without the 3-D. I thought Tron Legacy was fun and looked great but the 3-D was nearly non-existant. The sitting in the wrong place argument is totally bunk. Most of the 3-D trailers that ran with Tron used 3-D more “effectively” than Tron did.
I’ve been disappointed with every 3-D film I’ve seen expect for Coraline and Piranha 3-D. Why the hell are they charging us even more money for murky and often distracting visuals, while wearing uncomfortable glasses that always dig a red impression into my nose? I’m holding my breath until the 3-D fad finally dies for goods or stays where it belongs in the realm of gimmicky, cheese-ball films (again, Coraline being the only exception). Avatar doesn’t even come into the equation because it was such a bloated and excruciatingly boring film that it didn’t matter whether it was 3-D or proper; my eyes begged to be gauged.
Posted by Nuno on December 20th, 2010Since the first half of the film is in 2D I simply took the glasses off and put them on again when it switched to The Grid.
Posted by swarez on December 20th, 2010i had a ton of fun. I thought the story was very easy to follow, and the “Grid” was purely awesome.
Posted by Rick on December 20th, 2010My only complaint is that I wish there could of been more fighting scenes with “the maker”. he kicked ass in that club I would of enjoyed seeing more then that. But, OH WELL! i had a blast, and would go see it again
Bottom line: There is no reason to see this movie unless you see it in IMAX 3D from a good vantage point. The story is not going to do much for you.
Posted by Colin on December 20th, 2010I saw this in IMAX and encourage others to do likewise. This is a popcorn movie; and it was great fun.
The visuals were stunning, soundtrack was perfect and the creators neon lined robe is all I want for Christmas.
Posted by dougnagy on December 20th, 2010Ugly visuals, inert performances, muddled writing, hapless direction. In short, a travesty. Did Ram die for this?
Posted by DavidM on December 20th, 2010For all its many flaws, at least the original film was original, and looked and felt like some weird computer otherspace. This time The Grid looks like a hideous, over-designed nightclub.
Posted by DavidM on December 20th, 2010I can’t stress enough how boring this movie is, btw. Cannot stress enough.
This is easily in my top three worst films I’ve seen this year. Ditto on everything swarez and nuno said above.
I too took off my glasses during the 2D front end. Ever gone out at night while wearing sunglasses? This is what that was like. Terrible terrible film.
Posted by Andrew James on December 20th, 2010mostly agree with Seans review.
Garrett Hedlund though, is BRUTAL and boring as fuck, sub-Tanning Chatum even.
Posted by Goon on December 20th, 2010The problem with a movie like this is If it isn’t a freakishly mind blowing mass experience like Avatar, Dark Knight and Inception it has to be high quality to have the lasting power needed to make it’s money. This movie is has neither, it tries too hard, there is nothing about this that will make anyone tell there buddies they have to see this. And there are no critics pounding the drum to see it in theatres either.
Look at Social network. It didn’t have much of an opening at all. And it took about 3 weeks to break 100 mil. But after three months it is pushing towards 200 mil all because of quality. What the hell happens to tron after 2 weeks, the buzz is gone, award season is in full swing, everyone is talking about True Grit, Somewhere, The Fighter and the next big 3d movie Green Hornet. I think it’s refreshing to see Tron and Narnia hit hard and Social Network and Black Swan kicking ass, and can’t wait for all the great movies coming out over the next 2 weeks.
Posted by Andrew on December 20th, 2010What’s the point of paying the extra coin if you do not notice the 3D?
I loved the Daft Punk score, but did anyone pick up a “Days of our Lives” feel to the main theme?
Posted by Phil on December 20th, 2010There is no reason to see this movie unless you see it in IMAX 3D from a good vantage point.
You should always avoid IMAX 3D.
Posted by Matt Gamble on December 20th, 2010This movie was a big let down. Yeah, it looked cool and had a few exciting moments, but for the most part it was boring and seemed to rip off ideas, set/costume designs, and whole shots from other movies, Star Wars and The Matrix especially. A lot of “cool” leet hackorz mumbo jumbo and a Hayden Christiansen wannabee as the lead and that’s about it. Also, can we just go ahead and finally say just how far Speed Racer was ahead of its time and put all these films that bite its style in their place.
Lol, Swarez, I said the same exact thing to my brother as we were walking out…why the hell is their a hobo in the computer world!
Posted by Justice on December 21st, 2010While I will acknowledge original Tron’s significance to sci fi and computer tech, it really was a HORRENDOUSLY BORING film — so what can you possible expect from a sequel???? Boring in… boring out.
Posted by michele on December 22nd, 2010For those of us who memorized TRON on videotape in the 80s, this new movie did not bring the boom-wow. Nice to look at, but it threw away some of the good computer-world conceits from the first and replaced them with Matrix rip-offs.
Posted by Shabby X on December 23rd, 2010Leave a Reply