I’d like to preface this review with the fact that I’m a nerd. If Tron isn’t something you’d be generally be interested in watching, then take everything I say with a grain of salt. But let’s get this over with.
The basic premise is this: After the events in the original “Tron,” Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) takes over Encom with his friend Allen (Bruce Boxleitner) and turns it into one of the largest tech companies in the world. He has a son with the female lead from the original, but she dies between films. When his son, Samuel Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) is a child, Kevin disappears. Twenty years later, Allen gets a message from Kevin, and Sam ends up in the grid.
One of my favorite things about this movie is how it contrasts to the original. The changes to the visual graphics in the grid and the complexity of the games mirrors the changes in technology in the years between the original and the sequel. Visually, the film is amazing. The action sequences are exciting and wholly entertaining. On the downside, CGI Jeff Bridges looks like he’s stuck halfway down the uncanny valley, and occasionally it looks like the characters just stepped into an ‘80s music video.
The story doesn’t break new ground, but it manages to keep the audience involved and caring about the fate of the characters. Jeff Bridges does a good job, but he peppers his monologues on tragic or profound issues with phrases that seem more at home in The Big Lebowski. It’s hard to take the heroes’ plight seriously when the response to almost certain defeat is “You’re messing with my zen thing, man.”
I don’t think I can do a review of Tron: Legacy without comparing it to the original. Is the Tron better? Yes. But I think Tron: Legacy carries on the spirit of its predecessor, and does so with style. If you like the Sci-fi/tech genre as much as I do, you’ll like this movie. I’d give it 7.5 out of 10.
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