TRON: Legacy is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), a rebellious 27-year-old, is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his father Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a man once known as the world’s leading video-game developer. When Sam investigates a strange signal sent from the old Flynn’s Arcade—a signal that could only come from his father—he finds himself pulled into a digital world where Kevin has been trapped for 20 years. With the help of the fearless warrior Quorra (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe—a universe created by Kevin himself that has become far more advanced with never-before-imagined vehicles, weapons, landscapes and a ruthless villain who will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.
Having not seen the original (and knowing little to nothing about it) I went in to
Tron: Legacy with completely fresh eyes. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't all that excited about the movie despite the rather cool trailers and huge amount of marketing from Disney. However, I can honestly say that I was blown away by it. It was no
Inception in terms of originality and I've seen better 3D, but it was still a very enjoyable 2 hours, helped most of all by a stellar cast of actors.
After watching this movie, I can understand why people wanted Garrett Hedlund to play Captain America. The guy is an impressive actor and as Sam Flynn handled the action scenes very well, and made for a very likeable lead. He also has an authoritave enough presence to make me think he'd make a great superhero regardless of who it might end up being. Jeff Bridges was (as you might expect from an actor of his caliber) fantastic. Playing the older Kevin Flynn and the villainous Clu, he nails the role of both a caring father and I guess what you
might describe as an insane dictator. It's a pity really that neither of them get all that much time, and the movie could have perhaps done with an extra few minutes to explore them more, especially for those who like myself have not seen the original. (although the handful of flashbacks were a great help) It's Olivia Wilde that really impresses here though. I already knew that she was a great actress based on watching her in
House, but she proves in this movie that her career is destined for the big screen. She kicks ass and makes you care about Quorra in equal measure, and delivers plenty of subtle and interesting moments, to make her character one of the most memorable. The supporting cast are all great, with an interesting performance from Beau Garrett and a show stealing set of scenes from the brilliant Michael Sheen.
As this is a spoiler-free review, I'm obviously not going to go into great detail about the plot, but it's fair to say that it was an enjoyable and well written movie. There's nothing hugely original on display, although there are a fair few surprises along the way (one in particular I'm sure fans of the original will get a kick out of) and plenty of memorable moments even though the characters aren't as fleshed out or explored as some might hope.
The 3D was...acceptable. Like most films though, it was nothing compared to
Avatar. You could put it down to artistic license that they filmed the Earth scenes in 2D, and the Tron ones in 3D. I call it Disney trying to save a few bucks. After all, I just paid extra for a ticket and 30 minutes of the film wasn't what I paid for. Plus, there are several scenes (Sam riding his motorbike down the freeway for example) that would've benefitted from being in 3D. Regardless, while it helped enhance the world of Tron, I can't help but feel that it was underused with only a single moment taking full advantage of impressive 3D effects. It basically looked good but was underwhelming.
The CGI however was excellent. They bring the world of
Tron: Legacy together brilliantly with plenty of stunning and breathtaking views of the unique world of the Grid. Between the awesome fights and lightcycle sequences, there are loads of cool set pieces on offer here. As I've said above though, it's a pity that the 3D doesn't take more of an advantage of them. The biggest effect here though is making Jeff Bridges look 20 years younger. Does it work? Yes and no. It's certainly an impressive achievement to make it look as good as it does, but the technology just isn't there yet to make it look 100% convincing. It works in the world of the Grid, but Clu still has a shiny and rather wooden look to his face...sort of like a more advanced version of Tom Hanks in
The Polar Express. Everything else was perfect, including the soundtrack - very fitting for this sort of movie.
If you think about the finer details of this movie too much, you might leave feeling frustrated. Don't expect to get many answers in terms of how the whole thing works or for that matter why. Enjoy it for what it is - a fun two hours with plenty of great action scenes and a lot of stellar acting. A popcorn movie that I certainly hope gets a sequel.