I had the privilege to watch Tron: Legacy last night at the theater that I work at. Disney had given us the movie early, so us managers decided to screen it after we closed the theater last night. This review will be judged with minor spoilers.
Tron:Legacy in a nutshell is a reboot/sequel. The story is set up where you don't exactly have to watch the original Tron, but it does help, and you'll gain a bit more insight than Joe Public. The story begins in 1985, where Encom's head honcho Kevin Flynn (Computer generated to look like he did in the 80's, but later played by Jeff Bridges) leaves his son one night to go work late at the office. It just so happens Kevin never returns home, and that's when young Sam Flynn (Later played by Garrett Hedlund) leaves home in anger and confusion. Did his dad leave him on purpose? Did his dad die?
Cut to the present. Years later 27 year old Sam Flynn still is uncertain about his father's disappearance. He is not running the company yet, but still frequents there to play antics on the CEO's. Among the executives is Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) who reprises his role. You may remember his as Tron as well in the original movie. Alan plays as the cool, watchful 'uncle' in the background. He's the only one in the company that truly believe in Kevin's vision; a new digital frontier to revolutionize the human life. Sam gets contacted by Alan, as you can see from any trailer for the movie, and fate later places Sam in The Grid: the digital world. I'll stop right there momentarily to mention a few pointers.
- The digital world, this Grid, is not the same as it once was. It has been upgraded, much like how the technology we use everyday is and will be upgraded.
- The programs don't look like programs anymore. They still ACT like programs, but the programs looked more human, as if they're only dressed in these suits because it LOOKS cool. It does look cool, but in the original Tron, they looked like some sort of computer program. For example, the old Tron, all you really saw were faces of the programs, because the rest was a full body suit or armor. The face was really the only skin you saw. In this Tron, more skin is shown, clothing is sometimes more loose. Its a different look that kinda contrasts the original appearance.
Back to the movie. Events lead Sam up to fighting in the games. Just like in the old Tron, if you lose, you become 'derezzed'. Sam is a natural disc thrower, as he easily defeats a few programs. On the last fight, Sam is getting beat, only to have the fight stop by the one in charge. Clu. Clu reveals himself to be a splitting image of Kevin Flynn. Although he is not Sam's father, Sam knows that things are not right. Being forced back into the games, Sam must survive the light cycle fights. He is finally saved by Quorra (Olivia Wilde). She then leads Sam to the family reunion he's wanted with his father. The plot thickens as to reasons why Kevin can't return home, and why Clu has gone to the 'dark' side. I won't spoil any major key points, but the mid-section of the movie ties in what happened between Tron and Tron:Legacy, and also tells us more about Clu and Kevin.
The only way out is to fight, and that's what Sam sets out to do. With the misplaced help of some minor characters, things turn for the worse for the major characters. The series of events set off the final act of the movie, or the journey to get home. This act was probably the least eventful, because there were a lot of talking and sweet moments, up until the last 20 minutes. I'll stop right there, because explaining further would spoil too much.
In the end, Tron Legacy is a lengthy, and decent sequel/reboot. It might not draw in a huge crowd, but those who watch it will be entertained, to say the least. This is not a huge masterpiece, mind you. The acting is not bad, especially Jeff Bridges, although he seemed to play the Big Lebowski in some scenes. Graphic wise, this movie is wonderful. The world seems to actually be real, one could even compare it to the opposite of Avatar's Pandora; Pandora was giant, colorful place, where the Grid is dark and full of corruption, where there's something that's always going on. The computer generated version of Jeff Bridges is *mostly* believable. The key word being mostly. Legacy has its moments, but tends to fall flat during a few scenes. At one point I actually got tired of watching it, only because a couple scenes seemed to drag out a bit. Again, do not look at this movie for some breathtaking masterpiece, there are a few plot holes, but I can't explain these with out spoiling too much.
Also for bonus points, I DARE anyone to watch this movie and not make the obvious Star Wars references. I'd watch it again, but it may not be a immediate Blu Ray/DVD buy. Tron:Legacy receives a 3.5 out of 5.