When movies are expensive and don’t gross very much money, it’s rare they get a sequel, as was the case with 1982’s Tron. But alas, almost 20 years later Disney decided to give it another go now that the technology has caught up to the storyline. No matter how you swing it, the light up hockey helmets in the original don’t stand the test of time. Anyway, Tron Legacy follows Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) as he searches for his missing father (Jeff Bridges) in the digital world the father created. Once there he must deal with death match competitions, a tyrannical computer program seeking a perfect world and the general problem that he’s inside a computer.
While the complex tech heavy plot isn’t always easy to follow, there’s no denying its cleverness. There are very few moments where the CGI-heavy setting isn’t successful. The major problem lies with the digital de-ageing of Bridges in the flashback scenes and scenes involving the character Clu. It just doesn’t look real. Using a young actor who resembled Bridges would have been a better option, even if the voice were to be dubbed after the fact.
Hedlund, Bridges and Olivia Wilde provide adequate performances that hold up to the leads in similar sci-fi films. Even with the fighter plane scene where Hedlund blatantly copies the similar moment from Star Wars isn’t that bad. He then follows that with some incredibly unnecessary one-liners. This is definitely the weakest instant for him, in a promising performance that contained a number of quality action scenes occurring before the fairly predictable ending. The long-term impact of Tron Legacy may not be as revered as the original by cult fans, but it is likely a better attempt at conveying the spirit of the story’s digital experience. (8.9 out of 10)
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