Tron:Legacy: Visually interesting, plot lacking
Garret Hedlund, playing Sam, and Olivia Wilde, playing Quorra, try to escape The Grid in Tron Legacy
Don't listen to the naysayers: Tron: Legacy is actually a really good movie. With jaw-dropping visuals, a thundering soundtrack composed entirely by Daft Punk and the revival and continuation of the story of the original 1982 Tron, it's just plain fun to watch. The movie comes up lacking in plot - Legacy essentially recycles the original Tron's story structure, with only a couple of nuances - but name the last time an effects-driven feature had a deep, philosophical storyline. Legacy picks up some 20 years after the events in Tron. Software engineer, ENCOM CEO and arcade owner Kevin Flynn (True Grit's Jeff Bridges) went missing shortly after the events of the first film and his son Sam (Country Strong's Garrett Hedlund) has grown up to be a motorcycle-riding rebel who wants nothing to do with his ownership stake in ENCOM, Flynn's software corporation. Following a mysterious page received by an old friend of his father's, Sam ends up getting sucked into and trapped inside the computer world of The Grid, where his father has been searching for a way out since he first disappeared 20 years ago.
Let's be real: The original Tron is not a widely mainstream film. Add in the 28-year gap between the two films, and Legacy understandably has a lot of ground to retread with audiences to get them all on the same page. For this reason Legacy felt more like one of those rebooted superhero origin films that are so popular nowadays, than an actual sequel.
Legacy is essentially re-laying the groundwork for what Disney hopes will be one of its pillar franchises in the coming years, similar to Pirates of the Caribbean - a Tron television show, theme park expansions, graphic novels and all manner of movie tie-ins are in the queue, and it's a shame because Tron is not widely appealing to a lot of people and doesn't need the franchise treatment.
Disney's kowtowing to mainstream audiences by trying to make Legacy as widely appealing as possible detracts from the film. Instead of being a smart, standalone, self-contained film, Legacy's plot quickly hits just the necessary high points to set up the inevitable sequel before fading out with an ambiguous ending. The sense of wonder and discovery that is felt in the original Tron as the protagonists explore the fantastic new world of The Grid is diminished in Legacy, as the characters are pushed from one setpiece to the next.
Disney's business and marketing practices aside, Tron: Legacy is still one hell of a ride, especially in IMAX 3-D. As more and more films lean on the use of computer-generated effects, it's becoming harder to stand out. The original Tron was groundbreaking for its use of computer-animated visuals - so groundbreaking, in fact, that it was refused nomination for a Visual Effects Academy Award by the Motion Picture Academy because, at the time, using computers to create special effects was considered cheating.
Legacy may not be innovative by today's standards, but the visuals are stunningly refined. The computer world of The Grid is a fully realized glossy, electric-blue metropolis with some dirt around the edges, and the overall design and aesthetic of the film is spectacularly cohesive. Paired with super-smooth cinematography, the frenetic action sequences (Light Cycles, anyone?) more than make up for the bland attempts at expository sequences. Legacy is a film that truly belongs on the big screen in order for the audience to fully appreciate all of its eye-candy.
The small cast of characters works very well together - Olivia Wilde's ("House M.D.") role as Quorra is refreshing because she's not just a brainless "look at me, I'm hot" sidekick to Bridges' character; she possesses emotions and motivations of her own. Bridges' character is a mix of Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid and The Dude from The Big Lebowski, lending an easygoing attitude to an otherwise serious film. Hedlund's role as Sam is a predictably stubborn foil to his father, but he doesn't look out of place in any of the film's tense action sequences.
In the end, despite my skepticism that Disney will drive the Tron franchise into the ground with mediocre sequels and side-products, Tron: Legacy is not only one of the most visually arresting films to be released in 2010 but one of the most enjoyable as well. Just don't go in expecting a deep story.
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