Tron Legacy (2010)
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Written by Edward Kitsis
Starring Garrett Hedlund, Bruce Boxleitner, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen
Release Date December 17th, 2010
Published December 16th, 2010
It's been nearly 30 years since the original "Tron" ended with Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) overcoming his creation, the Grid, and the evil Master Control program, to take control of Encom, the world's largest computer game maker. Picking up some 8 years later, Flynn is still Encom CEO until one day he simply vanishes leaving behind his son Sam.
Flash forward to today and Sam (Garrett Hedlund) is a rebellious 20 something on the outside of Encom looking in. One night, as Sam has just sabotaged the latest big name project of his father's company, simply for kicks, he is visited by Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) his father's old partner who has a strange message for him. Alan has received a page but the fact that he wears a pager is not the surprise, the page came from Kevin Flynn's office at his long shuddered arcade.
When Sam goes to investigate he stumbles on a secret basement office and a strange looking computer. After a vain attempt at hacking it Sam suddenly finds himself struck by a laser and sucked inside the computer. He is now on the Grid, the seemingly mythical creation his father spent years trying to create.
Unfortunately for Sam the Grid is not a safe place. Run by the program Clu (Jeff Bridges?), it's a harsh digital realm where Programs are killed for sport in virtual gladiator arenas. Before Sam can be killed by Clu, he is rescued by Quorra who takes him to the creator, his long lost dad Kevin. The father and son reunion is short lived as the portal back to the real world closes soon and Sam must convince Kevin to go head to head with Clu in order to escape.
That is a linear interpretation of the plot of "Tron Legacy" and the futility of my description should be well in evidence. Tron Legacy is clearly not a movie that thrives on plot or detail. Instead, Tron Legacy just wants to have a good time playing with digital toys and listening to Jeff Bridges play a serious version of his The Dude from the Big Lebowski.
You think I'm kidding but listen to some of Bridges' lines like "Clu, your breaking my Zen man" or "I'm gonna go knock on the sky and see what I hear," lines delivered with a very Dude-like inflection. Those are actual lines from the movie Tron Legacy, not a parody, not a youtube mash-up, but actual lines delivered by Jeff Bridges with a level of 'I can't believe they are letting me do this' smugness.
Not that there is anything wrong with that smugness really. There is a good deal of entertainment to be found in how much Bridges relishes his freedom to be out there doing his own thing against this self serious digital background, it just goes against the grain in the most noticeable ways, ways I'm not sure were intentional.
Bridges is at times the only one in how goofy all of this really is. Well, he and Michael Sheen who takes on a role in "Tron Legacy" that only Ziggy Stardust could love. Sheen plays Zeus a nightclub owner who may or may not be fomenting rebellion against Clu and may or may not be an ally of Quorra and Flynn.
All Zeus really does is give rise to odd, unnecessary questions about this place called The Grid. When Sam arrives he is arrested immediately by Clu's guards. Why? We don't know. Then, after his stripped and dressed by refugees from a futuristic Marilyn Manson video, he is dropped into the game arena where he fights battles familiar from the first Tron movie, the Frisbee game, in front of a massive cheering, mostly unseen crowd. Who are these people in the crowd? What do they do? What function do they serve for Clu as he is creating what he calls a perfect world?
These questions are not the least bit important but they rise up in the mind while you are waiting for the next big digital landscape to emerge. Anytime Tron Legacy pauses for some exposition, a father son chat or whatever, the mind of the viewer can tend to wander to questions like why do computer programs need a bar? What do computer programs drink and why? Do they have food? Does Kevin Flynn have food? What has he been eating for 20 years trapped in a computer?
Again, none of this matters but so much of "Tron Legacy" is so massively dull that you cannot help but wonder. Then, Jeff Bridges will say something dude like and some cool looking effect will pop up and you will be transfixed for a moment. The moments unfortunately, don't really add up to much. By the time you come to understand Clu's bad guy motives you aren't likely to care.
"Tron Legacy" exists as a brand that Disney hopes to capitalize on like "Pirates of the Caribbean." It's a machine built to create sequels and make money. There are pleasures to be found in amongst all the goofiness but they are too few and far between to really recommend "Tron Legacy" as a whole.
At 2 hours plus, Tron Legacy wears out its welcome and while the effects will no doubt dazzle kids, mom and dad will be checking their watches regularly in between the minor giggles induced by The Dude as he abides a CGI universe.
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