Tron: Legacy Review

Rating: 4/5

Once the rumors for this movie started popping up, people, including myself, were excited. I was also worried because if you've ever seen the original Tron, you'll know that it's not exactly a classic. But all of a sudden, cool stuff happened. Legacy was going to use Avatar's 3D, and Daft Punk was doing the soundtrack! Suddenly, I wasn't scared. Let's see if I should've been.

Sam Flynn is the son of Kevin Flynn, hero of the original Tron. His father disappeared in 1989, so Sam has had over 20 years to grow up on his own. He's 27 and he's more than a little wild with his dad's old company. However, this makes sense, because Sam had no mother to take care of him, and was distant from his grandparents. He just never grew up. Anyway, Sam is trying to find clues about his dad's disappearance, and accidentally fires up the same laser that transported his dad into the game world. From then on, Sam is in the "Grid," and has to free an entire digital world, not just his digital daddy.

Tron: Legacy is one of the few sequels that doesn't have much to live up to. The original Tron was a box office bust that was criticized for having great effects but a weak story. This is a fair criticism, because a movie, like a video game, cannot simply stand up on how pretty it looks. For every Avatar there has to be an Alice in Wonderland, if you know what I mean. In my opinion the original Tron had a lot of great ideas that it didn't bother touching on and focused too much on the wandering through the computer lands than it did characters or plot.

Legacy tries to handle action, story, characters, and effects, and succeeds pretty well. The story ranges from meh to cool, and thankfully never gets too silly or boring. While the characters aren't particularly developed and some are next to useless Michael Sheen, everyone does a fine job with what they're given. The action, while far between, is pretty badass and never disappointed me.

Now, what you really want to hear about is the CGI and the music. Let me tell you that they are the best parts of the film. The CGI is beyond gorgeous, with extremely smooth animations and a slick, modern look. This is helped by the 3D, which makes everything so unholily clear that I almost (almost) felt like I was there a couple of times. CLU 2.0 looks great, and to be honest I didn't even realize he was CGI until I noticed something weird about his eyes. Daft Punk proves they can conduct beautiful and epic classical music as well as awesome and futuristic techno, and their score really brings the movie to being an experience more than popcorn entertainment.

Tron: Legacy is definitely better than its predecessor, and is one of the few really fun movies I've seen all year. It's competently acted, written and directed, has the best effects and 3D I've seen since Avatar, and probably has the best soundtrack of the year. I'm not sure I'll see it again immediately, but I did enjoy it. Now, is it great? No. Overall this movie is a solid B+. I say see it, but before I conclude this 6th paragraph, let me mention something. Like with Avatar, people have crawled out of the woodwork saying that because the story isn't great, the whole movie is terrible and should be shunned and its creators murdered for not meeting these fanboys' standards. Just remember this: Tron: Legacy is not a movie meant to move you, touch you, or change the way you look at the world. It is a movie meant to take you into a world where computer programs laugh and die just like us, and motorcycles shoot lasers that turn into walls. It's meant to show you a spectacle and for you to say "wow that's cool." Remember that, and I'm sure you'll enjoy Tron: Legacy.