Director: Joseph Kosinski
Lead cast: Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde
Released: 17 December 2010
UK Rating: PG
Running time: 125m 20s
Plot: The son of a genius computer software engineer who disappeared 20 years ago investigates a mysterious message sent from his father's abandoned video games arcade, but is then zapped into a digital world where he discovers dad has been trapped all along. The two race across cyberspace to get back to reality with the help of beautiful warrior program Quorra and pursued by an evil ruler bent on eliminating the rebellious trio.
Released on 17 December, Tron: Legacy is one of the most highly-anticipated movies of 2010 and boasts 3D visuals even more advanced than Avatar (in production technology terms, anyway - the cameras used are the next level in 3D filming). But is it all style over substance?
Read on to find out...
For the uninitiated, Tron: Legacy is the long-awaited sequel to 1982's Tron, the story of software engineer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) who is digitised into his company's computer network by way of an experimental laser. Flynn's forced-entry into the digital world was a result of trying to hack in and retrieve evidence that proves he created several lucrative programs rather than the guy who got the credit, plagiarising Ed Dillinger (David Warner).
While in the system, Flynn is forced by the Master Control Program to play a series of lethal games before fighting his way out with the help of a heroic security program known as Tron. Back in the real world, Flynn succeeds in proving his genius and becomes CEO of the company, Encom.
The original Tron was made using a pioneering backlighting technique and achieved a completely unique look. Its spectacular visuals and visionary storyline have helped the film achieve cult status and allowed it to gain a substantial number of fanboys (YouTube 'Tron Boy' for a case in point) although many might agree that the film as a whole was surprisingly dull, almost certainly part of the reason for it taking 28 years for a sequel to appear. The other reason is that the filming technique used was both very expensive and incredibly time-consuming, which also explains why we didn't see a run of Tron-style movies in the succeeding years.
Skip forward to 2010 and technology is now more a part of everyday life than ever. Whereas the late '70s and early '80s were an exciting time at the dawn of computer games and personal computers, we now live in an age of laptops, games consoles, multiplayer gaming and smart phones - we're au fait with tech. Moving the Tron story forward credibly is harder now much of the mystique has been removed.
For the large part, Tron: Legacy does manage to pull it off.
In terms of the storyline, we're presented with a mystery - what happened to Kevin Flynn and why is he suddenly messaging his son so long after his disappearance? It's a pretty enticing question.
Our main antagonist, Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), now 27 years old is an interesting character on paper: struggling to comes to terms with his mother's death and father's subsequent disappearance; dealing with the fact that he's still the major shareholder in Encom but not feeling he's ready to lead such a major corporation; a computer genius like his father before him.
He also share's his father's hippy spirit, sabotaging the launch of Encom's new software package by hacking in and making it available as a free download. And, handily as it turns out, he's a base-jumping, motorcycle riding thrill-seeker. Unfortunately, these character traits these days seem all too familiar - you'll not fail to recognise bits and pieces from other major movie characters like young Indiana, Neo, Luke Skywalker...
In fact, Star Wars is so blatantly referenced throughout it moves the films out of gentle nod territory and firmly into drinking game land.
Hedlund does an adequate job in the role but, despite all the action and playful attitude comes across as slightly forgettable (possibly another reference to the Star Wars prequels anyone?), especially when alongside the radiant Olivia Wilde and consistently excellent Jeff Bridges.
Bridges brings much needed weight to the film both in his role as gentle idealist Kevin Flynn and as Clu, his unaging program clone created to assist in building of 'The Grid' but, in an uncompromising interpretation of perfection makes it his mission to rid it of any imperfections, including his creator. The film plays skilfully with notions of the father/ son relationships at its core, even allowing the audience to gain a certain sympathy for the twisted Clu, despite his evil doings.
The CGI technique use to recreate a young Bridges is not perfect but for the most part is pretty convincing.
The stand-out performance possibly goes to Michael Sheen, though. His David Bowie/ Withnail/ Circus Ringleader character mash-up is a joy to watch and once again underlines his on-screen versatility.
The digital world, comprising 'The Grid' - a pristine metropolis inhabited by the programs - and its surrounding outlands are the most striking part of the movie. It takes the 1982 world of Tron and adds a stormy weather system, shiny surfaces and a host of very cool vehicles, some a development of what we saw before (the light cycles are just awesome now) and some brand new additions.
The 3D is well controlled, giving some depth without being noticable. I can't say the film is better because of it, but having seen it on a standard digital projection I'm looking forward to a forthcoming IMAX screening to reap its full benefits.
However, the coolest part of the film and is possibly the Daft Punk soundtrack. It's a brilliantly complementary score with understated moods that most of the time is not very noticable, but with standout 'bangers' thrown in at just the right moments.
There are a number of things that do frustrate about the film, though. As mentioned above, the Star Wars similarities become tiresome, and I'd have liked to have felt the Grid as more of a living, breathing city... think busy markets and street children in Blade Runner.
The worst thing, however is the sometimes pointlessly cliched dialogue. For example, a female program suiting up Sam ready for battle turns to another and declares, "This one is different." We know he's different - the film has already done the hard part and we get it, so why say it?
Summary: Successfully takes the pioneering spirit of the first film and delivers a gripping storyline, a stunning aesthetic, well-judged music and excellent action set-pieces but is let down slightly but an average central performance and a few too many cliches. Still a mighty achievement and is one of 2010's great popcorn movies.
Easter eggs:
- The barkeeper at the End of Line club is played by Steven Lisberger, writer and director of the original Tron.
- Look out for the poster for Disney's The Black Hole (1979) in Sam's bedroom. Joseph Kosinski is on-board to direct the 2012 remake.
- Ed Dillinger's son, Edward Dillinger (just to confuse, I think) is part of the Encom board and is played by a well-known face. He'll play a significant part in the next episode of the Tron story.
- There are about a billion Star Wars references, intentional or otherwise. Meh.
