"Did anyone see the movie 'Tron'?"
"No."
"Nope."
"No."
"No."
"No."
"Yes…uh…I mean, no."
-Treehouse of Horror VI, "The Simpsons"
The Simpsons weren't the only ones who didn't see the original Tron. The entertainment industry was riding high on the video game craze and the film came out a year before the great crash of 1983. Tron imagined a digital world where computer programs existed as anthropomorphized beings with red and blue circuit lines. Tron was revolutionary for its special effects and early use of computer graphics. However, the film failed at the box office with a tie-in arcade game pulling in more money. Thanks to a second life on home video, the cult of Tron has grown over the last two decades. It has become pop culture fodder for television shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park.
The decision to move forward with the long-gestating sequel became easier in 2008 when the House of Mouse surprised audiences at Comic-Con with a sizzle reel featuring an all-new light cycle sequence created by the latest in CGI. The crowd response was positive enough that Disney hit the gas pedal on TRON: Legacy. Still, Disney is banking a lot on the fanboy memories of a movie from twenty eight years ago. The budget was reportedly at $170 million with $100 million more spent on a worldwide marketing campaign. The burden to deliver was set squarely on the shoulders of Joseph Kosinski, a commercial director making his feature-length film debut. Judging by the trailers only, TRON: Legacy sets the bar high in terms of visually pleasing special effects, but the story struggles to follow suit.
Those of you who aren't familiar with the original Tron, might have a hard time finding themselves a copy of the picture. Worried that new fans will find the old special effects laughable, Disney has held off on a Blu-Ray release. The previous DVD version has long gone out of print with unopened copies selling for over a hundred bucks on eBay. To summarize, Jeff Bridges played game designer Kevin Flynn, whose greatest creations were stolen from him by his boss at ENCOM. While investigating, Flynn is zapped by a laser and transported to a computerized world under the rule of the malevolent Master Control Program. There, he was looked upon as a god-like figure known as a User. Flynn eventually won the day with help from the title character, Tron, a digital version of his best friend, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner). In the years since, Flynn has built ENCOM into a corporate juggernaut until he disappeared in 1988, leaving behind his young son, Sam.
Today, an adult Sam (Garrett Hedlund) has little to do with his father's company, despite being the primary shareholder. He lives alone in a garage on the waterfront with only a squishy-faced Boston terrier to keep him company. One night, Alan approaches Sam with the news that he received a page sent from the senior Flynn's office in his abandoned arcade. Sam finds a hidden office where he is suddenly taken to a futuristic land known as the Grid. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was whisked away from a sepia-toned Kansas and into the Technicolor wonderland of Oz. This being the 21st century, TRON: Legacy switches from the flat 2D, sepia-tinged real world into a 3D realm of jet black architecture highlighted by eerie blue lights.
Sam learns the Grid was created by his father along with a computerized copy known as Clu. Tasked with creating a perfect world, Clu saw imperfections in a group of programs called Isos, who emerge as if they were the Jews wandering out of the desert. Clu conquers the Grid in brutal fashion, destroying or converting anyone who stood against him. Trapped in his world, Kevin Flynn has lived a Howard Hughes-style life of seclusion, hiding from Clu to prevent his creation from finding the means to travel into the real world.
If the original Tron was an Atari 2600, then TRON: Legacy is an X-Box 360. Modern technology has given the computerized world created so long ago a glossy sheen. The effects and set design of the Grid is a feast to behold. Familiar vehicles like the Solar Sailer and the Recognizer are given sleek upgrades. The famous disc battles and light cycle races from the first movie are back with a vengeance. As you'd expect, they are bigger and badder than ever. The disc battles aren't just one on one anymore. Multiple contests occur simultaneously on a gravity-defying battleground with numerous levels in an ever-shifting configuration. Combatants now incorporate martial arts and elaborate gymnastics maneuvers into play. However, the artists and animators are unable to overcome the proverbial "uncanny valley" when it comes to the appearance of Jeff Bridges' digital doppelganger. For the opening prologue, Bridges is given a CGI facelift and made to look like a younger version of himself. Try as they might, the effects team can't seem to get him right and apparently know it. Kosinski hides this faux Flynn in the shadows and behind objects in the foreground. There are no such luxuries when it comes to the villainous Clu who must be seen front and center. The plastic look of this de-aged Bridges works better to enhance Clu's existence as a sinister simulacrum. The character performs incredible stunts with ease, but is unable to pull off the simpler motions of speech. He is a virtual meat puppet vainly attempting to sync his mouth movements with the spoken dialogue.
While the fake Jeff Bridges left much to be desired, the real one brings a much needed dose of gravitas to a film full of outlandish concepts. The easy-going, hippie charm of the Dude shines through, especially when he's spouting lines like, "I'm gonna go knock on the sky and listen to the sound." No longer the young hotshot from the first Tron, Flynn has become a Zen master in the Grid, a binary bodhisattva and messiah for the oppressed masses. It's too bad some of that same charm didn't rub off on Garrett Hedlund. It's not that he gives a bad performance, just a bland performance. To be fair, the character of Sam Flynn isn't fully fleshed out, no more real than the anonymous programs he encounters. As the female lead, Olivia Wilde brings more to the character of Flynn's protégé, Quorra, than what is there on the page. It certainly helps that Wilde is gorgeous beyond belief and kicks ass even while wearing a skin-tight catsuit and platform shoes. The liveliest performer, without a doubt, is the ultra-talented Michael Sheen who channels David Bowie as a flamboyant nightclub owner named Castor. Yes, even software programs need to party down and get drunk once in a while.
Speaking of which, for an effects-driven, popcorn film, the sequel sure took itself seriously. Just when Bridges manages to wring out a light moment of humor, the movie goes back to stone faced mode. The pacing was also uneven. Once Sam enters the Grid, he is immediately taken to the Arena for the game and the audience is yanked right along with him. The script has already set Sam up as a parkour-practicing, motorcycle-riding, thrill junkie with no problems excelling at the grueling competitions. Thus, no time is wasted in getting into the action. However, the plot slows to a crawl as the thin father-son angle plays out. The climax builds to a crescendo with Clu fascistically rallying his marching minions in a sequence that seems lifted right out of Triumph of the Will. Good battles evil, then it is back to the characters gazing at their navels, then back to the action. The final denouement itself seems to echo a similar resolution from Blade Runner.
On the strengths of the visuals alone, TRON: Legacy definitely needs to be seen in theaters to get the full effect. If you are willing to spring for it, go for the IMAX version. The special effects look breathtaking and you will be rattled and shaken by the bass of Daft Punk's electronic score. However, don't feel like you're missing out if you go for the cheaper 2D version. The 3D effects aren't absolutely necessary and the already dark film is darkened further by the process. Only don't expect TRON: Legacy to deliver more than eye candy. The sequel comes off overly serious and overly bombastic when it needs to be a fun adventure. The film almost gets bogged down in the kind of half-baked, New Age philosophy that sunk the Matrix movies.
Rating: *** (*****)
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