When the original TRON opened in 1982, it was a significant technological achievement for the video-game world it expressed on film. In the film, a much younger Jeff Bridges was digitized into a place that gamers only dreamt about. Now, twenty-eight years later, where gaming possibilities have come just as far as movie possibilities, the TRON universe arrives once again to bring back its cult fans and attract newer ones to its electric dreamscape. With returning cast members from the first chapter as well as some younger faces, and impressive visual effects, it's enough to keep the movie going, notwithstanding a so-so story.
Years after the disappearance of his father, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), his 27-year-old son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), gets zapped into the world of TRON while trying to find his father. Upon reuniting with his dad, who has been trapped in this cyberspace known as "The Grid" for several years, the two plan an escape. With the help of Kevin's friend, Quorra (Olivia Wilde), the trio will set out to take down CLU (Kevin's malevolent computer-self), and find their way back into the real world.
The acting in the film is slightly better than what you would expect from this type of sci-fi film. Hedlund and Bridges have decent chemistry when handling the film's father-son relationship; but there is a lack of emotion from several main characters throughout much of the film, partly because of the script. Hedlund and Wilde are promising newcomers. Although the material makes it hard to do much with their characters, you can tell they have talent that we'll be seeing in their future projects. One highlight of the cast is Michael Sheen as the porcelain-white, wide-eyed Castor. Sheen brings the most life to the cast as the eccentric club owner, and looks like he's having more fun out of anyone.
The story doesn't rise above the conventional need to defeat the villain, but it does have occasional thrills. Most of the film's excitement only occurs in the laser-disc fights and light-cycle chases that are in the first fifteen minutes of the portion that takes place in the TRON world, and then doesn't fully pickup again until the final showdown with CLU. Music duo Daft Punk is a fitting choice to compose the movie's nightclub-sounding score. Given the video-game setting of TRON: Legacy, you would expect it to be the first film since last year's Avatar to benefit from the use of 3D, but it wasn't necessary. The visuals were, however, quite a sight with their electric beauty. TRON: Legacy has some shortcomings, but it's still passable entertainment in this digital wonderland.
Final grade: B
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