Movie Review - "Tron: Legacy" is Visually Exciting but a Narrative Bore
Quick Take: Sequel to the 1982 Disney neo-nerd classic updates with the latest digital storytelling, but falls behind when it comes to old-fashioned strong performances and narrative.
Special Appeal: 3-D really adds a lot to the jaw-dropping digital visuals
Players: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Sheen and Olivia Wilde
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rated: PG for sci-fi action violence and mild language
Running time: 2 hours, 7 minutes
Rating: three out of five lightning bolts
The original Tron holds a special place in my movie watching memories because it was the first movie I ever saw on a date. Granted that was 28 years ago and I was in 5th grade at the time, but those things tend to stick with you.
The girl who sat beside me attended a slumber party the night before and actually fell asleep while we were watching Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner face off against the evil Master Control Program inside a video game world. This clueless 10-year-old was so enthralled with what was going on that I didn’t notice her indifference until I had to wake her up during the credits.
Twenty-eight years later I like to think I am a little more attentive to a woman’s needs, but there is a 50-50 chance that anyone attending a screening of the sequel might drift off because in spite of the incredible special effects the acting is often times downright dull.
If you never saw the original (or, you fell asleep watching it) there are some things you need to know going into this updated version of the neo-nerd classic:
- Tron is not a video game.
- Tron is not a place.
- Tron is an electronic Moses who fought back against digital oppressors inside an intricate video game world to allow programs like himself free reign over their functions.
- Tron led that revolution with the help of Flynn, a computer programmer who got sucked into that world.
- Also, there were really cool motorcycles that had bars of light behind them.
Got that? Good.
In Tron: Legacy, we learn that Flynn (Jeff Bridges) disappeared shortly after the events of the first film and left his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) an orphan.
It’s no big surprise that through a series of events a now 27-year-old Sam gets pulled into an updated version of the same video game world and ends up finding not only his aging father but an evil doppelganger who looks just like dear old Dad the last time they saw one another.
Action ensues as Sam and Flynn set out to fight the new updated oppressors, but this time in addition to incredible light bike chases and dangerous games of lethal digital racquetball there are tremendous action sequences involving light jets.
Disney pulled out all the stops on the visual effects, but sadly a trade off was made in the acting and storyline departments.
Jeff Bridges is good as both the older zen-like father and his nefarious younger self, but there was not a lot of character development offered on the screen. At one point, it’s almost embarrassing when a wild-eyed Flynn draped in a glowing kimono looks to the skies and says ‘Radical!’
In terms of the Hedlund’s performance, he does very little to carry the film. He unfortunately suffers from the same syndrome that plagued Hayden Christensen in the Star Wars prequels: The movie rests on his shoulders and all he does is shrug.
Hedlund only shows two emotions: bland indifference and face-contorting rage. As a main character (no, he’s not Tron), he needs to show some feelings for the forgettable female lead (Olivia Wilde) or at least emote something more reminiscent of an enigmatic hero on a quest than a sullen male model on a runway.
Some of the digital effects, particularly those used to create a younger Jeff Bridges, are underwhelming. The look of Flynn’s digital doppelganger is too close to the dead-eyed inhabitants of The Polar Express and Beowulf.
Michael Sheen makes some interesting choices as a character that blends the weirdest aspects of Ziggy Stardust and Willy Wonka, but his glam rock prancing is a little too distracting even though it outshines the neon-glow of the set pieces.
The story is also a letdown. Once you get past the surface father-son reunion, one cool action sequence just blends into the next one. Those sections really should be seen in 3-D to be enjoyed, but many are largely homages to the better parts of other films rather than creations that stand on their own.
Ultimately, Tron Legacy is very much like the video game world in which it is set. Flashing electronic images are fun for a while, but offer little substance after the game is over.
If you take a date, that person probably won’t fall asleep; but he or she won’t have much to talk about afterward, either. Trust me, I know this from experience.
Jonathan Rich is a NC Press Association award-winning journalist and film critic. He writes for Bold Life, Verve Magazine and www.hendersonvillescoop.com
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