Tron Legacy Review

• 7th Dec 2010

Tron is back… well sort of.  Tron if those of you can think back far enough was actually the name of the hero from the first film played by Bruce Boxlienter, not the Jeff Bridges (playing bystander and observer) role of Kevin Flynn. Boxlienter is back, albeit in an extended cameo role.

Instead we have Bridges returning in the dual role of Flynn, and his cyber half Clu (despite Clu being a good guy who died in the first film – here rebuilt by Flynn to seek perfection) and youngster Garrett Hedlund in the role of Sam Flynn.

OK, so Flynn has gone missing (sucked into his own cyberspace) and years later his, now grown up, son joins him to help old dad out. The opening of the film is fairly extended to register the fact that the son is athletic, cock sure, fairly care free, but has daddy issues (eagle eyes early on can see if they can spot Cillian Murphy as a tech wizard at a company meeting!) Once he is delivered the key to finding his dad he soon finds himself transported to the grid and this is where the film comes to life.

The design of the film has been upgraded and the effects of such are well executed. Then it is hardly a task that would fail considering how basic a look this place has but let us not underscore the fact that it is still a stylised look.

In The Grid Sam finds that Clu has taken over in his attempt to seek perfection and Kevin Flynn has been trapped here ever since – working on a small resistance group to oppose Clu. The story from here tries to become more convoluted than it actually is. It is basically a case of “let’s get the hell out of here” which then leads us to a string of adventures as they are chased down by Clu and his cronies.

Olivia Wilde pops up in what threatens to be yet another thin girl in a tight black outfit in a sci-fi film, but actually manages to be one of the better things about the film. Hedlund walks the balance between admirable leading man and annoying emo. He certainly has a strong look about him, but it won’t be this film that defines him as an actor. It isn’t helped that once Bridges reappears that he is fairly sidelined right up to end. Michael Sheen it has to be said pops up like he is from another film and camps it up to 11. If anyone remembers what Chris Tucker did to The Fifth Element – this isn’t far off that.

Bridges in his dual role adds pathos as Kevin Flynn, showing and sounding his age. While the younger version sounds great and initially looks good although, he still has too much of an airbrushed looking face. It is impressive to see where we are headed as far as the digital animation is concerned, but we are not there yet. Something like this can actually cause a bit of a headache to watch.

Worse though is the 3D. I had to keep slipping to glasses on and off just to make sure I was actually watching a 3D piece of the film. It is there alright, it just never at any point seems that way. This film was shot that way – which conclusively says to me that 3D is dead – or that the director and co just didn’t know how to employ it properly. This 3D then feels ultimately very flat.

There are some wonderful call backs to the original film though. The disc fighting and light cycle sequences are some of the best in the film. The film though, fails to present us with a satisfying climax trying to tug us with the emotional side of things instead of the action. The film therefore, ends in an odd fashion with some questionable actions and outcomes. It may leave a few people pondering why some things come to be.

Fans of the original (who still love it) will not be swayed. Kids will really get into as well. One huge saving grace is the decent job Daft Punk did with the soundtrack. It really saves the momentum of the film and aides to the visual style as a whole. Tron Legacy then is only for the elite of fans.

Steven Hurst