Review: Does Tron Legacy Live Up To It's Twenty Year Old Hype?

As most of you movie goers may know, we've got tons of choices for films this Winter break. But I had my mind set on Disney's new Tron Legacy, the sequel to 1982's Tron. Here's my review on Disney's technological masterpiece.

First off, let me just share what I had to go through to see this movie. I woke up this morning and headed straight for the movies. Unfortunately, where I live, it was pouring rain.

 After a row of awesome trailers (Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides, Green Hornet, Transformers Dark Of The Moon, Mars Needs Moms, Cars 2, and Cowboys And Aliens) and about two minutes into the movie, a lightning struck the movies and set the power out. We waited in the theater for awhile until they gave us the news that we'd just have to get our money back cause it'd be awhile until we got the electricity.

So after an hour we came back, watched the trailers all over again, and finally saw the movie. My question is; shouldn't movie theaters have generators?

Anyway, now to the movie. Tron is indeed a technological masterpiece, a little too technological. The movie is very cool and interesting, but it does get weird and too sci-fi for an average movie goer's taste. Some of the costumes and make up are just to wacky to be taken seriously.

For those who don't know, Tron Legacy takes place twenty years after the events of the original Tron. Kevin Flynn, the creator of the game Tron disappeared one night at his arcade, leaving his son; Sam, behind without a father.

We then learn that currently Kevin's company has now become an empire, run by some jerk rather than Sam himself. After Kevin's old friend Alan receives a page from Kevin's arcade, he confronts Sam and suggests that he check Kevin's arcade just in case.

Sure enough, Sam heads to the arcade and doesn't find anything except for an old Tron game. While sitting on his dad's desk he is transported to the world of the grid, a.k.a Tron. He then participates in the games, until being discovered by a program named Clu (A copy of Kevin that was made to secure the grid since Kevin couldn't be there 24-7) as a user, and fights him.

After nearly being killed by Clu in a light cycle race, he is saved by a program named Quorra who later leads Sam to his father Kevin, who has been trapped there all these years hiding from Clu, his own creation. After a few obstacles, battles, and surprises, Sam eventually leaves the grid along with Quorra.

Tron: Legacy has a very interesting, yet strange and complicated, story to it. The technology used to make Jeff Bridges (Kevin) look younger is very fake and polished. It looks more like a scene from Polar Express than Tron. I mean it's not bad when he's just standing, but when he starts talking he looks completely animated. They better off just getting a younger actor that looks like Jeff Bridges to play Clu, like Kurt Russel.

You really don't have to see the first movie before you see this, the movie pretty much explains it all for you.
The special effects are amazing, but yet it looks so different from the original Tron that it's hard to believe they are even sequels.

You sort of get emotionally attached to the characters, but not enough to cry or anything. The acting by Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Jeff Bridges, and Micheal Sheen, was pretty great, but some actors did a better job then others, and over shadowed the more important ones.

There are many boring and langy parts to it, but the noise will keep you from falling asleep. Don't be expecting to much from the movie as far as a jaw-dropping story. I can best describe it as a cross between Spy Kids 3 and Avatar.The 3D is okay, but really isn't necessary. If you want a better experience than you better of heading to your nearest IMAX theater.

 You sort of get lots of information dumped at you at once in one part of the film, and it can be hard to process all together. The movie is worth it, but I just wouldn't call it a must see. If you can't handle weird complex sci-fis, you better off taking yourself to Harry Potter, Narnia, Little Fockers, or Yogi Bear.

I give the film four stars, for generally being a good film, yet falling short to the perfection that was expected from the twenty years used to make this Tron sequel.

I give Tron Legacy 4 out of 5 stars:

 

What did you think of Tron Legacy? Are you going to see it?