Review - TRON: Legacy

TRON Finds Itself Stuck Inside The Game

In the years since the original Tron, things have changed. Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) has been missing for 20 years, and his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) longs for the dad who told him stories or his legendary accomplishments. Sam has a mind of his own and marches to the beat of his own drummer. He has seen his dad’s company become solely interested in profits, with no regard for customers.

But when a mysterious page is received, yes I said page, Sam goes to investigate his dad’s office at the arcade. There he finds many mothballs, lots of vintage games, and his father’s office the way he left it. When Sam examines things a bit closer, he soon finds himself inside the programs that have been his father’s home.

Now Sam must join forces with his Father and find a way out of this world. His father has created so many of the programs around him, and some help, while others do not. Quorra (Olivia Wilde) is a program that is viciously loyal to her creator. She’ll do everything she can to protect Kevin and his son. But the other member of this equation is Clu, the younger version of Kevin who was with him and wanted to help him create the perfect environment. Who will reign victorious? Can Sam and his Father exit the game and continue with life?

This is a really tough film to talk about. I wanted this to be an amazing experience. I wanted to love every aspect of this go around with Tron. I wanted to walk out and tell my friends, get your tickets now. Unfortunately, none of what I wanted became reality.

While it was fun to see they “younger” Bridges, the sexy Olivia Wilde, the charismatic Michael Sheen and more, it just wasn’t enough. The action sequences were exciting when they were happening, there were too few occurrences in this slightly over 2 hour long film. Instead of keeping the pace hoping, there were many places where the film tried to get overly philosophical and dragged endlessly.

Tron isn’t awful; I guess I just expected more. Instead of breaking outside of the realm that contains it; TRON: Legacy finds itself stuck inside the game.

C / C-

TRON: Legacy
Walt Disney Pictures

Director: Joseph Kosinski
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen, Bruce Boxleitner

Rating: PG for sequences of sci-fi action violence and brief mild language.
Runtime: 127 minutes.