Tron Legacy: Review

Tron Legacy did not just win the weekend box office for December 17-19, it blew away the competition. Tron Legacy earned $44M while the number two film, Yogi Bear, earned $16.4M.

I expected Tron Legacy to be all flash and no substance, with the plot taking a backseat to the special effects and 3-D technology. The storyline certainly had its issues, but I was pleased that the plot was stronger than I expected it to be, although a bit complex at times.

Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) is the controlling interest shareholder of ENCOM, the company his father, videogame programmer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), helped bring success. Unaware that his father has been zapped inside the game the elder Flynn created, Sam feels abandoned by his father and has no real interest in participating in the day-to-day operations of ENCOM. Then, a mysterious page is received by Sam’s godfather, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) – yes, Tron himself. Sam decides to go down to his father’s old video arcade and investigate and, well, you know what happens then. Yep, the younger Tron is laser sucked into the videogame world (a little too easily, if you ask me) where his father has been for the past 20 years. That’s when the real fun begins…

I saw the movie in 3-D and I recommend that you do the same. Be aware that the scenes outside of the digital world are not in 3-D, but the scenes where it really matters take place within that world. The fight scenes are spectacular and the light cycle competitions are visually stunning – I mean, they are really, really well done. Really.

As I mentioned in previous posts, Jeff Bridges plays the aged Kevin Flynn, the young Kevin Flynn, and Clu, who, of course, has not aged since Flynn first entered the cyber world. Digital Domain created the younger looking Jeff Bridges characters and it was both intriguing and freaky at the same time watching those scenes.  It was “off” just enough that your eye could tell something was not quite right looking at the younger versions; still, it was very cool how they did it. Olivia Wilde does a great job playing Quorra and Michael Sheen does well as the flamboyant club owner, Castor.

I give Tron Legacy three and a half Slurpees out of five and I highly recommend it if you are a fan of special effects and lots of action.

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* Tron * Director: Joseph Kosinski * Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner * Writers: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis (screenplay) *  Time: 127 minutes * Rated PG * Action/Sci Fi/Thriller * Trailers *

Tron Legacy fact: Jeff Bridges

Tron Legacy fact #4

Jeff Bridges is playing both Kevin Flynn and Clu, who is the avatar version of himself from the original Tron.

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* Tron * Director: Joseph Kosinski * Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner * Writers: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis (screenplay) *  Time: 127 minutes * Rated PG * Action/Sci Fi/Thriller * Trailers *

Tron Legacy fact: The Plot

Tron Legacy fact #1

The main plot is this: Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) is on a quest to find his father, ENCOM videogame programmer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges). The younger Flynn discovers a way to get into the game that sucked the elder Flynn into it in the original Tron.

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* Tron * Director: Joseph Kosinski * Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner * Writers: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis (screenplay) *  Time: 127 minutes * Rated PG * Action/Sci Fi/Thriller * Trailers *

Upcoming Release: Tron Legacy

I recently watched the original Tron. Honestly, I really can’t remember whether I saw it when I was younger or not. It seems like something I would have seen, but it didn’t really seem familiar as I watched it. Anyway, it was released in 1982 and here’s a brief synopsis:

Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is a video game programmer who works for ENCOM. Rival programmer Dillinger plagiarizes Flynn’s games then locks Flynn out of the system. When Flynn tries to hack the system, he is sucked into it. He is able to redeem himself by participating successfully in digital games as gladiator Clu, with help from Tron/Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner).

I can see how this movie would have been considered cool in 1982, with it’s vivid colors and video game look. Of course, watching it now, it’s looks pretty hokey but I thought it was a clever idea.

Enter Tron Legacy, which picks up some 30 years later. Bridges and Boxleitner are back as Kevin Flynn and Alan Bradley. Kevin Flynn’s son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) tries to find his long-lost father (who has been in the game this whole time) and ends up being sucked into the game himself. Together, Sam and his father team up to fight their way through the digital world.

Tron Legacy is set for release on December 17, 2010. Prepare for some great special effects, 3-D, and sound! I will be posting much more information about the movie between now and release so stay tuned.

* Tron Legacy * Director: Joseph Kosinski * Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde,  Bruce Boxleitner * 2010 * Not Yet Rated * Soundtrack * Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller