Tron: Legacy (2010)

I have always been a big fan of the original 'Tron', even with all its flaws. Maybe it's because I saw it when I was still pretty young, but that film left indelible images printed on my brain and even to this day, I can honestly just enjoy it. Therefore I was a little sceptical when Disney was going to make a sequel to 'Tron', almost 30 years later. When I first saw 'Tron: Legacy', I didn't really like it. However, after repeated viewings, it grew on me and I can now say without any hestitation that I like it.

Do I enjoy it as much as the first one? No. But is it a good film?

Well, that depends.

The story picks up where the original left off. Kevin Flynn is the CEO of Encom and is working on something big. But one day, he just disappears, leaving behind his son. Fast forward a couple of years and Sam Flynn is now the reluctant 27-year old boss of Encom, even though he has little to do there and just comes by once a year to mess with the moneygrabbing board of directors. He freely uploads their latest flagship operating system, even though they wanted to make big bucks and it wasn't actually an improvement over the previous one.

A jab at Microsoft? What do you mean?

But soon Sam receives a message from his father and in his dad's old office, he gets sucked into the Grid. Not all is well in the kingdom though, as it has been formed into a fascist state by CLU, one of the programs his dad used to built the perfect system. Tron is seemingly missing and after a narrow escape from the games, Sam meets up with his dad and Quorra, a new artificial lifeform. Now they have to get back to the 'real' world and stop CLU in the process.

You see: storywise, there isn't a lot to take in. Neither was there in the original. To be frank, it's not the story you are here to see. It's the visuals. Where the original 'Tron' was impressive on a technical level with the first ever computer generated graphics, this one is a lot more sleek and less colourful, but my oh my: how it looks gorgeous. Seriously, every shot is eyecandy. It is more than a cool upgrade, now it all actually feels alive in the digital realm, even though that might seem contradictory. Full marks for design, absolutely.

The acting isn't too bad either. Garrett Hedlund does a good job as Sam and Olivia Wilde already has that sort of otherworldy look that fits with her portrayal as Quorra. Jeff Bridges is always great, even though he does tend to channel his Dude-persona a little too much at times here. The brash young programmer has left the building and is replaced by something I can only describe as a sort of hippie/yogamaster. It works because it's Bridges, but it does feel a little disjointed at times.

What also is bloody darn good, is the soundtrack. I've never been a fan of the work by Daft Punk, but they were made to create music to this. They keep away from their happy happy joy joy tunes and create a soundtrack that feels epic and gorgeous, yet fluid and pumping as well. Heck, I even bought the soundtrack (which I don't often do) because it's just thàt good. The visuals and the sound compliment each other immensely, a feat you don't see too often anymore.

The only downside to this film, is that its pacing is a little off. It starts pretty high octane, right up until the lightcycle race (because of course there is one) and then it grinds to an expositional halt when Sam finally meets his dad. I understand that a film has to have some different speeds, but here, the difference is jarring. But after that dead time, it does pick up again, fortunately.

To say that this is a film for everyone, would be a blatant lie. It is highly recommended for those that saw the original, as it feels like coming home. It's hard to judge how someone who has never seen the first would respond to this one. I assume there would be less enjoyment. Nevertheless, you can always admire the design and music.

Give it a try, even though I can't ensure you will enjoy it. It took me a while to appreciate this one more. I wouoldn't go as far as to say I now love it, but it grows on you.