Tron: Legacy: A Review

It's been a while since I reviewed the original, but here I am reviewing the sequel... and I must say I'm feeling pretty good. Tron: Legacy (2010) is very much a sequel, with more references to the former than Empire, but in many ways Legacy stands on its own in a way few sequels do. As a heads up most of the plot will be ignored due to the fact that there are several twists and turns, a lot of ins, a lot of outs, a lot of what have you.

To begin with: Yes, the movie is pretty. I won't spend a lot of time on this seeing as how anyone who has viewed a single trailer knows that this movie is a stunning piece of CGI. The world of Tron came to life in ways that the creators of the original probably only dreamed of, with bright lights and vivid imagery, allowing the Grid to become a world of it's own, not a sound stage with a lot of neon tubing.

Also a thing of beauty is the Daft Punk Score, as a newbie to Daft Punk I was really impressed with how they were able to mix the sound of classic video game music with new style to make probably the best soundtrack I've heard in years, frankly if Daft Punk doesn't win the Oscar, or at least gets nominated, then there is something wrong with the Oscars... well... that's a rant for another day.

Really, my only problem with this movie comes in with the Script, although when compared with the first they are on par, Legacy does what the first one doesn't... leave frayed ends. The Purge of the ISOs is touched on, but the ISOs themselves are mentioned for just a few scenes. I know Disney was gunning for a sequel to this sequel, but the way the ending doesn't show what Sam has done now that's he's back, or for that matter what happened to Tron after his lights changed back to blue, leaves the viewer with a sense of longing. Furthermore, the whole state of the Grid is in question, now that Flynn and Clu are gone, will there be some rebuilding? Will Sam rebuild The Grid? Who knows? The viewers don't, that's for sure.

Also, there was some dialogue that felt a little weird, falling under the Lucas Rule of "You can write it, but you can't read it." Though, there are few movies without an occasional snag in the script. I do appreciate all the Fan service that was done, I really do, but if you have time to include the Tanks passing in the background, then you should have time to polish the script enough to keep the ends of the strands in Ole Duder's Kevin Flynn's The Grid loose.

The acting is actually a lot better than I thought it would be. But, as could be expected, Bridges stole the show in his double role as both Flynn and Clu. What was probably the best CGI piece was "Young" Flynn, even though there were a few times that the CGI was very obvious. Also strong was Olivia Wilde, who oozed sex appeal, at the same time she seemed innocent and naive. Garrett Hedlund is very good, but he lacks the pure laid back charm of Bridges in the original, and even here.

For a sequel, you won't find much better. Plot snags aside Tron: Legacy is a very fun ride and well worth a trip to the cinema for a big screen viewing. For fans of the first... it's definitely been worth the wait.

Dr. Brooklyn says: LIKE this movie (8.75/10)