Home » The Critic

THE CRITIC: TRON: Legacy Pure Futuristic Fun

by Erin Darling 10 December 2010 912 views One Comment E-mail Erin Darling

tron-legacy-poster

TRON: Legacy is the long awaited sequel to the granddaddy of nerd cult classic films, 1982’s Tron. While the original film was hailed for it’s technological advancements (that are, ironically, laughable by today’s standards) the modern rendition will be praised for its visual spectacle complete with neon lights and electronic music provided by Daft Punk…all you need is an ecstasy pill and you’ll be happier than an underage hipster at a rave.

TRON: Legacy is a futuristic fantasy that brings you to a whole new digital world. But like most visual spectacles that precede it, TRON’s grandiosity on the big screen doesn’t necessarily translate into an impressive story line..

The film begins in 1989 where Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), CEO of software juggernaut ENCOM, gets sucked into a digital mainframe leaving behind his bewildered family. Fast forward 20 years into the future and Kevin’s son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), is now the biggest shareholder of ENCOM although he wants little to do with the company. Sam is by far the most interesting yet perplexing character in the film. He’s a good-looking, clean shaven 27-year-old fellow with a rebellious side who rides around on a Ducati. He looks like the type of guy you would want to take you home until he tells you he’s basically a vagrant who resides in a shack under a bridge. Yes, under a bridge. Only in the magical world of Disney would a man teetering on the verge of homelessness be this hot.

After a family friend gives Sam the keys to Flynn’s Arcade, he finds his father’s abandoned workshop and gets accidentally sucked into the digital world that claimed Kevin Flynn two decades earlier. The rest of the film consists of Sam’s reunion with his father, dodging enemies, encounters with non humans, and trying to find a way to get back home before time runs out. The plot isn’t revolutionary or surprising, but considering the fact that people don’t go to a movie like this to appreciate an Oscar worthy screenplay, I don’t it will keep the masses away from seeing TRON: Legacy in the theaters. People will like this film because it’s undeniable, good clean fun. Simply put, it’s 125 minutes of watching a good cast (two Jeff Bridges are better than one) suspend your reality in an adventure flick that’s a testament to how far our technology has advanced since the prequel. Visually speaking, it’s a film that was made to be seen on the big screen, in 3-D and on an IMAX screen if possible.

One of the most talked about elements of this film is the music. French electronic music duo Daft Punk immersed themselves in creating the score for the film for two years, and it shows. They succeeded in creating a futuristic yet subtle sound-scape for the film featuring an 85-piece orchestra and signature electronic elements. Although it’s Daft Punk’s first experiment in scoring a film, I have a feeling it won’t be their last.

TRON: Legacy is accessible to a wide audience who are looking for entertainment at the theaters this holiday season. It’s a film almost anyone can enjoy, it’s well made, it’s exciting, and it even has a few comedic moments (my personal favorite being a nerdy Wi-Fi joke). TRON: Legacy is definitely a must-see that you won’t want to miss on the big screen.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading ... Loading ...

One Comment »

  • Trixie Mixie said:

    TRON was so great, loved the review!

Leave your response!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.