Review: Unoriginal, but TRON: LEGACY is a fun ride

In 1982, TRON was released to theaters. It was renowned for its unusual story and groundbreaking visuals. Twenty eight years later, how does its successor stand up? Is this latest film worthy of the TRON: Legacy?

The plot is fairly generic. While not a rehash of the original, TRON: Legacy makes use of multiple plot points and concepts from the original TRON. TRON: Legacy revolves around Sam Flynn. Sam is the son of Kevin Flynn, protagonist of the original film. In 1989 Kevin Flynn disappears. Twenty years later, a message is received from Flynn’s arcade office. Sam investigates and is sucked into the world of The Grid. I will not elaborate further to spare spoiling the film for you.

While not Oscar worthy performances, the cast did a terrific job. Garret Hedlund delivers a solid performance as Sam Flynn. His Sam is quite different from Kevin Flynn in the original. Hedlund does good, but is not the most memorable character from the film.

Jeff Bridges is amazing as always. Bridges pulls double duty in this one, playing two roles. That of Kevin Flynn, and the villainous Clu. Bridges really seems to have fun with this role. The personalities of the two characters are quite different. Kevin is calm and meditative, while Clu is brash and violent.

Olivia Wilde gives an interesting performance as Quora. Quora is an unusual character. She has an almost infectious personality. She is energetic and enthusiastic to prove herself to Sam and Kevin. Wilde proves that she can handle a staring role.

Michael Sheen gives a deliciously hammy performance as the nightclub operator Castor. Castor is an over the top character that definitely leaves a lasting impression.

Bruce Boxleitner returns as Alan Bradley as well as the title character Tron. Boxleitner plays the role of father figure to Sam. Sadly, he is only on screen for a short time. It would have been nice to see him on screen a bit more.

The first film was renowned for its groundbreaking visuals. This film’s visual effects lives up to the legacy of the original. The Grid is breathtaking in its appearance. The visuals are top notch. They digitally de-aged Jeff Bridges for his role as Clu. The technique has been used to some extent before, but this is probably the best instance I have seen thus far.

The 3D in the film was adequate, but did not contribute much to the film. It also did not detract from the experience. It is a nice extra. The best scenes featuring the 3D would have to be the ones involving the Light Cycles. The 3D was also used to good effect to help show the massive scale of the Grid.

The soundtrack is excellent. Daft Punk contributes a very nice and enjoyable score. The score is really diverse and shows off the talents of Daft Punk. The music helps with the pacing of the film and really compliments the scenes. The pieces they created for Castor’s nightclub (in which Daft Punk has a cameo) were very well done, perfectly suiting the scene.

Overall, TRON: Legacy is a good follow up to the original. Is it as good as the original? No, sadly it is not. It does not have the since of originality that the original TRON did. Nor does it possess the original’s sense of wonder. This film is a worthy successor though. It pays homage to the original while branching off in a new direction. I recommend this film to anyone who loved the original.

Directed by: Joseph Kosinksi Written by: Adam Horowitz Edward Kitsis Starring: Jeff Bridges Garrett Hedlund Bruce Boxleitner Olivia Wilde Michael Sheen Studio: LivePlanet Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures Running Time: 127 Minutes Rated PG

Good (+) Great, enticing visuals that will captivate all audiences (+) Characters are realistic and performances are adequate (+) Daft Punk is Daft Punk. Great composition by the duo (-) Hedlund is adequate as Sam, but not a compelling lead (-) Plot is none too original (-) Can seem very cliché and uninspired a lot of the time