I never saw the first Tron. I was a wee, little fella when the first flick came out in 1982. So, when I went to see this year's version, Tron Legacy, well...it was like picking up a great Martian novel and starting in the middle. You know that you very well might be witnessing something great, but you really don't understand much of it. So for me, the concept of the grid, programs, glowing bikes and suits, blah, blah, blah was an interesting, yet completely foreign concept. With that said, I picked up on the jest of the story and got locked into the grid fairly quickly. Although, what I presumed to be a great classic ended up belonging more in the 60-80 percent off bargain bin.
Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) lost his pappa when he was seven. His dad, Kevin (Jeff Bridges) just disappeared, leaving him the majority stakeholder of corporate giant EMCO. The latter tidbit is of little concern to Sam. Actually, he works harder to sabotage the plans of the tech giant rather than to contribute. He's still bummed about his long, gone daddy. A glimmer of hope emerges when his EMCO colleague gets a page from ole Kevin...yes, a mere 20 years after his disappearance. Sam investigates and finds himself in another dimension (a.k.a the grid) with a direct line to his dad. But alas, there's been trouble brewing on and within the grid for a while. Actually, Kevin's cohort, Clu initiated a coup with his own ideas of what the perfect grid would hold. With that, father and son unite to defeat the evil Clu and yadayadayada get Sam back his own dimension.
Hmm...I'll go with 2.5 Stars here--it was okay. The story flowed with a fluent pace. The effects were south of riveting, but okay. The world created on this "grid" was certainly interesting--both conceptually and visually. Overall, there is a lot to draw on. You've got the father-son dynamic. You've got some real Zen-like moments to ponder along with the whole good versus evil dynamic. There are a lot of positives to find. Although I'm a little curious as to why the fundamentalists don't jump up and down about this one, since there are so many Gnostic elements in play, but I digress. Bottom line: I had fairly low expectations and it was all that and less.
I thought this one would be worth seeing big, and in 3D no less, for the great effects. Not so much. The best two words to describe Tron Legacy in the grand ole multi-dimensional format: missed opportunity. Admittedly, I haven't seen a lot of flicks in 3D, but this movie could have had great 3D effects out the wazoo. Did it? Nope! There were no flying discs headed right at your noggin. No glowing airplane barely missing the ole kisser. Nothing spectacular at all when there were obvious and glaring opportunities.
Tron Legacy has enough going for it to rent, if you catch a sci-fi or f/x virus one weekend, but no need to go big here.
True...OUT!
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