The summer of 1982 was a big year for film with John Milius’ Conan the Barbarian, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, E.T. and Blade Runner all making waves and being much-discussed. Included in that lineup was a film from Disney called Tron, notable for being one of the first films to heavily use computer-generated imagery (CGI). Of all of these only one intrigued me enough to ask the question, “What happens next?” after viewing it and that was Tron. Over 28 years later I have finally gotten my answer and that is Tron: Legacy.
The beginning of the film does a great job of bridging the nearly 30 year gap between the two films, giving us the aftermath of the first film while setting up the central mystery of the second. Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) disappeared in 1989 leaving behind and orphaned son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund) and his computer company, ENCOM, to the hands of less reputable individuals. His good friend Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) is reduced to a consultant to ENCOM and can only watch as his friend’s company is exploited for money. In the present, Sam investigates a cryptic page supposedly from his father and ends up being digitized into the computer world. Once there, Sam learns that his father’s hacker program, Clu, has become a ruthless dictator and is in search of Flynn, who has been trapped in the digital realm for the last 21 years. Aided by Quorra (Olivia Wilde), Sam attempts to find the elder Flynn and get them both back to the real world.
There are a few things that I was disappointed with in this film and I’d like to address those first. There is a rich back-story that is revealed that I felt deserved its own film and would have liked to have seen even more fully fleshed out. I should note, however, the events leading up to Tron: Legacy were depicted in the Marvel Comics mini-series Tron: Betrayal. Also, there is a storyline with the character Tron that doesn’t really get resolved, in my opinion. Instead, it seems like a dangling thread held over for a possible third film. It should have been resolved in this film, however. Finally, a lot of the action, particularly with the game grid, happens in the first third of the film. While this echoes the first film and I personally don’t mind, I think this was a mistake on the part of the filmmakers. This is being marketed as an action film and today’s audiences expect excitement and awe every few seconds, so having so much of the computer action being front-loaded may turn off a lot of people.
I consider those all minor quibbles as I greatly enjoyed the entire film. Well-written and beautifully directed, Tron: Legacy has a lot going on and is the sequel I’ve been waiting for since 1982. There are some great nods to the first film (the recreation of Flynn’s Arcade, Dillinger’s son being a developer at ENCOM, and many more) and it is really terrific to see Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner as Flynn/Clu and Bradley/Tron, respectfully, once again. And complimenting the visuals perfectly is an outstanding soundtrack by Daft Punk. This will be a soundtrack you will want to seek out and own. Tron: Legacy picks up on the aftermath of the first film and expands and continues the story in new and interesting ways. Despite my misgivings about elements being leftover for another film, should this one be successful enough to warrant a third film, the fan-me won’t complain. Bring on Tron 3!
Pop Culture Zoo rates Tron: Legacy five bytes out of five. You should see it or be derezzed.
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