TRON: Legacy (2010)

Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz

When I first saw a preview for the new TRON: Legacy, I was intrigued. The special effects looked amazing and the score seemed to be promising. In addition I knew it was Disney and based on their cult hit from the 80s, Tron. I had not seen the original, and still have not, yet I was very interested in this new rendition. Jeff Bridges is back as Kevin Flynn, the man who created the world of Tron while CEO at digital giant Encom. One day he goes missing, leaving his son by himself. The general consensus is that he ran away from his empire and his family, but one day, his son, twenty years later, discovers that this is not true. He falls into the same computer world that has held his father hostage for twenty years. And once he finds him, their mission is to escape.

The story of the film comes somewhat secondary and serves to move the film forward, but the story is still interesting and entertaining. We get the business associate of Flynn, the father-son dynamic, the fight against evil (Clu) as well as a sexy woman who represents perfection and good. The story flows nicely and is handled well by first time director Kosinski but where the film really pleases is the look and sound of it. As mentioned before there is uber sexy Olivia Wilde in the role of Quorra, but that isn’t even what I am talking about. The costume design, set design and special effects (basically the entire world created by the filmmakers, also known as ‘The Grid’) are top notch and a delight to feast the eyes upon. In addition the score, provided by world famous Daft Punk, suits the feel of the film so well and sounds so great, it seems to be a match made in heaven.

The best way to describe this film is cool. It is slick and cool. It is that simple. The filmmakers create a world separate from reality that makes the viewer want to experience it, like the best sci-fi films do. The acting wasn’t the best ever, even if Jeff Bridges was Jeff Bridges and Michael Sheen was deliciously over the top. The story was not the most original or groundbreaking. But at the end of the day the film was massively entertaining and something I loved watching. It is popcorn entertainment at its finest, which is exactly what most filmgoers are looking for.