TRON Legacy

Director: Joseph Kosinski
Writer: Adam Horowitz/Edward Kitsis/Brian Klugman/Lee Sternthal 
Producer: Sean Bailey/Jeffrey Silver/Steven Lisberger 
Starring: Jeff Bridges/Garrett Hedlund/Olivia Wilde/Michael Sheen/James Frain 
Year: 2010
Country: US
BBFC Certification: PG
Duration: 127 minutes

A few weeks ago, I had reviewed TRON, the first movie which was made in the eighties, and I had given it a good score of seven out of ten for it’s brilliant use of special effects and CGI and a decent story. TRON Legacy isn’t any different from TRON at all except for the plot. Kevin Flynn disappeared 25 years ago into a virtual world of computer games. Skilled in the world of technology and picking up a signal from his father, Sam enters the world his father created to see if he can use his skills to help him escape. However, he meets Kevin’s creation who has turned evil and he doesn’t want to let Kevin leave the virtual world. Just like TRON, the first thing people will notice about TRON Legacy is the dazzling and beautiful special effects that are used. There’s no denying that a lot of effort has been put into the marvellous CGI and stunts to make the movie look spectacular, however the same can not be said about the story. Although the story is entertaining at times, it was predictable and quite slow. The first half of the movie was good and entertaining but the second half felt like it was dragging sometimes but, just like TRON, it picked up in the last fifteen to twenty minutes.

TRON Legacy’s characters weren’t exactly memorable either as there was hardly any character development or likeability about them and you didn’t care what happened to them. It was only until the last half an hour that you started to care for the trio as they try their best to escape the virtual world and, admittedly, the last scene in the virtual world is mind-blowing and well done. The acting in TRON Legacy is okay but there’s no award-winning performances here. Garrett Hedlund played the rebellious son of Kevin, Sam Flynn, quite well but there were a couple of times when his acting was a little off. Olivia Wilde was good as Quorra and her character was believable and was possibly the best out of the whole cast along with Jeff Bridges, who gave out a very charismatic performance as both good guy Kevin Flynn and bad guy Clu. The writing isn’t something that’s memorable and the script isn’t so great either but it does the job in entertaining the audience.

The movie might disappoint people with its average story but it makes up for it with some fantastic special effects and some brilliantly-made scenes involving light-cycle matches and fights. The virtual world itself is simply amazing and very detailed along with a younger, CGI version of Jeff Bridges as the evil Clu, who looked very realistic. The soundtrack for the movie was simply brilliant as Daft Punk creates the music and really adds more depth to the scenes in the movie.It’s just a shame that TRON Legacy felt like the creators paid more attention to the special effects rather than the story and the characters. Having said that, TRON Legacy is something that is not to be taken seriously and is more or less based on looks rather than story. The look of TRON Legacy is superb and so, the movie succeeds in style. There’s no doubt that this is a worthy sequel and is something that is a feast for the eyes. If you’re looking for a great story then look elsewhere but if you want to see a fun movie that will entertain you with stunts and special effects, then I suggest you watch this.

7/10