Tron: Legacy Review

Tron: Legacy

2010

Tron: Legacy is the long-awaited sequel to the nerdiest cult classic of the 1980’s: Tron. I was a big fan of the original, particularly because of how videogame-esque it was. However, I always felt it was an imperfect film, and couldn’t help but dream of someday seeing a superior remake or sequel. Thus, I was very excited at the prospect of a new Tron. Legacy takes place twenty-eight years after the original (the same amount of time between the films' releases), where Flynn's son has to venture back into the digital world to rescue his father. Unfortunately, Legacy not only fails to improve upon the flaws of the original; it fails to live up to it.

Watching Legacy made me feel all guilty and awful, like I was cheating on Tron, and that I should immediately run home and reconcile with it while I still could. The second film made me realize how good the first one really was. Just because a film has its flaws doesn’t mean you can’t love it. The new digital world was too different from the old. It lacked both the magical unrealism and clever metaphors of the original. The new weapons and vehicles were instantly forgettable. The new Light Cycles scenes were actually boring. The frisbee discs (my favorite thing about the first film) were barely used here -- Luke used his lightsaber more in A New Hope! The one kick I got was seeing The Big Door again. But where was the ring-ball mini-game? And the Grid-Bugs? And the Bits? And the final boss battle?! One gets the impression the film was not created by the same hands who crafted the original, but rather a sinister emposter dangling familiar images with one hand while his other picks your pocket.

The videogamey film actually represents a contemporary trend in both the film and videogame industries: upgrading the graphics while downgrading everything else. Maybe that’s all audiences/gamers care about anymore. Personally, I don’t care how fancy the special effects are if the writing sucks. I actually missed the oldschool 80’s CG of the first film, which better fit the concept of retro video games. The screenwriting in Legacy is particularly dreadful. If you thought the original was cheesy, you’re about to be outbid. Legacy's script is full of those easy, go-to lines like “It is our destiny!" and the obligatory “Nooo” scene. The new hero is too dull to root for. I saw the film half an hour ago and I already forget what he looked like. The new villain was even worse. Instead of the awesome Dillinger/Sark/MCP trio of the first film, the badguy here is nothing but a younger, CG makeover of Jeff Bridges (as his Clu program from the first film gone haywire). Even the cool techno soundtrack from Daft Punk didn’t come close to the stellar awesomeness of the original’s epic score.

The one compliment I have of Legacy is that it corrected a minor flaw of the original: at least in the new one, all the characters’ Light Cycle bikes matched the color of their uniforms. Man, that was confusing in the first film when all the good guys (wearing blue uniforms) turned into yellow, orange and red bikes, while the bad guys (wearing red uniforms) turned into blue bikes. Unfortunately, the new Light Cycles sequence paled in comparison to the original. It was so poorly shot/animated/whatever, I couldn't even tell they were trying to cut eachother off with their jet walls! But by far, my least favorite thing about Legacy: they actually reference the first Tron as if it were a real movie within this movie. There's even a poster for it in the background! What were they thinking?! Can you imagine if there was an Empire Strikes Back poster in Return of the Jedi?!

My final verdict: if you liked the first film, you will not like the second. And vice versa. I know I reference Star Wars a lot, but this was like The Phantom Menace for me. I went in skipping and came out sulking. The two Tron films feel nothing alike. While the original felt more geared toward philosophers, artists, geeks, hackers and fans of retro videogames, the new one seems better suited for stoned teenagers who just want to see glow-in-the-dark motorcycles explode. 1.5/5 stars.

My review of the original Tron.