The Grid. A digital frontier. I tried to picture clusters of information as they moved through the computer. What did they look like? Ships? motorcycles? Were the circuits like freeways? I kept dreaming of a world I thought I’d never see. And then, one day…I got in as Jason’s Movie Blog heads back to the digital world for a “cinematic flashback” review of 2010’s Tron: Legacy.
TRON: LEGACY
“The Game Has Changed!”
Director: Joesph Kosinski
Writer: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horwitz, and Brian Klugman
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, and Bruce Boxleitner
Run Time: 125 Minutes
Release Date: December 10th, 2007
Rated: PG-13
THE STORY
In 1989, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) disappeared, leaving behind a burgeoning company, a family and a promising future. No note, no message, no reason given. Twenty years later, his son, a tech wiz named Sam (Garrett Hedlund) learns his father didn’t simply walk out on him. As unbelievable as it seems, Flynn became trapped in a sprawling world of his own creation; a virtual realm ruled with an iron fist by his fallen angel avatar, Clu (also Bridges). But the young man doesn’t merely learn about his father’s digital world, he’s transported into it. Before he can get his bearings, Sam is forced to compete in a series of gladiator Grid games to the delight of a bloodthirsty crowd of Programs who believe their creators, the Users, are little more than absentee slavers. Sam escapes with the help of an unexpected ally though, a naive but beautiful program named Quorra (Olivia Wilde) Following her into the Outlands, a region of undeveloped desert on the outskirts of the Grid, he reunites with his father, now an exile in hiding. Sam soon has to make a difficult choice: stay with his father or sneak into the heart of the city, uncover Clu’s true intentions and fight his way to the data-stream portal that links both worlds.
MY THOUGHTS
To me, Tron: Legacy has almost been criminally “underrated”. To be sure, I knew about the original 1982 Tron, but only saw bits and pieces of it (I think I remember seeing parts of way back when Disney Channel had “Disney After Dark” and showcased all of its old movies and TV programs. As I was interested in seeing Tron: Legacy in theaters, I actually didn’t get the chance to see during its theatrical release (I can’t remember why). So, I waited for its Blu-Ray, which did a combo pack with 2010 film as well as the original Tron. So, I finally got to see the original 1982 film. My thoughts on that feature were good. Yes, dated with 80s style of acting and filmmaking, but it was still visual stunning by the picture’s era release. I can definitely see why its considered a cult classic. As for 2010 sequel, I remember loving it. It had plenty of action and visual flair and did feel like a genuine continuation. Now, with Tron: Ares coming out soon, I decided to do a cinematic flashback for Tron: Legacy. I haven’t seeing this movie in many years, so let’s see if my recollection of this sci-fi action blockbuster is holds true.
Tron: Legacy was Joesph Kosinski’s directorial debut, who would eventually go on to direct other notable motion picture powerhouses such as Only the Brave, Top Gun: Maverick, and F1: The Movie. Before those great and memorable motion pictures, Kosinski did a fantastic job in bringing the concept of Tron to the modern times. Rather than trying to reinvent the ideas of what made 1982 a cult classic, Kosinski approaches the film as an actual (and proper) sequel, continuing the narrative that began years ago, but updating it appropriately for visual cues and storytelling. Having Flynn’s son as the main character is a smart idea and helps bridge the original feature with this sequel, following Sam on a journey into the digital “Grid” world with wonderment and excitement throughout. Of course, Kosinski makes the film’s sci-fi action sequences breath-taking to watch, with main staples of the Tron universe such as the Disc Wars and Lightcycles looking absolutely astounding to watch and far more energetic and thrilling to see compared to the original movie. Kosinski nails that the action scenes masterfully.
The story, while not perfect, still manages to drum up plenty to like, including the whole father / son dynamic being the beaten heart of the feature, focusing in one Kevin and Sam’s relationship, while also dealing with some philosophical themes like creator vs. creation identity, the search for perfection vs. the beauty of imperfection, and several religious and spiritual nuances / allegories. All of that, certainly makes the film’s world-building aspects poignant and interesting, evolving far more than what the original Tron was able to present.
For its presentation, Tron: Legacy still holds up incredibly well. Yes, there are moments where you can clearly see “blue / green” screen effects in the background, but (even by today’s standards) the visual CG renderings are breathtaking and exciting to watch. The whole creation and rendering of the entire digital world has so cool to see in the movie and the visual flair, motifs, and aspects are still just as jaw-dropping to watch, especially when compared to the 1982 film. Everyone on-board with the “behind the scenes” from art direction, set decorations, costume design, production designs, and all the computer artist did such an amazing job and should be praised for their efforts in making the film’s setting and visual appeal striking. Likewise, the cinematography by Claudio Miranda is slick and stylish, which definitely adds to the cinematic quality that this movie has to offer.
Naturally, I have to bring up the film’s score, which was completely done by French electronic music duo Daft Punk. It’s phenomenal. I wasn’t too sure that it would work back when it got released in 2010, but I was completely wrong. It works beautifully. The techno vibe and beats throughout with the blending of cinematic flourishes and 80s style synthesizers makes for a such a memorable soundtrack from beginning to end. Tracks like “The Grid”, “The Son of Flynn”, “Armory”, Rinzler”, “Derezzed”, “Disc Wars”, and “Flynn Lives” are some of my personal favorite. Truly, it’s no wonder why Tron: Legacy’s soundtrack is still talked about. It’s just that good.
The criticism I had for this movie were minor ones. The film was visually entertaining and engaging, but the plot, which I liked, did have parts that were a little bit bumpy and needed to be ironed out. Certain aspects and world-building ideas are presented, but not fully ironed out or expanded correctly (i.e. what do programs think of Users? Do they accept Clu’s rule out of fear or secretly wish to toppled him? The happens more in an out of The Grid? The character of Tron and his mental state of being?These are minor questions and nuances that could’ve been easily expanded upon for a better world building understanding. Likewise, the third act of the movie could’ve used a bit more punch to it. It definitely works and has plenty of visual action, but could’ve added a bit of extra “oomph” to make it more grandiose.
The cast in Tron: Legacy is pretty good and boast plenty of solid performances throughout the mainline characters. Garrett Hedlund (Troy and Country Strong) does a solid job as Sam Flynn, showcasing the reckless, carefree, and wayward young man fluidity, which makes a likeable protagonist easy to root for. The son searching for the father angle works well and, just as Sam journeys into this digital world, acts as our guide, learning everything alongside of him. Likewise, Olivia Wilde (House and Rush) does a good job in capturing the eagerness and capable personality of Quorra, a program that acts as an apprentice under Kevin Flynn and a somewhat love interest to Sam. She sort of acts as a “McGuffin” to the main plot in a few parts, but I did like Wilde as Quorra, especially when paired with Hedlund.
Actor Jeff Bridges did a great job in the movie, playing the dual characters of both Kevin Flynn, the original protagonist from Tron, and Clu, Kevin’s cloned program who acts as the main antagonist of the feature. Since he was the original main character in the first film, it feels like a generational continuity for the Tron franchise, switching into a more secondary main character, but still important to the main narrative. Bridges is great as Kevin Flynn, especially a more older and wiser iteration of his 1982 character, while his portrayal of Clu works well as a singular identity who has gone “off script” with his mission. The whole “uncanny valley” is a bit “off” at times whenever Clu is on-screen, but I definitely can see what they were trying to do with it as well as pioneering that visual effect.
The rest of the cast, including James Frain as Jarvis, Beau Garret as Gem, and Michael Sheen as Castor play fun roles in the movie as characters in The Grid’s digital world, while other smaller roles like Jeffery Nordling as Richard Mackay and Cillian Murphy as Edward Dilinger Jr. could’ve been easily expanded upon.
The legacy of Tron: Legacy has indeed been a meaningful one both for its own franchise as well as to the filmmaking world. The box office results were modest, but still came out on with $409 million worldwide against a production budget of $170 million. Another sequel was originally planned following Tron: Legacy, with Hedlund, Wilde, Bridges, and Kosinski set to return, but, as the years dragged into the mid-2010s, the idea was ultimately cancelled. Still, Disney, who did own the rights to the franchise and did provide a short-lived animated series titled Tron: Uprising, which acted as a prelude narrative to Tron: Legacy. I remember it being advertised a lot, but never watched it…sadly. Looking beyond, the cultural impact it served on the filmmaking community was also palpable, which drummed up the idea of revitalizing an old franchise for a new generation, along with nostalgia and fanbase, innovative 3-D special effects, CGI renderings for future blockbusters, including digital de-aging effect.
Overall, Tron: Legacy accomplished what it set out to do. A relaunched the sequel idea from the 1982’s cult classic with updated and enhance visual effects that outshine its predecessor by leaps and bounds. A stunning blockbuster endeavor that perfectly encapsulates the ideas and nuances that the original film wanted to achieve, but couldn’t do so during that time. The film acts as a proper sequel, expanding on the main protagonist from Tron as well as carrying it forward through Sam in this one. While the plot is a bit basic at times and some ideas are fully fleshed out, the movie still raises above that challenge and deliver an exciting and visually popping sci-fi action blockbuster that is bursting with flair, style, and nostalgia. It was fantastic to return to The Grid and such a fun long-awaited sequel. End of Line.
Cinematic Flashback Score: 4.4 Out 5
Fun Fact: The suits worn by the actors proved to be problematic on set. Every single one of them was fitted with a small lithium battery that powered the circuitry for the embedded light strips, but each battery only lasted 12 minutes. In order to maximize the output, the light strips had to be switched on right before each take and turned off immediately afterwards. The circuitries inside the suits were also very fragile, so the actors could not simply sit between takes but had to recline against upright boards.
Related