Disney’s “TRON: Legacy” is more visually arresting than it is entertaining

Jim Hill

14 years ago

28 years ago, the original "TRON" dazzled audiences with its cutting-edge visual effects. But then this ambitious Walt Disney Productions release kind of underwhelmed moviegoers when it came to story.

So does "TRON: Legacy" correct the sins of the past? Does this Joseph Kosinski film do a far better job of blending spectacle and story? Sort of.

Don't get me wrong. This new Walt Disney Pictures' 3D tentpole does feature dazzling visuals, some great action set pieces as well as two — count 'em, two — terrific performances by Jeff Bridges. But at 125 minutes in length, "TRON: Legacy" is a trifle on the long side. Especially given how dark & convoluted things sometimes get with Adam Horowitz & Edward Kitsis's screenplay. Which builds on the characters & the world that Steven Lisberger & Bonnie Macbird created. But — at the same time — doesn't rely so heavily on that 1982 film that someone coming in to see "TRON: Legacy" who hasn't seen the original "TRON" will then be hopelessly confused.

Speaking of which … "TRON: Legacy" 's prologue begins approximately seven years after the original "TRON" ended. Where Kevin Flynn (Bridges, who has been de-aged – a la "Benjamin Button" – via CG) is getting his son Sam (Owen Best) ready for bed and talking about of this miracle that has just occurred on the Grid. And as Kevin heads out the door for work that night, he promises to tell his son the rest of that tale the very next time that they get together.

The only problem is that Flynn doesn't come home the next morning. Or the morning after that. And as the weeks & months go by and Sam's Dad remains missing, his young son just gets angrier at being abandoned.

Now jump ahead 20 years or so. When Kevin's company – ENCOM – is being run in his absence by a greedy board of directors. Who now have to deal with the cyber-pranks that a now twenty-something Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) regularly pulls.

When Sam's latest stunt (which involves parachuting off of ENCOM Tower) ends with young Mr. Flynn being arrested, Kevin's old friend Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) drops by Sam's apartment. Not to chide this chronic underachiever, mind you. But – rather – to reveal to Sam that he's just received a page from Flynn's Arcade. From a phone number that's supposedly been disconnected for a decade or more.

So Sam hops on his Dad's old bike and zooms over to Flynn's Arcade. Where he then discovers Kevin's secret workshop. More importantly, the laser that blasted Flynn into cyber-space in the original "TRON." And before you can say "convenient plot device," Sam has been sucked into the Grid, picked up by a Recognizer and then sentenced to battle-to-the-death on the Game Grids.

And it's during this early part of "TRON: Legacy" (which is where the 3D kicks in, by the way) that this Joseph Kosinski film really delivers the goods. At least when it comes to what fans of the original "TRON" will be expecting. So we get seriously amped-up disc wars, multi-level light cycle races as well as a storyline that really builds on the mythology Lisberger & Co. introduced back in 1982.

But then the mysterious Quorra (Olivia Wilde) comes to Sam's rescue and whisks him off the Grid. Where (in "TRON: Legacy" 's most touching scene) this twenty-something is finally reunited with his long-missing, now-aged father. Who's been trapped in cyber-space for more than 20 years now thanks to the villainous Clu.

And given that the portal that allowed Sam to enter the Grid is due to close shortly, it's now a race against time to get Kevin's son back out to the real world. During which Sam has to figure out whether he can actually trust shady characters like Castor (Michael Sheen) as well as discover Quorra's secret.

Kosinski (working off of the story that Horowitz, Kitsis, Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal cooked up) keeps things moving along at a good clip. And it's honestly hard not to be impressed by "TRON: Legacy" 's epic scale and amazing effects. But when you get right down to it, this would-be franchise reboot still comes up short in the story department. Especially during the last third of this film (when Clu & Co. are pursuing Kevin, Sam and Quorra as they make their way to the portal). Which is when the narrative bogs down and "TRON: Legacy" becomes more visually arresting than it is entertaining.

That said, I still intend to go see "TRON: Legacy" at least one more time over the holiday season. If only to then see if this film's explanation of what became of Bruce Boxleitner's Tron character actually makes more sense the second time around. Especially if you're really paying attention.

Anyway … I know that there's an awful lot riding on this new Disney franchise film. What with that "TRON: Uprising" animated series which is due to debut on Disney XD in 2012, not to mention online games, proposed theme park attractions as well as the inevitable sequel. Which is why I genuinely wish that I could say that "TRON: Legacy" is a lot better than it actually is. But in spite of all the cool costumes and neat production design, this new Walt Disney Pictures release never really sucks you in. In short, it's a movie that's easy to admire from a distance but kind of hard to embrace emotionally. Which (ironically enough) is the exact same problem that many moviegoers had with the original "TRON."

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