Beginning of a Digital Epic Saga: TRON: Legacy Movie Review

Back from a very long hiatus on movie reviewing because for once I enjoyed sleeping, sleeping, sleeping and more sleeping. And now that I'm fully recharged, I'm back now to offer the last foreign film I saw last year which is Disney's TRON: Legacy.



TRON: Legacy is a film produced by Walt Disney and sequel to the 1982 Cult Classic. It tells the story of Sam Flynn's (Garrett Hedlund) life after the mysterious disappearance of his father and ENCOM International CEO, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges). After 20 years Sam's godfather, Allan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) visits him and informed him of an anonymous message sent from his father's arcade. Thinking that it could be related to his father's disappearance, Sam went to the "Flynn's Arcade" to check and discovered a hidden room just behind the TRON arcade machine. He found his father's computer and starts tinkering with it. But clueless of what will happen, Sam didn't know that after pressing the [Enter] button he will see a world that he only hears from his father's bedtime stories.

As much as many people are saying that the weak point of TRON: Legacy is its story, I on the other hand both agrees and disagrees. Agree because both TRON and TRON: Legacy has a poor storytelling. Though in Legacy it is slightly improved, I still find it very simple and rigid. But I also disagree because contrary to some people's believe, TRON: Legacy is not a simple movie but an underrated masterpiece that has infinite possibilities.

The actors did a quite fine job though I think the script didn't require intense acting. As Garrett Hedlund's first starring gig after TROY in 2004, I find his dramatic approach in this film is quite awkward and I think he must loosen a little bit and let the emotions flow especially that he is with Jeff Bridges on a scene.  I like how Olivia Wilde executed Quorra on screen.  She successfully embodied the persona of being a program.  She shows emotions in a different way than Users (humans) without being too robotic and artificial.  And probably she is one of the reasons (including the Sirens) why most guys decided to watch this film because she is damn hot on those costume.

The CGI is also a step up on the industry. Utilizing the same technology used in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner's young images are relived on the silver screen as they play Kevin Flynn's program CLU and Allan Bradley's program TRON as Digital doubles. It is good to see the actors back to their prime years and it adds the nostalgia of the first film plus the modern design of the new film. My only problem with it is it seems that the models are not that natural making CLU and TRON's faces still look artificial.

The redesigned TRON Universe is far more different than the 1982 film.  Before, the Grid has more colors and has a lighter color scheme.  In Legacy, the base color of almost all objects are black with accent of different dark colors (Brown, Blue, Red etc.).  Though there are some programs who wears lighter color schemes like Jem (Beau Garrett) and Castor (Michael Sheen), a dark toned spandex is still the standard suit for almost everyone in the Universe.  What is good about the approach is the use of Darker base costume enhances the effect of the neon lights which is a trademark element of the TRON franchise.  It is not too fancy but gives a slicker finish and techno feel.  I also love the updated versions of the well loved TRON Light Cycle.  Thank god for today's advance technology that the Light Cycle sequences are much better compared to before.

I'm not a fan of Electronic Music but the Soundtrack and Musical Score adds up to the energy and life of the film. French Duo, Daft Punk provides the film's track under the supervision of the composer Joseph Trapanese and Music Supervisor Jason Bentley. The resulting music is a lively repertoire of digital beat tracks that enhances the film's atmosphere that makes the lightcycle chases and light disc battles more engaging and riveting.

This movie is definitely and highly recommended to any one who enjoys a dose of sci-fi and action flick on the cinemas. Though the film itself is enjoyable because of its fight scenes and incredible CGI Light Cycle and Light Jet sequences, I suggest you see the first movie and understand the story (a little background check on the net will do) and find out how epic this film is. This is indeed a start of a saga and I will not be surprised if this movie will spawn tv series, animated shows and video games. Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Philippines, “TRON: Legacy” is still showing across the country in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and regular formats.