Tron: Legacy
And seriously, who would want a Tron sequel to make sense in the first place? Who wants to make sense out of a movie where a maverick software programmer and corporate CEO becomes trapped in a computer world ruled with an iron fist by a program created by him, who also looks like him, only to have the programmer's now-adult son also get trapped in the computer world, reunite and team up with long-lost dad (who by this point looks like a cross between a Jedi Knight and an aging New Age guru) to battle the evil program who is bent on dominating not only the computer world, but the real world as well? Not me, that's for sure. I came for the elaborate effects, the even more elaborately staged action sequences, and to revisit that wonderful digital world the original film introduced us to 28 years ago. And damn, if the movie does not deliver on those counts. As an added bonus, we get a music score by recording artist duo, Daft Punk, that ranks alongside Trent Reznor's score for The Social Network as one of the year's best.
But perhaps I should elaborate on that plot before I get too far ahead of myself. The story kicks off in 1989, where the hero of the last film, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is telling bedtime stories to his young son about a world that exists within the computer called The Grid. Before he leaves his son, he hints that he has come upon something miraculous within this other world, something that could "change everything". The kid never did find out what his dad was talking about, as after he left home that night, Kevin Flynn seemingly vanished, and has never been heard from again. Flash forward 20 years, later, and Kevin's now-adult son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), is a rebellious bike-rider with a passion for stunts, and fights to keep his father's computer company free of the greedy corporate heads who now run it, and want to charge people for software and programs that Kevin intended to be free to the public.
The disappearance of his father still haunts Sam, so you can't blame him for being intrigued when Kevin's old friend and business partner, Alan (Bruce Boxleitner) approaches him one night, and tells him he's received a mysterious message on his pager, supposedly from Kevin himself, and that the source of the message is from the old abandoned video arcade that Kevin used to own. Sam pays a visit to the arcade, uncovers the secret tunnel leading to his father's office hidden underneath the building, and before you can say "plot contrivance", finds himself whisked off to virtual world of The Grid after punching a few buttons on a computer. The movie does not allow Sam much time to be awed by his stumbling upon a whole other world. I think he says something along the lines of, "it really does exist", but that's about it. Since he doesn't get to display any wonder at his discovery, I'll do it for him - The world of The Grid is beautifully rendered, a wonder to look at, and builds upon the look of the first film, while appropriately updating and souping things up when needed. (Those light cycles the characters drive around in the first film look downright primitive compared to the ones we get here.)
It does not take Sam long to realize that the world of The Grid is under the oppressive control of a tyrant - a tyrant who just happens to look exactly like his father did 20 years ago. This is Clu, a program Kevin Flynn created in his own image who was supposed to look after The Grid whenever Kevin was away in the real world. So, Bridges is playing a dual role, as both this world's savior and tyrant. It's a neat idea, but what makes it even better is how the special effects artists have digitally made Bridges' face look younger for both the flashback that opens the film, and whenever he appears on the screen as Clu. The effect is surprisingly convincing. Sam does eventually find his real father (who is now a white-haired bearded recluse) living in exile in the virtual world, as Clu has gone rogue and trapped him here, hoping to obtain his secrets in order to open a gate that can connect The Grid with Earth, so he can conquer both worlds.
As you can tell, Tron: Legacy possesses a plot that defies logic and explanation. We're not supposed to ask questions like, how has Kevin Flynn managed to find food and water to sustain him all this time in a virtual world? And since I'm assuming that computer programs (who make up the population of this world) have no need to create or dispose of waste, what has he been doing the past 20 years whenever nature called? All we need to know is that the warp gate that brought Sam into this world will close in eight hours, and our heroes have to get to it if they want to return home. They're joined in their mission by the lovely Quorra (Olivia Wilde), who has been a student and surrogate daughter to Kevin all these years trapped in cyberspace. The movie hints at a possible romantic connection between Sam and Quorra, which raises way too many questions that I don't have the time or space to go into. But hey, digital woman or not, Quorra looks like Olivia Wilde, so we can at least see the attraction.
Fortunately for this movie, everything moves too fast for you to apply logic too long. It constantly seems to be in a hurry, though in a good way. It's fast-paced, but it's not chaotic. I liked how the action sequences seemed to have a certain freedom to them. They defy gravity, they leap off walls, and they have lots of little weapons built into their body suits that make the fight scenes fun to watch. Sure, it'd be nice if the plot was more accessible, and the characters had more personality, but isn't there something to be said for spectacle? If you want intelligent, thought-provoking sci-fi, you won't find it here. This is popcorn entertainment, something that's possibly even harder to create successfully than an intelligent work. Sure, it's easy to be goofy and dumb. It's a lot harder to be goofy, dumb, and entertaining.
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