It’s been months of anticipation leading up to my viewing last night of Tron: Legacy. I decided to opt for the late showing in 3D fully expecting a pack theater and probably immature and rowdy crowd. Instead, I had a subdued viewing audience and a theater that was mostly empty.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski and written by numerous folks the movie picks up 20 years after the original cult hit. It’s updated for a digital age, but at the same time doesn’t quite blow our minds with the possible, instead reveling on how integrated offline and online society has become. The movie hopes to be philosophical like the Matrix about the mixing of digital and physical but instead is a cheap knock-off of Star Wars.
Jeff Bridges picks up his role of Kevin Flynn and digital alter-ego of Clu using some technology in an attempt to de-age the actor. At times it works, but even Kosinkski says the scenes with the digitally enhanced Bridges were hit and miss. Garrett Hedlund plays Bridge’s son Sam who’s be adrift since his father’s disappearance and accidentally winds up in the same digital world. He’s not bad giving a head strong and at time skeptical performance but nothing blows me away. Olivia Wilde rounds up the main three characters and she plays a clueless program quite well. But lets be realistic she could stand on screen and do nothing and I’d be fine with her (so, so sexy).
In the second tier of characters, there’s few and far between but the great Michael Sheen is drastically underused and is given a pithy part instead of being the over the top showman he should have been.
The 3D was understated and really enhanced the film. Wasn’t it vital, but it added some depth (no I don’t mean it in a pun sort of way). Scenes were deeper but there wasn’t over the top “objects flying at you moments.” It’s used well, but not a main draw.
Overall the movie was entertaining. Not original at all and clearly an attempt to build a franchise for Disney, the movie is worth the $10, but soon after you’ll quickly forget what you watched.
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