TRON: Legacy

I managed to drag myself to the theater opening weekend. That is an achievement considering how much I loathe crowds. The kids next to me were incredibly annoying. The teenage girl continuously checked for messaged on her radiantly bright phone while the younger boy kept kicking me. Yeah, hell really is other people.

The original Tron introduced many of us to the concept of a digital state of being, which even pre-dated ‘Neuromancer’, the seminal work of cyberpunk fiction by William Gibson (who is often credited as the father of cyberpunk fiction). It was nice that Disney didn’t trample my childhood memories of Tron. Although by today’s standards, the visual effects do from the original Tron do look a little silly.

Tron Legacy was very entertaining and visually stunning. I was actually surprised that Olivia Wilde wrapped in black plastic wasn’t heavily exploited in the marketing. I guess it is a Disney Film. Both Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett got amazing Tron visual wardrobe styles without being overly sexualized in “Disney Digital 3D”.

Jeff Bridges is fantastic as Kevin Flynn and his digital alter ego, Clu. As an aged Kevin Flynn, Bridges brings a little bit of the Dude to the digital frontier. As Clu, a sense of obsessive-compulsive focus. I was surprised (again) to learn that bridges played both roles. Whatever digital filter was used to make bridges resemble a younger version of himself was really rather creepy. Clu was also played by actor John Reardon, who served as a performance double for bridges.

My only complaint is the Michael Sheen character Castor (also secretly known as Zuse). I don’t have anything against Sheen. The character just reminded me of a freakish Alan Cuming version of Ziggy Stardust. Seriously. I don’t even know how Daft Punk can work for him.

If you didn’t catch tron Legacy this weekend, do try to make it to theaters for this one. Its worth the price of admission.

Originally Posted: December 19, 2010