Tron Legacy

“Tron Legacy” contains remarkable visuals, however the movie also had a plot that was hard to follow through the dazzling lights of the special effects.

Sam Flynn (Garret Hedlund) breaks into ENCOM International, the company his father Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) built before he mysteriously disappeared 20 years ago. Before the company gets the chance to unveil their new “secure” software Sam downloads the program on to the internet so people can get it for free as part of his annual practical joke on the board of directors.

Then Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) one of Kevin’s friends and partners receives a page from Kevin. He tells Sam to go investigate and reluctantly Sam goes to his Dad’s old arcade. He finds a secret tunnel that leads to his Dad’s office where he worked on “the grid”. Without knowing what he’s doing, Sam transports himself into the digital world of the grid.

From there the plot gets a little sketchy. When Sam realizes he’s in the grid he gets mistaken for a program and is the sent to the “games”. Audiences don’t really understand what’s going on, but then neither does the main character. Sam is then rescued by Quorra (Olivia Wilde) who takes him to his father.

Then it’s get really confusing for audiences to understand what’s going on. Audiences know that Clu (Jeff Bridges) who is the digital, un-aged, bad guy version of Kevin Flynn is trying to get a master key from Kevin.

Personally, it was very hard to follow. I was trying to figure out what they were doing and why? Why couldn’t they do it this way? Why is this thing so important? And what is that thing? Is this guy a bad guy or a good guy? Then ultimately, what is the goal of these characters?

Perhaps I didn’t follow the plot well because my understanding of computers, computer programs and “Tron” is basic at best. So maybe people who are more tech-savvy than I can easily keep up with the plot of “Tron Legacy”.

Fortunately “Tron Legacy” contained exciting visuals so even though the plot was muddled, the movie still grasped audience’s attention by the spectacular special effects. The contrast between the light and dark of the setting and costuming is truly beautiful. The sound of “Tron Legacy” was incredible, filling the theater and shaking the seats.

Another stand out was the 3-D which made viewers feel like they were in the grid as well. The vehicles and dress was creative and futuristic but with some similarity to the real world.

However the animation of Clu didn’t look that believable. At times he looked like he came out of a video game, which didn’t fit with the other characters that had better CGI.

The acting in “Tron Legacy” was alright and in a movie that mostly depends on visuals doesn’t need Oscar-winning acting. However, the actors still managed to keep their characters constant and delivered their lines with the right tone without falling too flat.

If you are the type of person that needs to understand the plot of a movie in order to enjoy it, don’t go see “Tron Legacy”. However, if you can enjoy a movie without needing to fully comprehend the plot and can be easily entertained by visuals, then you won’t have a problem. However, if you do plan on seeing “Tron Legacy” go in theaters to get the full experience of the amazing sights, sounds and 3-D but don’t expect anything more.