Greetings, programs!

Beyond the glitz and style of Tron: Legacy is a story which is about finding one’s purpose and inner peace among the chaos of the world — whichever world you inhabit. I suppose it’s not surprising that some people will be so dazzled by the light show that they might distracted from heeding the film’s message. But make no mistake, this is not simply a cold, hollow, shell of a movie. It has a heart and soul and is well-worth watching. Of course, Tron: Legacy is not a perfect film. The pacing is surprisingly slow and methodical — mechanical, even — and the performances are stiff and uncharismatic — robotic, even. Still, this film is plenty fun to watch, makes purposeful use of the ridiculous 3D effect, and has meaning for viewers to consider. Ultimately, it’s a bit like its central character Flynn: good, if somewhat flawed.

Tron: Legacy is surprisingly reliant upon its predecessor, 1982’s Tron. There are more than throwaway references (songs by Journey, Dillinger’s son, comments like “Now that’s a big door.”). Kevin Flynn remains a central character, as do new incarnations of the characters of the security program TRON and Flynn’s alter-ego, CLU. Flynn’s history within the computer world is also prominent. I think the film does a solid job of filling in enough details to allow Legacy to stand on its own, but a prior viewing of the 1982 film would help audiences more fully understand and appreciate precisely what’s at stake, and just how special Flynn’s “miraculous” discovery actually is.

What Flynn discovers within The Grid — the world he created with TRON and CLU — is nothing short of a new kind of life, something that he believes will change the world forever. The problem, though, is CLU who Flynn tasked with creating a “perfect” world. This creates the central conflict of the film. Life itself is far from perfect and the pursuit of perfection can literally exterminate life. The answer, and the whole point to the film, Flynn ultimately learns, is that perfection can only be found within imperfection — life is messy, but the messiness is what makes life worth living. At one point, Flynn describes it “like jazz, man” — organic chaos that still can be creative and meaningful. It’s a surprisingly deep and meaningful message for a film whose strengths rely on design and visual effects. Objectively speaking, there are likely more accessible vehicles for exploring such a theme. But to the film’s credit, it builds its story world on strong thematic foundation.

The problem for Legacy, though, is that it unfolds at an overly leaden pace. It’s one thing to be purposeful — it’s another to allow long stretches of inaction to populate a film. One of the issues is a less-than-balanced approach. The slow pace of the story is occasionally punctuated by frenetic action sequence of dazzling visual brilliance. But the juxtaposition makes the slow scenes seem all that much slower by contrast. And so it’s possible that viewers might find their attentions wandering through the film’s middle paces (the dinner scene between father and son is just one example). Another issue is the acting. Jeff Bridges as Flynn (and CLU) is fantastic as a god-like figure. But his son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund) is painfully uncharismatic. Quorra (Olivia Wilde) spends large stretches of the story as a cipher before her true nature and value are revealed. She fares better than Sam, but because she’s marginalized for much of the film, her impact is lessened. The result is that when all three characters are together, events tend to move slowly and without a whole lot of palpable drama.

The real strength of the film, though, is its style. From the computer-generated visuals of The Grid, the deliberate (and meaningful) decisions on how and when to use 3D, to the fantastically conceived and presented musical score from Daft Punk, Tron: Legacy is a film that is meant to be experienced on a large scale — in theaters with digital surround sound. It’s a sensory feast, for sure. But to its credit, Legacy never seems to lose touch with what is important — Sam and Quorra reinforce this by way of their conversation about sunsets — that it’s our world, even with all of its flaws, that matters to us. Choosing to portray scenes in the “real” world in 2D reinforces the concept — the artificial visual gimmickry is saved for the simulated world. It’s a fascinating symbolic gesture.

(As an aside, the film’s deliberate decision to showcase the “real world” in 2D ironically reinforces the notion that 3D presentations are less “realistic” than 2D ones. And on a personal note, I doubt that I’ll go out of my way for another live-action 3D film. It works well enough for animation — Toy Story 3, for example — but it’s just not worth the effort and the extra money for an experience that is a constant reminder that the on-screen world is a fake).

Overall Grade: B

On the whole, Tron: Legacy is a good film, a classic in terms of its production, visuals, and attempt to craft a worthwhile tale. It has its flaws and it won’t be surprising to see critics latch on to them at the expense of the thematic and symbolic (almost mythic) underpinnings of the story. It’s part-creation myth, part hero-quest, part tragedy. Flynn’s final resolution with CLU is poetic and fitting — as is the “afterlife” experienced by Sam and Quorra. It is certainly worth seeing.

End of Line.

Topics: Film Review, Sci-Fi
Filed under: Film

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