Movie Review: Tron Legacy

I have never watched the original Tron and frankly I’ve never been interested in the story so I figured this would be one of the movies I’d pass on and wait till it shows up on HBO next year. Unfortunately, my cousin talked me into it so I went anyway and surprise, surprise – I didn’t like it. Oh, and it was in 3D too so you can imagine my displeasure as I stumbled out of the cinema. I’m really starting to hate those damn glasses.

Anyways, Tron Legacy is the official sequel to the original cult classic of 30 years ago featuring cyber-people in the cyberspace of a game. I’ve read about the original movie’s plot and just the summary alone makes it out to be a more interesting story than that of its sequel. Legacy features the son of the original’s protagonist who has had to grow up without his father after he disappeared one night with even a clue of what might have happened to him only for a disconnected phone number of his to dial up a pager in the hands of his friend more than a decade later. The younger Flynn then discovers the world his father has been trapped inside of all these years and just why exactly he’s never ever been able to return. Now in the same predicament, he tries to get him and his father out of the Grid before the portal back to the real world closes.

While I was watching the movie, I just kept seeing ways where the plot could be more interesting and it bugs me that they decided to keep the story as plain as possible. I facepalmed when the absolutely FABULOUS Castor didn’t even bother try to take things into his own hands and mix things up after he got his hands on disc the big bad was after. That was a really huge waste of potential plot especially since they brought up the fact that there was a resistance in the Grid and with how bland Clu was as the main villain. That scene in the club looked like a great turning point for the story especially when the older Flynn came in showing off his cyberspace manipulation skills. Easily the best scene in the movie but they go and keep things so predictably dull that I took my time getting back from my toilet break.

Okay, aside from the lackluster plot there were also some very clumsy scenes, lines and characterization thrown in the movie. Sure the action scenes were pretty nice but the barely there at all 3D ruined it for me and I would have much preferred to see them make more panoramic takes of the Grid and have most of the action take place in the streets and towers instead of that aerial battle high up in the dark. What happened to that scene where a lightcycle fell from the top of a tower and rode down the sides of the walls? That may have been something from the game though but that was what I wanted to see, not a dogfight in the very foggy airs of cyberspace.

Basically it was one of those misguided attempts at 3D with plot that failed on both accounts. I was bored for a major portion of the movie and almost fell asleep at points. The sushi I snuck in helped keep me awake but that’s mainly because it’s hard to pick out which rolls you want to eat in the dark. My recommendation for this movie is just to pass it over for something more entertaining. I mean two straight hours of thinking “And this will happen, just like it always does” is clearly not worth the ticket fare, especially not the 3D ticket fare.

I’ve got another review set up for tomorrow. It’s a little late but I finally went to watch Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 at the cinema the day before I watched Tron Legacy. Glad I did too because the Mall Cineplex just opened up four new theatres. Though they might be smaller, they have very comfy chairs. And I cannot stress it too much when I say very comfy chairs. They even recline a bit and the ticket only cost half of Tron Legacy’s. I have to catch more movies in those new theatres.