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MY RATING: 8.2

Tron Legacy (2010)

DIRECTED BY: Joseph Kosinski

STARRING: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Sam Flynn is drawn into the world of Tron, to find his long lost father.

PROS: Amazing visuals; Intriguing story concept; An exciting return of the franchise; Great soundtrack.

CONS: The ending totally ruins everything.

BOTTOM LINE: While it is a powerful reboot of franchise, Tron Legacy does not end with the same genius as the rest of the film.

What sci-fi geek was not excited to see Tron: Legacy? This is the first sequel to follow a cult favorite, and nearly 30 years later! Needless to say I was excited to see the film. As I sat in the theater I did not feel very disappointed. That is, until about the last half-hour. Then things just went down hill from there.

Sam Flynn is the son Kevin Flynn, the main character from the first Tron film. His father has been missing for years, but when Kevin's old friend Alan, receives a page from Kevin's old office, Sam becomes too curious to let it go. Subsequently, he is pulled into the world of Tron, otherwise known as The Grid, to search for his father. Things become complicated when he learns that his father has a digital clone, Clu, who has forced Sam's father into hiding, and who has plans to take over, not just the digital world, but the real world as well.

Tron: Legacy begins beautifully. The opening is exciting with stunning visuals, especially after Sam enters the Grid. The antagonism is well played with sufficiently villainous motives. The overall design of the world of Tron is exciting and modern, though still maintaining the spirit of the original 1982 film. Possibly the best aspect of the film is the soundtrack which is an appropriate blend of techo and orchestra. These aspects are pretty much constant throughout. The idea behind the story had me intrigued from the beginning and I honestly felt a desire to see how it all turned out.

SPOILER WARNING!

Unfortunately the ending of the film did not meet up to the standards that were promised throughout the film. It almost seemed as if the writers were rushed towards the end and couldn't think of anything really cool to use as an ending, so they took cheap shortcuts. The moment when Tron succumbs to the "You're better than this," speech is supremely disappointing. I expected somethings a lot cooler, involving an epic battle between Kevin and Tron ending in Kevin resetting Tron's program. The character of Kevin Flynn was dramatized as this creator who had almost supernatural powers, if you can call it that. But to be honest, we didn't really see much of that.

However, the ending did leave a few avenues open for a sequel, and I'm honestly glad that Quorra was able to go back with Sam. We don't get enough happy endings like that these days. So, bottom line, it was a decent film, not perfect, but good. If/When they make a sequel I will be just as excited to go see it.