Let me begin by saying that I have not watched the original TRON. Going into this movie, I have not an inkling as to what this movie is really about, i.e. the words Tron, Kevin Flynn, ENCOM, all do not make any sense to me. I only know that it had kick ass trailers and what promises to be an awesome soundtrack by Daft Punk (oh yeaaaahh).
And after I was done with the movie, I was ready to dive into watching the original.
TRON: Legacy is basically a passing-the-torch movie involving a father-and-son relationship (Jeff Bridges in a dark robe with glo (I will refer to the painfully cool light strips as 'glo' from now on) trimmings is remarkably reminiscent of Master Kenobi, bringing to mind another father-and-son scifi movie) and another ethical question for the digital age. Much like The Social Network, TRON: Legacy questions the good of allowing excessive digitalisation of our lives. And obviously, judging from the orange glo trims of the enemy, it's not. In this sense, the movie does not open your mind and moves you to have profound thoughts about what our increasingly digitalised lifestyle will amount to in the fast-approaching future, nor does the presentation of the dark, dystopian world of The Grid make you fear it, but TRON: Legacy raises shadows of those issues in a very, very stylish way.
Every frame is, pardon my juvenile self, just so cool. There's impressive glo-trimmed machinery (the lightcycle. is. AWESOME) everywhere you look, super cool glo outfits on various characters, and even Jeff Bridges' lair. The futuristic look of TRON: Legacy has been gotten right down pat. The action scenes are executed very stylishly as well; the disc fight (or is it war?) scene, as well as the Grid challenge are bound to go down as some of the coolest, slickest futuristic duels I've seen this year. Action-wise, you're in safe hands.
What of the characterisation? I thought the cast was solid, all the way from Jeff Bridges' multiple performances (they really, REALLY got his younger self rendered well) to Michael Sheen, who popped out of nowhere to give us a zany version of himself. Olivia Wilde was cute as the quirky but tough wide-eyed wonder Quorra.
But the real redeeming feature of the movie, besides the painful stylishness, is Daft Punk's soundtrack: a harmonious blend of 8-bit, orchestra, and electronica that will stay with you (in your iPod, that is) long after the movie's done. Combine that and the fast-moving glo trims and a furious disc fight and you're in techno-heaven.
And please do yourself a favour and get yourself a mini musicgasm courtesy of Daft Punk:
You're welcome.
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