Tron: Legacy
Rating: 5/5
By: Nathaniel Simpson
Tron: Legacy is a very important film to me. As a young boy, going to see this movie for the first time in theaters, it truly opened my eyes to the art form of cinema and made me interested in film and filmmaking. Even today, the scene where Sam evolves from a young boy on his bicycle to Garrett Hedlund speeding on his motorcycle gives me goosebumps and sends chills down my spine. Upon rewatching this movie ahead of the release of Tron: Ares, this movie easily holds up so well, with such a fun and exciting setting and action sequences, a moving story with great character development between father and son, and absolutely stunning visuals.
The movie is centered around Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), who is the son of iconic computer programmer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), the protagonist of the original film who went inside the Tron video game and helped fight for the users. However, when Kevin suddenly disappears when Sam is young, Sam is forced to grow up without a father, causing mayhem at his dad's company as he doesn't agree with the direction they are taking.
However, when Kevin's long-time friend Alan (Bruce Boxleitner) gets a page from Kevin's old arcade decades after his disappearance, he tells Sam that there may be something there. What Sam doesn't expect is to be sucked into the Grid, which is now facing a massive genocide by Kevin's computer-generated alter-ego, Clu. Not only does Sam encounter his dad for the first time after many years, but he must figure out how to stop Clu and restore order to the Grid.
Perhaps the absolute best thing about this film is the vibe it brings. This movie is a combination of absolutely stunning visuals, high-octane action sequences which will then go on to influence director Joseph Kosinski's future films, an amazing soundtrack from Daft Punk, and fun performances from the entire cast. This is practically the Star Wars of films that take place in a digital world.
Let's start off with the obvious here - the visuals and the way they are able to use CGI to fully bring the characters and audience into this world are incredible. In a world of cinema where it seems like almost every huge blockbuster uses a copious amount of CGI in their films, this movie simply feels like it was made with heart and soul. This is a byproduct of its time, a movie where the CGI animators simply put everything they had into crafting the digital world of the Grid, and it is obvious the dedication it took here. From the world-building to the amazing aircrafts to the beautifully-designed suits the Programs wear to the awesome light-cycles and identity discs, this movie just pops off the screen and is so incredibly inspiring to watch.
To accompany this beautiful landscape, Daft Punk crafts one of the best scores in cinema history, an edm-heavy soundtrack from two of the best electronic musicians at the time. The score fits perfectly inside of this world, and compliments the story and the tone this movie sets so well. From mediocre songs like "Son of Flynn" to bass-heavy electronic songs like "Derezzed", Daft Punk simply does an amazing job of knowing how to make music for this electronic world that Kevin Flynn created in the first Tron film.
When looking at the movies Kosinski made after this film, such as Top Gun: Maverick and F1, you can find the influence from the action scenes here in his work. The action sequences are beautifully choreographed and do a fantastic job of keeping you on the edge of your seat. Kosinski really takes care in making this film pop off the screen, and his direction makes the movie flow so effortlessly with visuals and directing choices that are simply perfect for the direction this movie takes.
Screenwriters Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, who are known for the hit ABC show Once Upon a Time, write such a beautifully-written story that deals with an estranged father and son, and how that has affected them when they reunite again. Kevin and Sam Flynn's relationship (or lack thereof due to Kevin's disappearance) works so well, and it's intriguing to see how they touch on this relationship throughout the movie. I have seen this movie both before and after losing my dad, and the story works for me both times but in completely different ways. Where I once felt the sadness of his disappearance and then joy at them reuniting, it is now replaced with a certain sort of melancholy at the fact that they have been separated for so long, and how it is hard to reconnect with a figure like that due to how much they have missed. It's beautiful really, and just makes you appreciate this film so much more.
In terms of the performances here, Hedlund, Bridges, Boxleitner, Olivia Wilde as Quorra, and Michael Sheen as Zuse all do a fantastic job. There are some other fun performances sprinkled throughout here, but as our main leads and secondary characters, they all work so well. Not only are they great on their own, but they all have great chemistry, especially between Hedlund, Bridges, and Wilde. Their interactions and emotional, character-driven storytelling really adds much more depth to the screenplay.
This is easily one of my all-time favorite films, and I still feel the same way as I did when I was eight-years-old, watching this movie for the first time in theaters. When watching this movie again for this review, I was worried my own fond feelings for this film wouldn't hold up and I would notice more flaws and things I didn't like that I was blind to when I was younger. However, I should have known better to doubt my own feelings about this movie, and rewatching it made me feel like a giddy child once again.
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