Spotlight #13- TRON: Legacy

Sorry, guys. As much as I really wanted to this weekend, I haven't gotten the chance to see "the Hobbit" yet. Doubtless, a review will come at some point or another, but that left us with one week open in terms of a spotlight. So, just to keep this blog with some relative flow, we're going to talk about a Christmas gift we got all the way from 2010 and part of the reason everything post in December glows in a strange way. While it isn't everyone's movie, it is a great deal for TRON fans as well as blockbuster lovers. That's right, we're talking TRON: Legacy.

The film follows Sam Flynn, a wayward, tech-savvy renegade ever since his father, Kevin Flynn (played by Jeff Bridges) disappeared twenty years before. When Sam gets a message from his father's old arcade, he accidentally stumbles upon the Grid- his father's own personal universe. Things are not as they seem, though. This whole time, Kevin Flynn has been kept captive by his mirror-image CLU, who has turned the Grid into a totalitarian dystopia. As CLU's true intentions are revealed, Sam and his father are caught in a race to save not only their secret world, but our own as well.

Now, if I may, that description and that trailer left me wondering why this film didn't succeed too well in theaters, earning only two million more than its 170-million-dollar budget. In terms of visuals, that money was put in just about all the right places. Certainly, it must be one of the shiniest movies of all time, which says nothing about the creativity put into the action sequences. Impossible creations such as light-cycle races and disc-battles are brought to life with a rather high level of ingenuity and credibility. While it certainly helps that every scene is reinforced by a killer soundtrack by techno legends Daft Punk, it looks breathtaking and feels entirely unforgettable.

Don't let that think that there's nothing in this film for other moviegoers, though. After all, this film does star major hits Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner, reprising their roles from the previous TRON as Kevin Flynn and his close friend Alan Bradley. While bringing back the spirit of the 70's and 80's as they would do, they bring the script to life excellently and realistically. Kevin's relationship with his son, for example, is palpable, and we were interested in seeing it develop. With honorable mentions including Micheal Sheen and Olivia Wilde. I found myself constantly impressed with first-time director Joe Kosinski.

Once again, though, there were still a few details that could get in the way of many of the audience. One of the biggest complaints that went around was about a CG 'young' model of Jeff Bridges as CLU, claiming that he looked far too unnatural. (OF course, since he was supposed to be a computer program, this hardly ever got in the way for me, especially since it tied in to the themes of the film.) Less forgivable, though, was the dramatic plot-halt between the second act and the climax. Granted, there was enough to keep me interested until that, but there are a good twenty minutes simply of the main characters talking on a solar-sailor, starkly contrasting with the intense nature of everything that happened before it. It feels like it takes up much more of the plot than it really does, but it thankfully has quite a bit of action around it.

Once again, this isn't everybody's movie. Many will and have come out of it remembering how slow or shallow it was. While this is true at parts, it still has plenty of draws. With creative action, incredible visuals, great acting, and a score that can be labeled no less than fulfilling, I will say that this has had one of the biggest influences on my personal style. Sure, the look has gotten everywhere nowadays, but that's all the more reason we should look back on these films that kicked it off in the first place. So, in spite of everything that's pitting me to say "Rent it", I'll proudly say that I'm glad that I went to the store to...

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