Mate you’re reaching the wrong way…
I can’t even remember if I saw the original 1982 Tron or if the various clips and spoofs make me think I did. So it is fair to say I was not geeking out when I heard it was being sequellised nearly three decades on. (I wouldn’t have even checked it out if I didn’t have some free Christmas movie passes to burn and a couple weeks off from work. There has been NOTHING released since November that was even a “Should-see” let alone a MUST!)
So I can’t categorically say that the brief exposition I will give below is totally “Spoiler-Free” as I am not sure what tidbits should be shocks or surprises after the first film. What I will say is that nothing in Tron: Legacy shocked or surprised me much, it was OK but sort of floated along… nothing POPPED or demanded my attention.
In 1989 Kevin Flynn and son Sam had a bit of a chat which culminated in plans for a Father/Son video game night the next evening.
Unfortunately the next day Sam’s Dad vanished into thin air, never to be seen again.
Until…
Present Day: One of Dad’s old buddies rocks up to now adult Sam’s bachelor pad to tell him a couple of things. The first is his rebellious antics and lack of responsibility aren’t doing him any favours in life. The second is that he got a message last night from his Dad’s office, which hadn’t been used in a couple of decades.
I would like to add that I personally am ecstatic that Sam did not grow up to be Shia Le Bouf, as nearly every “son of” or “protege” role in films in the last few years has been that unlikable dipshit.
So it’s off to the old arcade for Sam, where he boots up and old computer and as fast as you can say Ctrl-Alt-Del he’s on the “grid”, a computerised universe built by his Dad. I thought that was called the Matrix?
Sam is immediately detected and hered into a group of zany looking cats. It turns out that on the grid computer programs are given human form – real humans are called “users” and are rare – Sam is assigned to “Games” by some hot Matrix chicks in glowing suits.
Sam’s vroom vroom.
After the obligatory computer game sequence for Tron-Hards (I toyed with Mor(tr)ons but deemed it a little harsh) – there is also a bike race and a spaceship chase – where Sam very nearly dies a few times he is ushered into a control room where he meets… his Dad who hasn’t aged a day since he left! Sam tells Flynn “I got your message”, and Flynn says something to the effect of “yeah yeah I’m gonna treat you like I did your Dad”.
That’s right it wasn’t his real Dad but a program named Clu. A naughty program who wants to do ill to humankind. After the aforementioned spacebike chase Sam is rescued by Olivia Wilde where he finds… the real Kevin Flynn (it turns out that all the other Kevin Flynn’s were just imitating), so the real Kevin Flynn stands up!
On a side note Sam gets 2 Dads! And one loves video games!
Kevin Flynn dresses like Obi-Wan and talks like Bridges “It” character of the last decade or so The Dude, at one point he tells Sam “You’re messing wit my Zen thing Man!”
If this floats your boat line up for a ticket.
Kevin tells young Sam that he has been exiled and living alone as a bit of a Buddhist with Olivia Wilde for a couple decades – could do a lot worse. So by going off-grid, he has been trapped on the grid. Explain that without your pretty head exploding Will Hunting!
In between hippie speak Dad tells Sam that the only way to fix things and save the Earth involves getting to the “Portal”. As Kevin has the Masterkey he can’t risk going and allowing it to fall into Clu’s hands, but through his inaction he was resigned to never seeing Sam again. Given the unexpected reunion Kevin decides that rather than risk losing Sam in true Buddhist faction the “Best way of doing, is not doing”… or something like that.
But the movie can’t end with everyone staying pat and drinking herbal tea, so after some umming and aahing it’s back to the main Grid we go.
Back on the Grid Sam meets a “facilitator” who was obviously built on a late 70s David Bowie program template, and he learns that computer programs like techno music. (Who would have thought?)
The inevitable showdown between Bridges happens on… a bridge! And the movie ends.
That “Bridges” was supposed to be more a joke than a spoiler – in reality it wasn’t much of either – so don’t get your Boba Fett undies in a bunch fanboys.
The problem with Tron 2: Sam’s Awakening is that the story seems thin and underdone, in actuality the film was in development for many years before anticipation and potential market was deemed solid enough to proceed. To me it looked like the filmmakers had their checklist of bike/disc fight thing/spacecraft chase and cobbled a story around it. What’s left contains elements of Star Wars, The Matrix and a soundtrack heavily influenced by The Terminator, but without the Wow factor to intrigue and entertain casual viewers.
Bridges is fine as old and compu-Flynn, though as mentioned he is basically Obi-Dude, Garrett Hedland isn’t asked to do much aside from look puzzled and surprised in the second half and Olivia Wilde similarly is there to look pretty and alluring, and save and be saved along the way.
The two major money-shot scenes (bike and disc-thing) work well though and the visuals are suitably astounding, and with sweet FA else of worth currently screening if you must check out something currently in cinemas you this is worth a look. I’d wait for DVD (in retrospect).
Final Rating – 6.5 / 10. The expected stuff is there, cool backdrops and whiz bang compu-scenery, unfortunately the plot and action isn’t up to the task.
