TRON LEGACY

The original Tron is a dull memory. The giant clamshell VHS box on the shelf of the video store. We never rented it and I never saw it. Tron became a rumor, gossip about a visually groundbreaking yet silly film.

Plus, I always thought that was Mathew Modine gazing off into the digital distance on the cover.

At this year’s Comic Con the main film being pushed was Scott Pilgrim VS The World but on the sidelines sat Tron Legacy. An old steakhouse was turned into Flynn’s Arcade. We played games and were ushered through a corridor that lead to the End of Line Bar. To explain it back when I saw it I had to stumble for references for what the space looked liked but after seeing Tron Legacy I can tell you this, they recreated the End of the Line Bar in an empty warehouse. We were on the grid. This spectacle was a hidden gem.

A five minute trailer was show every few minutes, not one that gave away story but one that relayed tone and mood. In between viewings Daft Punk’s “End of The Line” boomed from hidden speakers. A full Tron suit was on display as were models of lightcycles and other Tron ephemera. A museum showcase for an unseen film. Clearly Disney felt this movie would be big and gave it the subtlest of shoves, giving the perspective audiences crumbs to follow.

I fell for the hype, or more accurately, I felt the hype.

I saw Tron Legacy in 2D after hearing that the 3D was pointless. From the other 3D films I’ve seen I’m not surprised. It was all I had hoped it would be. Visually stunning and moody. The Daft Punk score is amazing. The two biggest surprises were Garrett Hedlund as Sam Flynn and Olivia Wilde as Quorra.

Garrett Hedlund as the star was a bold move – an actor of really no esteem, just a regular working actor that turned out an excellent performance similar to Chris Pyne's James Kirk in Star Trek. Garrett Hedlund is a strong force on the screen and made an unbelievable scenario more human. He’s what Shia Lebouf wants to be, tries to be. Lebouf’s portrayal of Mutt in Indiana Jones was of an actor trying too hard to come off as rebellious and youthful. He still plays like a child actor pretending to be an adult and for some odd reason he keeps getting cast in ill fitting roles in giant films.

Olivia Wilde’s Quorra was charismatic and charming. Innocent and eager. Yes, it is the “hot girl” role but they didn’t turn her into an object of affection. I’ve only seen her in House where she is annoying, or more accurately her character is annoying, so I did not expect to find her enjoyable at all. She has a great moment in the end sequence, riding on Sam’s motorcycle, hair in the wind and eyes bright. You can’t see it but she’s smiling and she buries her face into the back of his jacket. This is not about young love, this is a character who has never seen the real world and is overjoyed.

I want to say I was disappointed in the film, but I’m still not sure that I was. It left a healthy amount of unanswered questions and the plot was held together by the thinnest of ideas. My main aggravation was that they idea of these programs on the grid was never explained. What do they do on the grid? None of them are seen acting as a program, they’re all shown as idle people wandering the streets or enjoying cocktails and blood sport.

There are police everywhere but we are never given a reason why any of the programs would be taken away for repurposing. How are they chosen?

Quorra is an ISO, a program that self created on the grid. So? What did Flynn plan on doing with the ISOs? What can he do with them? We are told that the ISOs are a big deal but never shown why. CLU slaughters them all because that’s what villains do.

All of the flaws in the film are the same as ones I see everyday in the scripts I read. It’s always surprising to see films like this that have to simplest of plot holes. Who read the script and thought, “This is perfect!”? I would love to know the logic behind not clarifying the world of Tron.

Truth is, I still enjoyed it. I take that back. I loved it. I’m going to track down the shooting script and give it a read. It would be interesting to see where it all came. Maybe the plot made sense and one point but was torn apart to make room for lightcycle fights, which isn’t entirely a bad thing.