TRON: LEGACY

Unfortunately, this is a sequel that really wasn’t worth the (very long) wait.

Visually noisy, dim and needlessly in 3D, TRON: Legacy is plagued by the same problem as the original – namely, the thinnest of stories disguised with lots of flashy effects.

This time around, rogue programming whiz and de-facto ENCOM prime shareholder Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) is the key user. His father, Kevin (Jeff Bridges), disappeared in the late-1980s, and a mysterious page sent to the elder Flynn’s one-time colleague, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner), sucks Sam into the now hugely evolved game grid.  There, he discovers his long-lost dad’s been living in exile while Kevin’s computer-generated (and über-creepy) doppelganger, Clu (a digitally rendered version of a young Jeff Bridges), has been ruling the cyberworld with a dictator-like fist. Clu wants to lead his army of “programs” into the real (human) world via a portal, and it’s up to Sam, Kevin and a naive-but-comely ally (Olivia Wilde) to thwart him.

Despite the fact that the plot is flimsy, it’s no less simple to explain. It’s a bit convoluted and, really, makes no sense. The screenplay is credited to no fewer than four writers and yet, between them, they still couldn’t manage to create something interesting and easy to understand. Ultimately, it’s best not to try to figure out the logistics while watching.

The film’s palette is mostly neon-on-black, with cityscapes and landscapes in various shades of grey, all of which make it equally hard to follow the action from a visual standpoint. During a number of battle or chase sequences, and there are many, I found myself squinting and struggling to figure out who was whom onscreen, and where they were (spatially) and, several times, what was happening.

The characters aren’t particularly compelling, either. Hedlund is a somewhat bland lead, and Bridges turns in another variation on what’s becoming his new signature role – haggard older guy who mumbles and probably smokes weed. And Wilde is fine, but really isn’t given much to do. The only exception, and probably the best thing in the entire movie, is Michael Sheen (channeling Alan Cumming) as the flamboyant, bleached-blonde club owner Castor. For the 15 or so minutes he’s onscreen, the movie suddenly comes alive in a fun, colorful way.

Ultimately, though, there isn’t much in TRON: Legacy for viewers to embrace. Sure, the special effects are neat, but once the wow factor wears off (about five minutes after Sam lands on the grid), all that’s left is a tediously long film with lot of dizzying sound and fury signifying... not much.