TRON: Legacy Review

I saw TRON: Legacy Friday night. I saw it in 3D. I may try and see it again in IMAX.

As a sci-fi nerd, I was attracted to the neon-and-vector visual design. The effects coupled with the design delivered astonishing scenes. I also enjoyed Daft Punk's soundtrack, a mix of orchestral and electronic genres — I'm a sucker for nightclub fight scenes, which the film included.  Jeff Bridges was the most competent actor given the sparse material, and even teased a Dude-like persona out of both of his characters.

However dynamic and well-designed the Grid —the virtual world of TRON— is, there is a huge problem. It doesn't have a sense of purpose or wonder that a grand fictional world should have.

Even schlocky sci-fi action films —like Ultraviolet and the Appleseed series— create a purpose for their world and try to ask simple philosophical questions between the explosions and gunfire.

TRON: Legecy lays out a wide but shallow platform with which to generate discussion. There's no reason the Grid shouldn't have more depth with the time the film spent on exposition. 

 I'm not asking for something Disney hasn't done before; Think back to WALL-E.

The technology theme of the film didn't go much deeper than to ask "Doesn't this look cool?" This may either be production oversight or a deliberate reluctance to be "preachy" or to ask questions it cannot answer.

Nevertheless, It seems The Social Network —a drama delivered more actual technology than TRON: Legacy.

Overall, TRON: Legacy is fun, visually-stunning action movie. I just wouldn't call it science fiction.


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