Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Tron: Legacy: 3D IMAX


Movie: Tron: Legacy: 3D IMAX
Cast:    Jeff Bridges (Kevin Flynn / Clu)
            Garrett Hedlund (Sam Flynn)
            Olivia Wilde (Quorra)
            Bruce Boxleitner (Alan Bradley / Tron)
            Michael Sheen (Castor / Zuse)
Genre: Sci-Fi
I saw it on: December 21, 2010
Synopsis: In this sequel to the 1982 Tron, we start with a flashback to 1989 with Kevin Flynn telling his son Sam a story before he leaves for work – never to return.  Back to the present.  ENCOM, founded by Kevin before he disappeared, is now the largest gaming/software company in the world.  Kevin’s son Sam is the largest shareholder in the company, but only shows up once a year. 

Kevin’s former partner, Alan Bradley, gets a page from Kevin’s old office in Flynn’s Arcade – vacant for 20 years.  Alan convinces Sam to meet him at the arcade.  Sam gets there first and finds the equipment his father used 20 years earlier.  He pushes some buttons and the next thing he knows is he has been sucked into the Grid.

Sam is immediately captured by Clu.  Clu is a renegade program written by Sam’s father.  Clu has taken over control of the Grid and is plotting to escape to the real world and taking control of it.  Sam is rescued by a friend of his father - Quorra.  Quorra takes Sam to reunite with his father.  The rest of the film follows Sam and his father as they try to defeat Clu and escape from the Grid and get back to our world.


My two cents: I kind of feel the same way I did about the original.  Fabulous special effects, but the basic premise takes a really big jump of faith.  The fighting and action sequences were great fun.  The IMAX speakers really enabled you to feel the action.  The 3D effects were also first rate.  Olivia Wilde was a nice addition to the cast.  Michael Sheen was unforgettable as Zuse – although I had to check the credits afterwards to figure out it was him.

If you liked the original, you are sure to like this one.  It is a little like Lost – you are going to get a headache if you spend too much time trying to make sense of this movie; you are better off just sitting back and enjoying the music and action.