Directed By: Joseph Kosinski

Written By: Adam Horowitz

Rated: PG

Genre: Sci-fi

Running Time: 127

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde

Soundtrack: Daft Punk

Well, it’s been thirty years now since the original Tron was released. And how things have changed. Back when the original Tron was released; geeks and nerds alike were but a small minority, and technology was both primitive and poorly understood. But despite it’s small nerds-only fanbase and incredibly dated and simplistic CGI, the original Tron has grown to be recognized as a classic.

Enter Tron: Legacy the recently released sequel to the 1982 classic. Bringing to the table a bigger budget, a more experienced Jeff Bridges, an original soundtrack by Daft Punk, and most importantly, the visual technology and polish that the original Tron sorely lacked.

But even with all these advantages, does Tron: Legacy live up to the expectations raised by it’s predecessor thirty years ago?

Let me begin with the visuals. The CGI, and furthermore the art direction in Tron: Legacy is absolutely stunning. They make Avatar look like it was designed in a garage on a laptop. And the neo-noir aesthetic is very well done, I haven’t seen it delivered this well since Sin City. Also, everything in the movie follows a very interesting art style. A style I have dubbed realistic unrealism.

Realistic unrealism relates to when an unrealistic object is given hyper-realistic qualities, and reacts realistically to it’s environment. Take for example the light-cycles, or the giant red dropships. These are all unrealistic things, they’re over the top, impossible, and cartoonish. But they are rendered incredibly well, react realistically to their environment, and have plausible looking moving parts and internal workings. And it is also truly beautiful to see a character ‘derezz’ into a mass of tiny cubes. I can tell that a lot of work was put into these iconic elements of the Tron universe. And in Legacy, they are brought, quite literally, to life.

I’d also like to mention that their attempt to make an almost entirely CGI rendered young version of Jeff Bridges to fill the role of CLU was admirable. I mean, he doesn’t look entirely realistic (it’s the eyes) but he doesn’t look silly, or even worse, eerie. They didn’t pull it off perfectly, but they certainly didn’t fail either, and it was no easy task to begin with.

The use of sound, the importance of which is usually underestimated, is also incredibly well done. It’s done in such a way that gives the various technologies in the movie a great amount of presence. I’ll bring up the example of the red dropships again, when they were around, the theater literally shook due to the frequency of the sound they produced.

And while I’m on the subject of sound, I couldn’t go this entire review without mentioning Daft Punk’s incredible original score, which the composed specifically for this movie. They have done a more than adequate job, delivering much more than I thought they would. In my opinon, Daft Punk have contributed more to the quality of this film than many others. I’d go as far as to say this is the best movie soundtrack since inception. The music itself is great, and it compliments the film perfectly.

Aside from this, Jeff Bridges gives his usual flawless performance, Garrett Hedlund brings some life into his role as the generic cookie-cutter movie hero that seems to be the industry standard these days, and the ridiculously attractive (it’s the eyes) Olivia Wilde does well in her supporting role.

The story is engaging, the acting is good, the spectacle is amazing, and the film keeps with it at all times an incredible atmosphere. It’s well done, and while it may not be a masterpiece, but it at least lives up to the hype, and it’s well worth your time.

-Reviewed by Jack Kelleher