TRON: Legacy (2010)

The son of a virtual world designer goes looking for his father and ends up inside the digital world that his father designed. He meets his father's corrupted creation and a unique ally who was born inside the digital world.

Director:

Joseph Kosinski

Writers:

Edward Kitsis (screenplay), Adam Horowitz (screenplay),

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Kevin Flynn / Clu
Garrett Hedlund	...	Sam Flynn
Olivia Wilde	...	Quorra
Bruce Boxleitner	...	Alan Bradley / Tron
James Frain	...	Jarvis
Beau Garrett	...	Gem
Michael Sheen	...	Castor / Zuse
Anis Cheurfa	...	Rinzler
Serinda Swan	...	Siren #2
Yaya DaCosta	...	Siren #3
Elizabeth Mathis	...	Siren #4
Kis Yurij	...	Half Faced Man (as Yurij Kis)
Conrad Coates	...	Bartik
Daft Punk	...	Masked DJ's
Ron Selmour	...	Chattering Homeless Man

Storyline

Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn, looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 20 years. Along with Kevin's loyal confidant Quorra, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous. Meanwhile, the malevolent program CLU, who dominates the digital world, plans to invade the real world and will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.

---

Plot Keywords:

arcade | disappearance | escape | warrior | bridge | 

---

Taglines:

The only way to win is to survive.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site. Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 2010 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Tron - L'héritage

Filming Locations:

9543 Culver Blvd, Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$170,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,970,692 (UK) (17 December 2010)

Gross:

$172,051,787 (USA) (8 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Sean Bailey Productions, LivePlanet

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Zuse, the barkeep at the End of Line Club, is named after computer pioneer Konrad Zuse.

---

Goofs

Ducati Sportclassic Sport 1000 headlight cannot be turned off. Sam turned it off when he was being chased by the police motorcycle.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Kevin Flynn: The Grid. A digital frontier. I tried to picture clusters of information as they moved through the computer. What did they look like? Ships? motorcycles? Were the circuits like freeways? I kept dreaming of a world I thought I'd never see. And then, one day...
7 Year Old Sam Flynn: You got in.
Kevin Flynn: That's right, man. I got in.

---

Crazy Credits

The closing credits feature 3D computer circuits that pop-out of the screen.

---

Connections

Referenced in Disney Universe (2011)

---

Soundtracks

Separate Ways
Written by Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain
Performed by Journey
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment

User Reviews

A Nutshell Review: TRON: Legacy

There's a fairly coherent storyline here that would appeal across the spectrum, striking a fair balance between drama and action, although action junkies would have preferred for set action sequences given the investment in souping up and introducing a number of vehicles other than the light cycle.

Certain scenes stood out either as homage or influenced pieces, and perhaps you may disagree with me, but the nightclub scene with Gem the Siren (Beau Garrett) bringing our new protagonist Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges returns to once again play two roles, that of Kevin Flynn the founder of Encom and his digital creation / avatar Clu) to meet Castor (played by Michael Sheen with flamboyant spunk) an information broker in the undergrounds of the digital Grid world, seems to have contained a whiff out of The Matrix Revolutions, with Persephone and Merovingian. But of course the Wachowskis didn't have Daft Punk to turn the tables, and parallels between the Matrix and the Grid cannot be more prominent given entities within are programs, with the ones gone rogue instilled with a desire to cross over to the real world.

Then there's something unmistakably Star Wars about it too, with the designs of attack space crafts zipping through the night sky, and clearly one of the many gorgeous costumes here can't seem to hold a candle to what looked like an awesome robe, simple as it is, but striking nonetheless. Or how about something which reminds one of Gotham City's caped crusader, with the Tumbler inspired getaway vehicle with large inflatable tyres played out in a scene right out of Tim Burton's first Batman movie with the long road back to the secret hideout within which to seek out answers to questions left silent en route.

So I may be stretching it, but there will be certain degrees of familiarity you'll find in some moments of the story, but I assure you the crux of it is a film that has deeper pathos, dealing with man's relentless pursuit for perfection and utopia, and the desire to play god if given a chance. Creations made in the image of is quite pronounced in a scene that stood out almost like Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, although here it's interpreted in the digital realm. Humans aren't perfect, so our creations in all likelihood will inherit some of our flaws, no matter if they happen to be digital and following certain fixed patterns and constructs. It's what being human is all about with our imperfection. The dramatic elements here between Father and Son is the film's strength to provide that emotional anchor and attachment making this a digital affair with plenty of soul, and the chemistry shared between Jeff Bridges and Garrett Hedlund make them quite the father and son pair up, with shades of how revered the former is within his own created realm, and the tremendous power that he still holds even if in exile.

Olivia Wilde provides for the token fashionista who is ever ready to flex her battle prowess with skills in various weapons - a lethal combination of The Matrix's Trinity equipped with Star Wars blades - and vehicles, whose background is given a superficial twist which seeks to expand the TRON universe a little bit more with miracle phenomenon being a natural occurrence once a perfect equilibrium is achieved. Fans will get to learn and understand this expanded universe a lot more as explanations get dished out in due course, even one that deals with the time in between the first and second films, of Kevin Flynn's obsession with his latest playground that his creation ultimately took over, turning it into an arena with its own brand of gladiatorial fights for entertainment. But there's enough material introduced without being overwhelming for the new Grid entrant, and opens up a lot more avenues for future storytellers.

Even for those days, I wasn't one of those who got instantly impressed by the effects of the time, but then again that's what made TRON stand out based on its uniqueness in look. It was way ahead with combining live action with computer generated graphics, and in the same fashion, the filmmakers here had done an admirable job prepping this film up for 3D. 3D may be the latest Hollywood fad that got people jumping onto its bandwagon, but just as how computer graphics has to be inherent in the first TRON movie, the updates of the franchise has to keep up with the times, and in true reel mimicking real life, The Grid pops up in more than 2 dimensions, starting with the light cycle wars that include an additional dimension to consider, which makes for some thrilling action, both on or under the ground and in the air, rather than just becoming a mere special effect.

But I had to admit my personal hook line and sinker to watch this film, is the soundtrack by Daft Punk. It stands out most definitely throughout the film, and provided additional lift. It's a character in itself without which the film wouldn't be half as exciting or watchable, with rousing themes to stoke your expectations with its pomp. Their musical contribution and its importance cannot be more than overstated, and is a critical ingredient to why I had enjoyed this film so much to put it as a late consideration into one of the best this year has to offer.