Fifteen Years Later, Tron: Legacy Remains an Underrated Gem in Disney’s Vault
Image Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
By Luis Zonenberg
Disney’s latest attempt at trying to relaunch a major franchise like Tron is already proving to be difficult with the latest entry, Tron: Ares. Despite the film coming in at No. 1 at the box office, it fell short of its projections and only pulled a little $30 million domestically opening weekend, with the worldwide gross totalling at over $60 million. While fans hope it will make enough to cover its $180 million budget, I thought it would be prudent to look over the previous entry, Tron: Legacy, and see if this franchise is really worth abandoning altogether.
Legacy focuses on the adventures of Sam Flynn (Garett Hedlund), the son of former ENCOM CEO Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) who disappeared nearly twenty years ago. After pulling a prank on the current board for ENCOM, Flynn gets visited by one of his dad’s old friends, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner), who gets a mysterious message from him. This leads to Sam being transported into the Grid, a digital world run by a tyrannical dictator called CLU (also played by Jeff Bridges) who wants to transfer into the real world and recreate it in his own image.
In the Grid, Sam also reunites with his father, who has been trapped there all these years. He has been training an apprentice, Quorra (Olivia Wilde), who is also being hunted by CLU since she is the last of the isomorphic algorithms (ISOs) whose species could hold the key to many of Earth’s natural mysteries. All three work together to escape the Grid and return to the real world, before CLU beats them to it!
The story, while convoluted at times, still holds up really well all these years later. It grapples with recurring themes of free will and power dynamics, exploring what perfection really is and how it can change or evolve over time. The film is much more complex and deeper than many Disney films today, clearly wanting audiences to take something away from the film and think about these things long after the credits finish rolling.
Garett Hedlund sports some charm in the lead role, clearly playing the straight man lost in an insane world. While his performance often feels underplayed, he still manages to come across as a likeable lead who works well off his co-stars. Jeff Bridges is absolutely outstanding though, giving two great performances as Kevin Flynn and CLU. Both feel very distinct and reflect the concepts of perfection in the past vs the future. Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen, and Bruce Boxleitner were also very entertaining to watch in their supporting roles as well.
The cinematography and production is otherworldly, crafting a unique style that compliments the original Tron film from 1982. It feels both grand in scale and intimate in its more emotional moments, with the film even being shot in 3D to make it feel more immersive. While I was lucky to catch a screening of this film in IMAX 3D last week, most will still probably not be able to watch as it was intended to be seen, which is still fine considering the beautiful cinematography crafted by Claudio Miranda.
The special effects are still astounding to witness as well, with this film somehow utilizing less CGI than more recent films like F1: the Movie! It really compliments the cinematography and strikes a wonderful balance between practical and CGI effects. The dated de-aging effect for Jeff Bridges almost works, creating an uncanny digital reflection that suits CLU’s character. While this may not work with Kevin Flynn’s character, it still worked better than most would expect here.
The real standout here though is the amazing soundtrack composed by Daft Punk! The soundtrack utilizes both orchestral and electronic elements that adds to the experience of watching this film. Just like how John William’s music fueled epic franchises like Star Wars, Daft Punk crafted a stellar soundtrack that stands on its own and immerses the viewer into the world of Tron.
Fifteen years later, Tron: Legacy has followed in the footsteps of its predecessor and gathered an enormous cult following for good reason! The film offers a visual feast for the eyes, accompanied by an incredible score and complex story that offers more substance than other Disney films of late. While its story is not the most unique, Tron: Legacy boasts incredible cinematography and a killer soundtrack that will leave audiences begging to return to the Grid once more!
Tron: Legacy is now streaming on Disney+
Rating: ★★★★☆
