The original Tron movie, made by Disney back in 1982, was not a smash hit but it was a revolutionary piece of movie making thanks to its special effects. A mix of hand drawn animation, live action and computer animation in its infancy, the first movie told the story of a computer programmer named Flynn (Bridges) who is trapped inside a computer system, forced to fight it out against programs inside the system with the help of Tron in the hope he will eventually escape back to the real world.
Flash forward almost three decades and we have this sequel. Beginning with a jump back to 1989, as Flynn tells his son Sam about his adventures, the movie then fills us in on the interim years, during which time Flynn disappeared, leaving Sam to grow up without him. Now all grown up, Sam (Hedlund), soon finds himself zapped into the virtual world that once seduced his missing dad, and comes across not only his old grizzled pa but also a younger version of him named Clu (Bridges again, but with fantastic CGI to make him look 20 years younger), a virtual character Flynn created who has decided he wants to rule the world. There are other characters to help and hinder Flynn and son as they try to stop Clu, including Olivia Wilde as obligatory computer babe Quorra, Michael Sheen as comic relief Zuse and Bruce Boxleitner returning to the role of Tron.
All of them are interesting to watch in this virtual environment, and while there are times when you’ll have absolutely no idea what is going on, this is still worth having a look at for its visual wonders. Forget the plot – just sit back and enjoy the sparkly light show…
Is TRON: Legacy suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
There are a few intense fights but nothing that should scare kids over eight (and kids under that age probably wouldn’t be interested in watching the movie).
If you like this, why not try: Tron, Avatar, Mirrormask, The Last Airbender, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,