I kept dreaming of a world I thought I'd never see. And then, one day...

TRON: Legacy

(2010)

I watched this with low expectations, having heard/read very mixed reactions. It's biggest failing is Clu, the uncanny valley doppelbridges. So much of the effectiveness of the film rests on the villain but unfortunately he’s Bridges’ voice speaking out of a plastic man (ie no match for David Warner). It would be one thing if they'd managed to produce a convincing CGI younger man who just happened to look very little like Jeff ever did, but they end up with an unconvincing CGI younger man who also looks nothing like Jeff.

The script isn't all there, but neither was the original's. At least in this one I didn't find my attention wandering for significant stretches of the film. Cast-wise, it's nice to see Boxleitner again, Bridges is dependable, while Hedlund is just "any guy" when they need someone with a distinctive charisma. Olivia Wilde is pretty and I enjoyed Sheen's Bowie impression (although I can see why some wouldn't). Oh, and Beau Garratt as Gem.

Where it triumphs is in the score and visuals, though; there have been relatively few films of late where combinations of sound and imagery have been utterly entrancing, and this is admittedly only intermittently the case here, but when it succeeds it really does. The Daft Punk score is perfectly retro and if Koskinki's computer world is somewhat derivative (notably of The Matrix), his decision to go for texture and grounding as opposed to emphasising the virtual was definitely the right move.

****

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Now In Full Color, with a Happier Ending

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