Starring Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner
Picking up just a few years after the original Tron left off, in the mid-late 1980s Kevin Flynn runs his arcade by day and does secret computer programming in the cyber world by night, all while being in charge of the huge software empire ENCOM he built and taking care of his young son Sam after the death of his wife. Flynn often tells Sam stories of his times in the virtual world with his pals Tron and Clu (a digital copy of himself to run things when he's not around).
One day though, Flynn doesn't come home and it seems he's gone missing for good. ENCOM is left to young Sam, in which Flynn's good friend Alan is in charge until Sam is old enough and Alan also steps in as a surrogate father for young Sam. When Sam is of age though, he has no interest in his father's company, only visiting about once a year to stir things up and so the company is mainly run by the board of directors who don't have the same vision as Flynn did, only caring about making a profit.
Alan approaches Sam one night saying he got a page from the disconnected number at Flynn's old arcade and encourages Sam to go check it out. Refusing at first, Sam gives into curiosity at the idea that his father might still be alive and goes down to the arcade. There, he gets accidentally gets transported into the virtual world that his father used to tell him so much about when he was a kid.
Mistaken for a "program" at first, Sam has to compete in gladiator-esque games in order to survive. Upon learning he is a "user" named Sam Flynn, he is quickly summoned into a meeting with the man in charge, who at first glance, appears to be his father, having never aged. We soon learn though that it is Clu and not Flynn who runs things around here, however Flynn is still very much alive but in hiding and that it was Clu who paged Alan in an attempt that someone from outside would come in order to lure Flynn out one last time.
Sam eventually escapes from Clu, with the help of a young woman named Quorra who has been Flynn's companion and apprentice all these years. She takes him to his father, however they have a bigger problem on their hands - when Sam arrived in the virtual world, the portal to the outside world was opened. While the portal is only open for a short period of time, they believe that Clu is trying to crossover in order to perfect a new world as he sees fit. Together, the 3 must race Clu to the portal before it closes so that they can escape and close it before it's too late!
While nearly 30 years after the original was released, Tron: Legacy is a smart and fun sequel. I must say, I enjoyed this one much better than I had the original as it much easier to follow without nearly as much computer programming speak as the original had. The visuals are stunning and make the virtual world fun and thrilling. The plot, unlike the original, is simple enough for even kids to grasp and follow what is going on. The music - done solely by electronic/techno gurus Daft Punk - is brilliant and upbeat, really conveying the perfect emotions. Michael Sheen is also amusing in a small role stylized after the likes of Ziggy Stardust. And if you've never seen the original Tron or it's been years since, no worries - they nicely bring the viewer up to speed with a montage of newsreels and such describing the events at the end of the original and Flynn's bedtime stories to young Sam about the virtual world give you insight as to what happened as well.
This is a great, visual film that the whole family can watch together and enjoy!
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