Tronriffic

On Sunday I got to be among one of the first audiences in the world to see Tron: Legacy. I’m happy to say nearly 30-years after the original, the Tron sequel is an upgrade in every feasible way.In 1982, Disney released this little film called Tron. You may have heard of it. It followed a charismatic computer hacker (Jeff Bridges) who was sucked into the virtual world and forced to compete in gladiator type games to defeat the Master Control Program. It was also nominated for two Oscars and redefined the way computer graphics were used in movie-making. Now Tron is back in back-lit black in what can only be described as the fully-realised vision of the eighties original.

Tron: Legacy opens with original hero Kevin Flynn (Bridges) tucking his young son Sam into bed and telling him about his adventures in the virtual world. Since fighting his way out of the computer, Flynn has taken over the Microsoft-esque mega company Encome, which he runs with buddy Alan (Bruce Boxleitner returns). But then Flynn disappears, without a trace, leaving his son and company behind. Fast forward a few decades and Sam is now a 27-year-old thrill-seeker (Garrett Hedlund) who refuses to accept responsibility of the company, opting to pull yearly pranks on it instead. His brooding and direction-less life is interrupted when Alan gets a page from the office at Flynn's old arcade. The number has been disconnected for 20-years.Sam swings by to investigate and accidentally projects himself into the digital world, where he finds his father has been trapped by the evil Clu (also Bridges, albeit with some heavy make-up work). Along with the assistance of his spunky assistant and uber-being Quorra (Olivia Wilde), Flynn and son try to negotiate `the grid' so they can escape back to reality and control-alt-delete Clu once and for all.

Tron: Legacy is a late entrant into the list of best films in 2010 but it deserves its place. It's fun, thrilling and fucking mind-blowing in every respect. The art direction is simply astounding in the neon virtual world and the inventive weapons and vehicles add that one-upmanship a Tron sequel needed. This is one film were the 3D element doesn't feel redundant and actually adds to the experience, rather than just being a gimmick to throw on the promotional material. There are also some great throw backs to the original, namely the `huge door' comment and retro light cruiser.

The characters are all enjoyable, with the villains inherently evil and the heroes fittingly heroic, despite having some realistic personality flaws. Bridges essentially plays himself as he spits lines like "you're messing with my Zen man" at stubborn Hedlund. In supporting roles, Wilde proves she can do more than pout outside of TV drama House and gives an enjoyably naive and sweet performance as Quorra. Michael Sheen is also great in another erratic and flamboyant role as a David Bowie-esque club owner and Beau Garrett oozes sex appeal as Siren Gem. Robotic electro-rockers Daft Punk score the film and do an impressive job mixing cinematic sound scapes with their token dance tunes (they also provide an amusing cameo). The brilliance of Tron: Legacy isn't thanks to director Joseph Kosinski, although he does a decent job handling the many elements of the film. Rather it is the result of a passionate team of people, including original creator Steven Lisberger who produces, who have contributed their skills to making an adventure film that will induce a universal geek-gasm.

Tron: Legacy is out worldwide Thursday, December 16.