Tron: Legacy (2010) Dir: Joseph Kosinski

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Almost thirty years after the first 'Tron' film inspired audiences with its futuristic, computer game-like visuals and hopeful, anti-capitalist story, Disney produced a legacy sequel, with Joseph Kosinski at the helm, and a new, sleeker vision for what the 'Tron' universe could be. I hadn't realised quite how long it had been since I'd last watched this legacy sequel, but, with 'Tron: Ares' imminent, it seemed well worth my time to revisit the film that directly preceedes it.

The film features one of my favourite film soundtracks of all-time, which was immaculately created by the legendary French musicians; 'Daft Punk', who even get a brief cameo in the film. Honestly, I don't think anyone has made as good or as complete a contemporary album to accompany a film, not including classical soundtracks. Every song in this film is just epic. The electronic sounds are so perfect for the film, and the way some of the music is incorporated into the various scenes is just immaculate.

The film looks as good as it sounds, for the most part. I would even go so far as to say this film is aesthetically brilliant. Yes, the de-aging looks suspect, but, for 2010, it's actually not that bad. The colours look crisp, particularly against the smooth dark of most of the background, and the neon style lighting incorporated into everything from the vehicles to the costumes looked so cool. This film also takes the world-building of the first film to a whole new level, with huge improvements to the visuals and scale of the computer world.

The narrative was fairly basic, but it was fine, for what it was. There was a bit of a random subplot which sort of added some depth, but also felt more like extra fluff for the sake of having more story. The story is probably the worst bit about the film, but it doesn't matter that much, because, for once, the visuals and audio are what makes this so watchable. Don't misconstrue, it's not a terrible narrative or anything, but it's weakness is glossed over very nicely by the stunning aesthetics.

Garrett Hedlund's relatively unnotable career aside from 'Tron: Legacy' makes this missed opportunity for the actor all the more painful. This was his big chance to make an action star of himself, and while he wasn't that bad, he lacked charisma, and was swallowed up by his two co-stars in just about every scene. Olivia Wilde's character was given very poor dialogue, indeed, the dialogue wasn't great across the board, but Wilde's screen presence and assimilation with the aesthetics of the film meant that she very much felt the part she was playing.

Jeff Bridges pulled double duty once again in this franchise, only this time in a much more significant way, with both his real and computerised characters having very major roles. I enjoyed this performance more than his appearance in the original, mainly because he got to show a lot more versatility this time around. It was cool to see Bruce Boxleitner return in some capacity, although he too has a larger role because of the extensively used de-aging technology. The film also features enjoyable performances from James Frain, Beau Garrett, and the marvellous Michael Sheen, who gives arguably the most memorable performance of anyone.

Overall, although this film was far from perfect in the screenwriting department, its stunningly bold visuals and legitimately incredible soundtrack elevate it above its predecessor, in my books, at least. Style over substance it may be, but it's such a cool viewing experience, regardless of that notion. If the cinematography and soundtrack are even half as good as this film's, 'Tron: Ares' will be off to a very solid start indeed.