Tron: Legacy Review (5/5)

When examining Tron: Legacy, the anticipated sequel to the 1982 Disney classic starring Jeff Bridges, a phrase used frequently throughout comes to mind: "Perfection isn't far away, it's right in front of us." On so many occasions, Legacy comes close to eclipsing Avatar (5/5) both in scale and plot, yet falls into the traps of its genre with predictability in such a way that keeps the chance of film perfection within reaching distance but unobtainable. So why has it got full marks? Though Avatar was perhaps a landmark in animation and three-dimensional technology, the storyline itself was nothing to get excited about, proving unmistakeably obvious from the outset and in a similar sense holding it back from perfection for one simple reason: no film is perfect. For all its faults, Tron: Legacy excels in plot and animation 99% of the time, and even when it doesn't the other of those two elements more than compensates when one or the other is failing to impress. The sequel follows Sam Flynn, the son of the protagonist in Tron (4/5), as he investigates his father's disappearance in the virtual world while attempting to free 'the grid' from a tyrant who ceased control as programs lost faith in their leader (if this sounds anything like the Nazis' rise to power to you, you certainly wouldn't be the only one to think it). In 3-D, Legacy looks simply dazzling, with power discs sent hurtling towards the audience in well-animated battles that as the name of the technology suggests are given an extra dimension through the glasses. The stumbles I mentioned earlier in plot essentially boil down to 'twists' like betrayals and a sacrifice which pretty much everyone saw coming, but they don't stop Legacy from being a surprise hit in my books, and one that could easily launch a new series.