Tron (1982) and Tron: Legacy (2010)

“Tron: Legacy” must be one of the longest-planned sequels in film history. It was 28 years ago that the legendary and infamous “Tron” -- the CGI-before-there-was-CGI Walt Disney thriller about computer malware run amok and a hacker hero, set inside a computer -– crashed at the box office. I saw it then, at age eight. I recall being enthralled and absolutely confused, my little noodle baked to a crisp. I went into “Tron: Legacy” with only faint memories from 1982, and re-watched the original a few days later. Here are my takes:

“Tron” has an eternal place in geek culture, it’s a thriller with a mind-warping zinger plot that still impresses. The gist: Jeff Bridges is Kevin Flynn, a young computer programmer booted out of monster corporation ENCOM. He is a hacker, living above the game arcade he runs in an on old L.A. neighborhood. When he’s not attacking ENCOM by computer, he might be sleeping with the girls who dig his joystick skills. (And this is Disney!) At ENCOM’s HQ, perennial villain David Warner is an evil suit who stole Flynn’s work, and yet is slave to Master Control Program, a HAL-like supercomputer bent on world domination as a computer game.

In a nifty bit of “Got you!,” Master Control zaps Flynn into its inner-computer world. There, byte-sized Flynn must battle for his life in a 1s and 0s version of “Spartacus,” with gladiator-style fights. He has a friend, Tron -– an anti-malware computer program warrior. That’s Bruce Boxleitner, who’s also a disgruntled ENCOM programmer and current lover to Flynn’s ex (Cindy Morgan) in the real world.

The special effects are terrible for today’s eyes, and the costumes may never have looked good -– they seem not much more than magic-marker drawings on cardboard attached to bicycle helmets. Some of the action gets fuzzy, and floating roofing staples (computer bracket marks?) are too goofy for words. But the film is damn smart, tech-wise. It foresaw avatars and “Avatar,” and computer warfare, and hackers commanding massive computer networks – taking down a company or country with the click of a mouse. It’s the father of “The Matrix.” When the heroes take up light cycles, the film rocks. The colors pop. I felt eight again.

All respect is due to director/creator Steven Lisberger. He may have been snickered at in 1982, the year of beloved sci-fi classics “E.T.” and “Blade Runner,” but now … “Told you so” is the phrase. B+

Which brings us to “Tron: Legacy,” which follows Kevin Flynn’s grown son Sam (Garrett Hedlund), a hacker who lives in an old warehouse by the river. Hey, it’s no van. Dad is missing, plucked away in 1989 by unknown circumstances. Mom (Morgan in photos) is dead. After busting the balls of ENCOM – now corporately evil again -- Sam is visited by Alan (Boxleitner), the programmer who created and on the grid was Spybot-like hero Tron. Alan sends Sam to Flynn’s old arcade, apparently dormant for three decades, but still cranking along with electricity. (Funny that, huh?)

As with his father, Sam is blasted by a laser into a computer world grid, an updated but dead-cold version of the inner programming that marked the 1982 film. Much is the same: Light cycles and flying roofing staples, gladiator games ala “Spartacus,” with kidnapped programs byting the dust. Of course, everything looks better, faster. (The special effects truly are amazing.) And, as any preview told you, dad is there. Kevin Flynn (Bridges again) is older, heavier and resigned to exile in a virtual Recycle Bin.

This universe is ruled by Clu, the avatar of the older Flynn briefly seen in “Tron.” Clu is un-aged, and power mad. He’s Master Control Program in the (sort of) flesh. Naturally, Sam has to rile dad into fighting himself. Sam has help: A warrior played by Olivia Wilde, who – in a shockingly sexist bit – describes herself as a “rescue.” A rescue what, dear? Cat? Dog?

That line is just a bit of the problems, aside from a blueprint rip-off of the first film’s plot. Tron appears in the briefest of flashbacks, and then as Clu’s enforcer, but always masked. For a film called “Tron: Legacy,” there isn’t much in the way of Tron. Talk about a rip-off. I think the phrase is “WTF?” Still, first-time director Joseph Kosinski hits home runs with the action, and the use of 2D in the “real-world” and 3D in the grid. The trick recalls “The Wizard of Oz,” and shows that 3D is not a marketing gimmick.

In a second instance of WTF, Michael Sheen has a cameo that is brilliant and yet painfully clichéd. He plays a mob-connected androgynous nightclub owner who may be the child of Frank-N-Furter and Ziggy Stardust. On the bright side: In the club are two DJs – played by the guys who provide the film’s score. Daft Punk is the duo’s name. Damn if it isn’t spectacular, and outpaces the film its supposed to support.

Bridges is awesome as always, even if his young Clu seems too CGI’d for any good. Or bad, as the plot dictates. When Clu opens his mouth, the character looks all plasticy. The eyes seem vacant. David Warner’s triple-villain from “Tron” was far more effective, even if he was a low-rent Darth Vadar. With no mask. Boxleitner, by the way, must be loved by God. Or a plastic surgeon. Dude looks good.

“Tron” is absolutely worth re-visiting. But all that planning and hundreds of millions of dollars in production for a sequel, I’m left wanting. Lisberger was ahead of the curve by a decade. Kosinski and his team are looking in the rear-view mirror. For a film with “Legacy” in the title, there isn’t much to be seen. B-