"Tron: Legacy" It's Migraine Good

In high school, when my friends and I were feeling edgy and cool, we’d pack up our Walkmans and pull on our brightest neon leg warmers to drive into San Francisco. In Golden Gate Park, a planetarium used (and perhaps still does) to put on a groovy, psychedelic laser show set to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.” We’d lean back and have our minds blown by the sound and light and how very cool we were for being there. The next day, I’d come down with a debilitating migraine and moan in bed with what could only be described as a blinky-light, loud-sound hangover.

I mention this because I had exactly the same experience with “Tron: Legacy,” a huge, super cool, blinky-light extravaganza of a movie that comes on loud and awesome but leaves the weaker among us drained at the end.

The story is about as logical as the original, 1982 “Tron” story, which is to say not logical at all. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) still mourns the 20 year old disappearance of his computer wizard father, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges).  When a friend of his father receives a mysterious message on the pager he retains out of hope of finding Kevin, Sam takes one last look around his dad’s old arcade office. Lo and behold, there’s a secret room he’s been missing all these years. Go figure! All the electronics are covered in dust, but that doesn’t stop the laser from firing up and sending Sam bodily into “The Grid,” or inside the computer game.

Once the movie jumps into the grid, it jumps into 3D and the ride starts. Sam finds himself a stranger in a strange land, wearing a light-infused battle suit and forced to compete in various types of visually amazing death matches. First, he’s slinging a Deadly Glowing Disk of Doom while leaping to avoid the other guy’s D.G.D.O.D. Then he’s riding the Glowing Motorbike of SuperSpeed in a sort of ultra sleek demolition derby.

All the while, Daft Punk’s amazing score is thubba thubba pounding and lights are blinka blinka flashing.

It’s awesome.

Sam manages to find his father despite the efforts of the evil cyberdictator who has taken over The Grid. Clue, this digital demon, looks like a younger version of his father, thanks to the magic of CGI, and wants to… oh what the heck, who cares? The plot involves a race of innocent digital beings, invasion of the real world, a traitorous cyber-bar owner, and a pretty girl named Quorra (Olivia Wilde) who needs saving. The movie is full of trains that come along just as you need them, going just where you need to go, story lines that are completely dropped like your aunt’s fruitcake, never to be heard from again, and annoying logical impossibilities.

Who cares?

The music goes booma booma and the lights go wa-pow-pow. Don’t ask questions. Just enjoy that they’re flying in a Nifty Light-Producing Plane of Destiny, guns blazing as bad guys (who conveniently light up red, so we know who they are) give chase.

Like Avatar, this film is all experience and no substance. But, in its defense, also like Avatar, the experience is mind-blowing. It’s worth seeing in 3D and even in IMAX if you can find it. Wisely, the filmmakers kept swear words and sensual content out of the movie, earning it a PG rating. Your kids will enjoy getting their mind blown as much as you do and you won’t have to worry about what they might pick up.

“Tron: Legacy” is just what we’ve been waiting for, a fun, loud, blockbuster to drive the winter blues away. It’s the must-see movie of the season.

Just be sure to bring some aspirin.

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