Sci-Fi Sequel On Hulu Stands Out Among Other Blockbuster Franchises

Tron: Legacy is about Sam Flynn, someone whose father mysteriously disappeared many years ago, who goes on an incredible journey. Following his father’s footsteps into a breathtaking computer world gives him a chance for a parental reunion, but that reunion is cut short by some virtual insanity.

It turns out dear old dad created a clone of himself to keep this digital world orderly, resulting in a fascist player 2 who will stop at nothing to delete his creator.

The cast of Tron: Legacy is a fun mix of old and new—Jeff Bridges returns as Kevin Flynn, the hero of the first Tron who is mostly a new man after years of virtual exile.

His original costar Bruce Boxleitner almost makes an appearance, but this movie mostly focuses on the exploits of franchise newcomers Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde. They are joined by other franchise newcomers who could be allies or enemies, including Michael Sheen and James Frain.

When Tron: Legacy came out, it was a decent hit, earning $400.1 million against a budget of only $170 million. It was successful enough to spawn a follow-up TV show (the surprisingly awesome Tron: Uprising).

Additionally, Disney is currently working on Tron: Ares, a third film in this long-running sci-fi franchise that we can only hope will eventually see the light (or at least, light cycles) of day.

Now, Tron: Legacy is one of those weirdly ambitious and ambitious weird films that was destined to put critics’ noses out of joint. Accordingly, it has a 51 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Interestingly, one of the most persistent criticisms was that the movie focuses too much on creating dazzling visuals and not enough on its human characters.

I found this criticism bizarre because, quite frankly, Tron: Legacy does an amazing job of using its bonkers sci-fi concept as a lens to examine the human relationship at its core.

This is fundamentally a tale of a father reconnecting with his biological son even as his evil digital creation CLU seems to pine for daddy’s approval. In this way, the movie examines the idea of what it means to create life and what our responsibilities are to our creations, whether they are made of flesh and blood or of lines of code.

Plus, this may sound like a backhanded compliment, but the movie’s CGI is terrible in only one respect, one that enhances the actual narrative. The aforementioned CLU is running around with a young Jeff Bridges face, and back then, Disney didn’t have the technology that allowed them so seamlessly de-age Samuel L. Jackson for the later MCU film Captain Marvel.

The result is an uncanny valley effect that will make your skin crawl, but it’s actually perfect because that means CLU looks like what he is: an evil reflection of his creator’s worst impulses and misunderstandings.

I may be in the deep minority on this, but I think Tron: Legacy is almost infinitely better than the prior film. The first Tron adventure was an enjoyable distraction back when its concept was fresh, but the whole thing is the cinematic equivalent of watching a streamer play a strange video game.

The sequel, though, is remarkably complex, tackling everything from existentialism to daddy issues, all while great action sequences and a killer Daft Punk soundtrack keep the pace from being dragged down by all the meaty content.

GFR SCORE

Will you find Tron: Legacy the best blockbuster sequel of all time, or will you want to see this movie crash and burn after hitting your light cycle trail? You won’t know until you stream it on Hulu. Love it or hate it, just know that you’re about to watch the rarest of things in Hollywood: a sequel that is completely different and takes one crazy chance after another.