Looks great—really great!—and sounds great too. Thinking? Not so bad at all! For me and my companions anyway, Tron: Legacy was altogether terrific popcorn stuff. There’s also some emotional resonance in the father-son material, especially when we finally meet the actual father. Say, it’s Jeff Bridges, from the original! It’s all moonshine of course, utter nonsense. And we’re all a bunch of big suckers.
But Jeff Bridges! The reunion of these characters, their mutual struggle, the way they come to witness and appreciate each other’s fortitude, all provide a satisfying lead-up to their final, necessary separation. Good for you, movie! The climax really works, since the (fabulous!) techno-fireworks are rooted in real relations.
Beyond popcorn, at the level of the intertextual there are lots of interesting quotes here. Lang and von Harbou’s Metropolis, über all. A Clockwork Orange, as rendered and warped by Stanley Kubrick? And Michael Sheen, who is making himself over into a font of unlikely but undeniable fabulousness these days, seems to be doing an inexplicable and yet quite compelling David Bowie imitation. Oh dear; is that Reifenstahl’s Triumph of the Will that you’re quoting now? I like ’em sometimes, but you’ve got to keep your eye on those popcorn movies.
Conclusion: I say the following as a disciplined and, I hope/trust, conscientious husband, father and elderly person. I loved the neon curves on those neon women! Felt obligated to tell my kids as much, and I did so. Report completed!