There seems to be a rule in Hollywood for cult remakes: the budget is negatively proportional to the magic. And as the budget increases, the wit and charm found in the original diminish. This film is no different, and with a budget of ten times as much as the classic, you can guess how this remake turns out.
For those who haven’t seen the original, they provide a brief summary that explains how Kevin Flynn was able to go into a computer and discover ‘the Grid’ and all the computer programs that inhabited it. He then goes missing for 20 years until his son Sam Flynn, played by Garrett Hedlund, enters the Grid to find him.
The huge budget that Disney gave the movie did nothing to improve the story, but was used for the stunning special effects, which successfully bring the Grid into the 21st century. It does this with great action scenes that include exciting disk fights and light cycle chases. Along with the visuals there is a great soundtrack full of 80s-style synth, written by Daft Punk – this is one of the best bits of the movie. Sadly, apart from this, the rest of the film feels incredibly average.
The story is not very engaging to start with and we are left with only the action sequences to appreciate. Unfortunately, this simply isn’t enough to distract from the dull and predictable plot. On top of this, with the exception of Olivia Wilde and Michael Sheen, who are both enjoyable to watch, the rest of the cast are unremarkable. Garrett Hedlund is wooden and unemotional whilst Jeff Bridges falls all over the place.
In pandering to the fans of the first film Kevin Flynn doesn’t seem to have changed in the 20 years he is trapped on the Grid. Although his laid back attitude might have worked for a 30-year old man, it doesn’t feel quite right on someone in their 50s who surely must have lived through an awful lot in those long 20 years, so he seems foolish rather than trendy. There was also a huge problem with the computer animated Jeff Bridges. The programme Clu, which Kevin Flynn creates when he enters the Grid is meant to look like the Jeff Bridges from the 1982 original. However the computer animation was lazily done and although Clu vaguely resembles a young Jeff Bridges, he looks like he has had one too many facelifts, as he has no expression lines. All these problems make the film feel like a Miss Universe pageant: it is great to look at, but lacks any real complexity, depth or true heart.
Overall the film isn’t necessarily bad, it just isn’t good either. It feels very shallow and fails to recapture the magic of the original; even those who haven’t seen the first will easily notice this.
