Jeff Bridges: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

2. Kevin Flynn - Tron Legacy

We're not sure if we've made this clear in the past, but we bloody love Tron. How can you not love Tron? It's unique visual style (and the charmingly homespun manner in which they achieved it) still holds up today, it's got the retro gaming vibe we enjoy so much, and Jeff Bridges breaks out in an early role that injects some much-needed energy and personality in what might otherwise have been a very pretty, but very empty production. Which is exactly what Tron: Legacy, the long-gestating sequel that was some thirty years in the making, ended up being. Director Joseph Kosinski tried his best to resurrect the look of the original, but forgot to bring back the spirit. That's despite him convincing Jeff Bridges to reprise his role as both Kevin Flynn, the computer executive who's been trapped in a video game for decades, and the villainous Clu, an upgraded version of the computer "virus" Flynn jacked into The Grid during his first go around with Tron. Unfortunately all the bluster and theatrics are saved for the special effects-laden action sequences, with little time given to crafting convincing or even interesting characters. Despite his best efforts Bridges isn't given a lot to work with in either role, with Flynn relegated to being a sub-Dude Zen master and Clu just being a bit of a disappointing antagonist, with the CGI used to make Bridges look more like his thirty-year-old self ultimately being distracting and more than a little bit creepy.