The second thing I did as we left the movie theater after seeing Tron Legacy was apologize to Will for making him sit through the movie.

The first thing I did was declare how horrifically awful the movie was.

I’ve anticipated this movie since the first Comic Con footage leaked onto the web in July 2008. The 2009 and 2010 Comic Con footage continued to dazzle me.

It’s too bad Disney couldn’t put a movie on screen that lived up to the marketing. The only things I liked were Sam Flynn’s initial decent into the game grid with the requisite disc battle and light cycle competition (the multi-level light cycle grid was awesome) along with the last act’s light fighter dog fight.

The plot was nearly unwatchable to the point I almost walked out but I wanted to see if the film could redeem itself. Unfortunately it’s bogged down in a plot we’ve seen done better countless times–how the quest for perfection often leads to nothing good. At the end I expected Kevin Flynn to channel Captain Kirk to convince Clu that he had become imperfection (think Kirk talking to Nomad in “The Changling”). I think that would’ve been better than the actual ending.

Disney owes me–and my very sad inner 14-year-old–an apology, $34 (yes I want Will’s ticket money back too) and a couple hours.