Disney may be looking for a merchandising bonanza with this long-gestating sequel to the groundbreaking 1982 film, but someone in the corporate offices forgot to add any human interest to its action-heavy script. The story concerns a young man (Garrett Hedlund) who is searching for his father (Jeff Bridges), a computer hacker and video-game magnate who has been sucked into one of his own virtual worlds, but the movie is all neon whooshes and dramatic curlicues. The neon motorcycles, battles with Frisbee-like disks, and digital doubles interact well within the astonishing light show (the 3-D effects look great), and the director, Joseph Kosinski, knows how to keep the eyes busy. But there’s no emotional connection between the characters to bring the audience into the excitement. The whiz-bang technology is ultimately dimensionless.
