Return to the digital realm of Steven Lisberger’s cult 1982 adventure in Joseph Kosinski’s high-tech reboot, which screens in 3D in most cinemas. Set in the present day, Tron: Legacy journeys back into the mainframe where battles are resolved using razor-sharp discs strapped to the characters’ backs.

Video-game addicts will be in their element, immersed in the frenetic action as the camera zooms around computer-generated arenas and landscapes. But while screenwriters Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz have lavished attention on the graphics, they haven’t invested much in either the plot or the protagonists.

Somehow, they manage to stretch a ten-minute yarn about a son’s search for his errant father into more than two hours of techno-jiggery pokery. Moreover, since the film is so reliant on visuals, you can’t help but be disappointed that the 3D isn’t utilised more dramatically.

Back in the 1980s, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) revolutionised the world with his technology corporation ENCOM. Then he disappeared without trace, leaving behind a young son, who always hoped that his old man would return. Twenty-five years later, Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) is just as tech-savvy as his old man but has no interest in ENCOM, other than hacking into the mainframe to release its software updates for free, just as Kevin would have wanted.

Following a visit from old friend Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner), Sam visits his father’s rundown arcade where a misfiring laser transports him into the mainframe. In this world of programs and viruses, Sam is reunited with his father and beautiful protector, Quorra (Olivia Wilde).

Complicating matters, Kevin’s digital doppelganger, Clu (Bridges again), rules the mainframe with his army, and is desperate to find a way out of the cyber universe. Kevin urges caution where Clu is concerned.

Tron: Legacy is frontloaded with action sequences so the second hour lacks momentum and relies on an eye-catching supporting turn from Michael Sheen to pique our interest. Bridges is both saviour and villain while Hedlund is a bland hero, possessing neither charisma nor any palpable screen chemistry with Wilde.

The plodding script is enlivened by the occasional wry one-line, but the heady whiff of nostalgia wears off quickly.

Ali (Christina Aguilera) works as a waitress in Iowa but she secretly dreams of stardom beneath the glittering light of Los Angeles, in Burlesque. Ali heads for the city where she stumbles upon the Burlesque cabaret bar run by ex-dancer Tess (Cher) and best friend Sean (Stanley Tucci), who looks after the costumes. Ali auditions for a role as one of the dancing girls, where she inevitably riles current leading lady Nikki (Kristen Bell).

Ali then catches the eye of hunky barman Jack (Cam Gigandet), who already has a girlfriend (Dianna Agron), and local property developer Marcus (Eric Dane). But trouble looms on the horizon . . .

Burlesque marks Aguilera’s big screen debut as a lead. She knows how to work a camera and brings a natural sweetness to her heroine, and we know exactly where the character is heading from her first trill.

Cher and Tucci seem to be enjoying private jokes, oblivious to cameras rolling. The soundtrack gets painted toes tapping and there’s equal opportunity nudity, with Gigandet protecting his blushes with a box of cookies in the centrepiece seduction.