A sequel that was nearly 30 years in the making, Tron: Legacy; the follow up to 1982’s Tron (a groundbreaking movie that showcased a true technological advancement in CG SFX, and followed the adventures of a computer whiz who enters a digital world); takes the ‘80s concept of humans entering a digital space, and brings it well into the 21st century.
Beginning back in the ‘80s, Tron: Legacy shows how the young Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund, Four Brothers) grew up; fathered by a business mogul and expert software programmer/hacker Kevin Flynn (once again portrayed by True Grit’s Jeff Bridges); hearing stories of a digital world within a video-game his father had created, and was beginning to spend more and more time in, until the day he inexplicably disappeared; leaving Sam well and truly alone.
Of course anyone who’s ever heard of the Tron movies knows that Kevin has just got sidetracked in The Grid; the digital world which he created; but the fact that he’s been missing for over twenty years leads the world (who remain unaware of his digital project) to believe that something more sinister has happened; and it’s not until Alan Bradley (Kevin’s best friend, who helped raised Sam in his absence, and is once again portrayed by Bruce Boxleitner) receives a mysterious page from Kevin’s former office, that Sam has any hope of finding his father.
Soon after he begins to investigate the source of the mysterious page, Sam finds a hidden room in his father’s old arcade that leads to a large computer (which still looks surprisingly hi-tech given the fact it would have been designed in the ‘80s), and after a bit of hacking he’s soon allowed access to the system, scanned in, downloaded, and finding himself part of a digital universe he never quite believed existed.
And this is where the movie really begins; with Sam instantly having to get to grips with his new world; as he’s captured, uploaded, undressed and suited up in a hi-tech catsuit, before things really heat up; and he’s not only thrown into Tron’s equivalent of the Roman games (a deadly sport named Disc Wars), but comes face-to-face with its evil leader Clu; a program created in the image of Flynn (portrayed by a digitally altered, younger appearing, version of Bridges), who’s taken his mission of creating the perfect digital society to a Hitler-esque extreme.
After a time, and a few fairly intense trials (which include taking the light-cycle battles from the first movie to a whole new level), Sam eventually escapes the games, and unsurprisingly finds his father; who has now become old and weary; and formulates a plan to not only free them both from the confines of the immense digital space within which they find themselves, but hopefully liberate the oppressed programs within it; a plan which they then spend the majority of the film trying to execute, while Clu attempts to stop them at every turn, and claim the power of Flynn’s ‘user’ disc for himself.
Now it should have been clear to anyone that’s seen a Tron trailer, poster, music video, or even the old movie, that Tron: Legacy was going to be a gigantic visual spectacle; and on this score it doesn’t disappoint; not only does the real world look crisp and clear, but The Grid looks jaw-droppingly fantastic at every turn; including not only pristine looking futuristic costumes, and elaborate sets (which consistently astound, and seem to grow bigger and more impressive with every shot), but wonderful action (which can unfortunately grow a little stale for those who like more heart with their spectacle; as it often seems pointless), and near faultless special effects; making it nigh on impossible to differentiate between the edges of sets and the digitally created backdrops, and pushing the envelope with the successful de-aging of Bridges by a full twenty years (with only the slight hint of polishing, and the familiarity that audiences have with his aged face, making it a clear anomaly in an otherwise pristine SFX-masterpiece).
Unfortunately, whilst the visual side of Tron: Legacy’s presentation is near perfect, and the acting is just as good as you’d expect; with Bridges’ (who was Oscar nominated this year for his appearance in True Grit, and won an Oscar last year for his stint in Crazy Heart) performances as Flynn and Clu remaining excellent (despite somewhat flimsy material), Hedlund remaining fairly generic yet easily watchable, as Flynn’s headstrong son, Olivia Wilde (the House star who’s soon to be appearing in a number of big movies; including Cowboys & Aliens) putting in a solid showing as the naive program Quorra, and Bruce Boxleitner providing a brief but spot-on appearance as both Alan Bradley and legendary program Tron; it’s the plot that’s not only found lacking, but the real drawback of the film.
Whilst the ideas of entering a video game, liberating an oppressed society, and escaping from a seemingly inescapable prison, are all fundamentally sound, the new Tron tries to cram too much into a short space of time; attempting to string together wide-ranging themes with extremely brief scenes of barely explanatory dialogue that are only really included to provide a link between the film’s more impressive, action heavy, visually spectacular, sequences.
Yet while the film may lack the heart and simplicity that makes films with themes such as these work, that doesn’t mean Tron: Legacy isn’t an enjoyable movie (particularly in 3D); as its basic story is interesting enough to maintain interest for the duration, and the visuals (which are not only complemented, but thoroughly enhanced by Daft Punk’s perfectly fitting, exceptionally rousing, techno score) are so good they will leave most viewers with their jaw open, and a stunned expression of ‘wow’ on their face, for the majority of the picture; meaning even if you don’t care about a single character by the conclusion, Tron: Legacy is a more than worthwhile watch, simply because its every bit the spectacle it promised to be, and more.
Picture:
With the apparent weaknesses of the film’s plot leading to an over-reliance on visual grandeur, the DVD and Blu-ray release of Tron: Legacy could have been severely hurt had the video transfer failed to live up to expectations; a concern which is thankfully irrelevant, as Tron: Legacy’s picture is one of the finest you will find on any Blu-ray disc currently available.
Presented in not only two different aspect ratios (utilizing standard 2.35:1 and the IMAX 1.78:1 ratios), but in two different dimensions (causing the Blu-ray to begin with a warning that ensures viewers certain scenes are supposed to be seen in 2D), Tron: legacy presents the full range of visual splendor available on a Blu-ray disc; with the ‘80s scenes being presented via a flatter, more aged looking, 2D transfer that perfectly suits the mood, and the supposed age of the setting, and the scenes inside The Grid opening up to a 3D world that only improves during the truly stunning IMAX sized sequences (which are frequent, lengthy, and a joy to behold).
Colour and contrast are both perfect, as are the natural looking fleshtones, impressive black levels (which needed to be perfect for this movie to work; given that practically everything on screen consists of black trimmed with a bit of neon light), and stunning level of detail; which ensures every flaw can be seen on the faces of the actors, and along the well textured streets of the real world, and provides a noise-free image that’s so clean and clear it has to be seen to be believed.
Aside from a couple of instances of minor strobing (that will likely not affect the 2D release and will go unnoticed by most viewers), the 3D Blu-ray suffers from no visible technical difficulties; with aliasing, scratches, ringing, and other anomalies nowhere to be seen; making for a presentation that’s not only fantastic, brilliant, and truly worthy of the spectacle it’s presenting, but one that’s so good it’s practically guaranteed to become the demo disc of choice for most home cinema stores.
3D is also the only way Tron: Legacy should be seen; as while there aren’t too many things jumping out of the screen at the viewer (leaving the novelty factor that some 3D audiences crave, slightly wanting), the added depth provides such an immense sense of sheer scale that only adds to the grandeur of the digital world, enhances the sense of a technologically superior digital world, and actually fits within the confines of the story (by making it seem increasingly hi-tech), making it less of a novelty, and more of a filmic enhancement (as it should be).
It’s hard to imagine just how Tron: legacy’s picture could be improved; it does a great job of furthering the technical advancements for which the Tron series is famed (although this movie is in no way as groundbreaking as the first); and it’s so breathtaking that it becomes fully immersive, and isn’t like watching a movie at all; the video is so good that watching Tron: Legacy in 3D is like looking through a window, with a set of newly polished eyes.
Audio:
Similarly impressive is the 7.1 DTS-HD MA audio track that brings Tron’s bombastic soundtrack to Blu-ray; a track which is excellently leveled, perfectly balanced, contains crystal clear dialogue (that never gets lost in the fray), and a number of impressively well crafted effects.
Pans are seamlessly smooth, directionality is spot-on, and the whole track contains an impressive level of ambience which fills the sound-field with constant and lifelike 360 degree audio, creating an immersive audio experience that doesn’t often have the ‘wow factor’ you might expect, but becomes easily engrossing enough to thrill any listener.
Daft Punk’s eclectic score also fits perfectly into the mix, and the series; containing just the right amount of modern techno noise to make it feel ultra slick and futuristic, whilst riffing on a couple of other popular scores, and maintaining an aura of dated ‘80s techno music (popular around the time The Grid was supposed to have been created); being helped no end by some very consistent, and perfectly crafted bass; which is not only ever present, but weightier than a bomb.
In short Tron: Legacy’s soundtrack is practically as good as its video presentation, and while it may lack the ‘wow factor’ in many places (its one real downfall), it’s a great, and engrossing, all round listen that’s sure to easily please its fans, and fail to disappoint any listener.
Extras:
As Tron: Legacy isn’t due to be released until April 18th in the U.K. (and April 5th in the U.S.) unfortunately its special features were unavailable for review at the time of publication. We do however have a full list of bonus materials, that will be accompanying the 3D Blu-ray release, below:
The Next Day: Flynn Lives Revealed
Music Video – “Derezzed” written, produced and performed by Daft Punk
First Look at TRON: Uprising, the Disney XD Animated Series
Launching the Legacy
Visualizing TRON
Installing the Cast
Disc Roars
Learn How to Take Your Favourite Movies on the Go
Discover Blu-ray 3D with Timon & Pumba
The review disc also came bundled with 3D trailers for Disney’s upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Cars 2.
The Bottom Line:
In the end, you pretty much get what you expect with Tron: Legacy; the first film was a truly groundbreaking classic that was one of the most influential CG films of the time (and actually one of the first major CG movies ever produced); and while the sequel couldn’t hope to be anywhere near as groundbreaking, it successfully updates what is a classic and intriguing concept; showcasing what it could be like to enter a fully digitized world; and makes the world of Tron seem once again hip, slick, fully futuristic, and undeniably cool.
The cast are solid (getting Bridges and Boxleitner to reprise their roles from the first movie was also a great touch that really helped the film work), and while the story may be lacking in heart, and found falling a little flat, it doesn’t hinder what Tron is really about; creating a wonderful, mesmerizing, jaw-dropping, visual effects extravaganza.
Anyone who buys Tron: Legacy (which should be all fans of the original; who are bound to love it; kids, and anyone who likes an easy to watch SFX free-for-all, or has an interest in technology) should also pump up for the 3D Blu-ray; as Tron’s 3D isn’t a simple gimmick, but works well within the confines of the world to fully enhance the experience, provide a massive sense of scale, and make The Grid seem that much more futuristic and technologically advanced.
It was never going to win any screenplay awards, or be anything more than an effects laden popcorn flick; but as visual spectacles go, it doesn’t get any better than Tron: Legacy; it’s a fairly fitting sequel that isn’t likely to get many people thinking, but succeeds on every level it’s intended to; it will be a great disc to use to show off any home cinema system, is enjoyable enough to watch, and with sets, stages, effects, and a fictional world this grand and full of spectacle, Tron: Legacy is pure eye-gasm from start to finish.
Tron:Legacy is being released on 3D Blu-ray, 2D Blu-ray, and DVD, (with a number of double/triple play editions and special editions available) on April 18th in the U.K., and on April 5th in the U.S.; the same dates as the original classic makes its Blu-ray debut.
