TRON LEGACY brings us back to the dual worlds of our own and the cyber world that is Tron. At the end of the original film, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) has returned back from the cyber world in triumph. Flynn has reclaimed the programs that were stolen from him and is now running the company ENCOM as the CEO. A wonderful bright future seems to be his destiny.
Jump to 1989 and on the brink of announcing a discovery that will change the world, CEO Kevin Flynn disappears leaving his son and many unanswered questions. Flash forwarded twenty years later, Flynn’s son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) is still trying to come to grips with the emptiness left by his father’s absence. After his annual prank with the board of directors of ENCOM, he is visited by his father’s long time friend, ENCOM executive Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner). He informs Sam he has received a page from his father at the long abandoned Flynn Arcade. Although Sam resists, he soon finds himself inside his father’s arcade and comes upon a secret door that leads him to a computer lab.
Before Sam realizes what has happened he has been catapulted into the cyber world that is “the grid”. Now inside can he find the unanswered questions of his father’s disappearance and find his way back to the real world? These are part of the fun that makes up TRON Legacy. This sequel is a nice update to a film that has achieved cult classic status since its original release.
As I said, back in 1982 I walked out unhappy with the original film. However, I sat down and watched the original again before I went and saw the sequel in the theaters in 3D. Maybe it was time, my age or perhaps even my knowledge of computers that allowed me to embrace the idea and style of the original film. Regardless, I didn’t dislike the original as I did when I saw it in the theater all those years ago. Don’t get me wrong, the film is still pretty cheesy at times and a bit raw with the special effects. However, I was able to embrace the ideas and let some of those things go this time around.
TRON LEGACY has the advantage of time and technology advancement to make this a more full-filling Sci-Fi experience. However don’t get me wrong without the ideas and the basic world in place, provided by the original film, TRON LEGACY wouldn’t exist.
Part of what seemed against TRON back in the day was the studio it’s self. During the 80’s Walt Disney Pictures was going nowhere. From their live-action to their animated films, their movies were box-office duds. A studio that once created classic after classic was showing signs of age and couldn’t find their niche in the film market.
It wasn’t until Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Little Mermaid in 1988 and 1989 did the studio finally start to find their way again. After these ground breaking films, the studio once again focused on their animated films resulting in huge successes with modern day classics like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and the Lion King. Not to mention their later partnership with Pixar with films like the Toy Story franchise, Wall-E and UP. Of course one of the biggest live action franchises to come out in the last decade is The Pirates of the Caribbean films that has another one on the way this summer (a trailer is included on the blu-rays).
TRON was an interesting experiment that almost worked. TRON was without question ahead of its time but was a slave to the special effects available at the time. TRON LEGACY has taken the ideas and perfected the original premise creating a potential franchise with a whole mythology yet to be truly explored.
Now you can see for yourself as both films are given the HD treatment. The original film now being touted as TRON The Original Classic has never looked better. The colors really pop on blu-ray. I have to say I was surprised how great it looks and holds up as a wonderful experiment.
TRON LEGACY on the other hand, takes the ideas and premise and runs with it. Of course having Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner back reprising their roles helps to sell the film. Add special effects to make Jeff Bridges travel back in time to look like his self thirty years ago and you have a film equally innovated in special effects as the original did. TRON LEGACY seems to be a more well rounded film from the storyline to the acting and even the wonderful soundtrack provided by Daft Punk.
Extras
If you are a fan of the films, then the 5-Disc set is the way to go. It includes a 3-D blu-ray version, a regular blu-ray version, a standard def version and digital version of the sequel TRON LEGACY and a blu-ray version of the original TRON.
TRON LEGACY seems to be a little short of extras. I am surprised there is no commentary track or even deleted scenes. One would suspect there were more ideas and storylines they explored that were cut from the film. Regardless, there are a few things here including watching the film on a separate screen entitled Disney’s Second Screen. This is where you can watch bonus material and behind the scenes on your laptop or iPad while you watch the film on your big screen TV. It’s an interesting idea but time will tell if it will take off or not. There’s also a documentary entitled Launching the Legacy that runs ten minutes and gives you a wealthy of material for how short it is. Installing the Cast is a twelve-minute documentary that is more of a fluff piece but is fun to watch the interaction between the actors. There’s the “Derezzed” a music video by Daft Punk with a special appearance by TRON LEGACY actress Olivia Wilde. Disc Roars is a quick featurette filmed at ComicCom where they recorded the crowd and later used their audio in the film. The big extra is suppose to be the new short film, The Next Day: Flynn Lives Revealed. However, it’s a badly made short that really adds nothing exciting to the whole Flynn Lives promo campaign. Even with a cameo by actor Garrett Hedlund (whom played Sam) is very disappointing. There was a rumor that the original ending was the reveal of Quorra (Olivia Wilde) who reveals to the ENCOM board that she has seen Flynn and he is alive. This would have been a better ending. However, it wouldn’t change the fact that this short was very badly made with poor production.
TRON The Original Classic on the other had has all the bonus features you could possible want or need. A few of these are new features but the majority is features from a previous standard special edition release. The audio commentary is wonderful. It gives you so much information about the making of the film and even some little hidden Easter eggs within the film (like a “hidden Mickey” that flashes before your eyes on the grid). The TRON Phenomenon is a great documentary on both films and its place in pop culture. Photo TRONOLOGY is surprisingly a very well made featurette on the original director of TRON, Steven Lisberger, and his son’s trip to the Disney Studio to look through the TRON archives. This featurette’s production and scope is how the Flynn Lives short should have looked and been shot. For a featurette that in many ways is just a fluff piece, it’s a very well made and visually enjoyable piece.
Much of the older extras are a bit raw at times since they are shot during the time when the original movie was being made. They are often presented as more “odds and ends” and not restructured into a more cohesive documentary. Still they are worth it if you have the time. In particular check out the Deleted Scenes ( two versions of a Tron and Yori love scene and a alternate opening prologue) and go to the Publicity category and watch two early previews of TRON (one for the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) and the Work-In-Progress that shows the actors still in their B&W outfits).
TRON The Original Classic has all the pops and whistles that TRON LEGACY should have included. Of course one would suspect that this only means another edition with all the bonus material is in the works as I write this. This set also includes a standard definition disc and a digital copy of TRON LEGACY. So basically you have no excuse you have the sequel with you at all times and be able to recite the film by memory. This five-disc box set is still a great collection to pick up for any TRON fan. It has almost everything you need to embrace the world that is TRON and will keep you busy and stimulated for hours.
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Special Features
