After picking up the new Tron Classic and Tron Legacy Blu-Rays a few weeks back, and marathoning both shortly thereafter, I had no choice but do a Tiny Review.

Classic TRON came out in 1982, so while I don’t specifically remember seeing it in theaters, I certainly remember it always being “around” during my childhood and always exuding a general aura of coolness. I played the game in arcades, played with my neighbor’s TRON action figures and lightcycles, and, eventually even saw the movie. It completely went over my head, I didn’t understand one bit of it (pun intended), but the action and visuals blew my mind. I remember seeing it again in my Junior High years, while in a hospital bed after one of various surgeries. Still didn’t understand it. (I “immortalized” this later by titling a prominent song of side-project joke band Fister “I Don’t Get Tron”.)

It wasn’t until watching it a third time, after High School, that I was finally knowledgeable enough about computers to understand what the hell they were talking about. And I fell in love. It became one of my all-time favorites from that point on. I’ve owned it on DVD and otherwise seen it many, many times since, but it wasn’t until watching the Blu-Ray that it really clicked for me how truly ahead of its time TRON was. No wonder I didn’t get it at as a kid in the 80’s. I doubt very many adults understood it in the 80’s. All this talk of “Users” and “Control Programs” and “Bits” and on and on. Things that make perfect sense today. Sure, we haven’t yet learned how to digitally transcode ourselves and exist physically within the digital realm, but things like World of Warcraft and A.R.G.’s aren’t so different. Totally ahead of its time.

Beyond all the futurism and technological foreshadowing, TRON is also just flat-out beautifully designed. This is especially magnified by cleaner, sharper HD enhancement. An EPIC collaboration between Moebius (Heavy Metal), Syd Mead (Blade Runner) and Peter Lloyd produced the entirety the visuals we know and love about TRON, to the extent of literally hand-drawing the costume lines, occasionally with the actors still wearing them, between takes. Disney animators later created the “glow effect”, frame-by-frame, via traditional animation. It’s crazy how labor-intensive that was then, and what a simple task it would be today with digital effects.

Which brings us to TRON Legacy, a film created with the entire toolbox of modern-day digital effects at its disposal. A film, like its predecessor in its own time, as state-of-the-art as it gets, but having the advantage of being made almost thirty years later in an era of computer technology advancing at light speed. TRON Legacy is equally beautiful, more beautiful to my eyes, in terms of both sheer eye candy as well as overall design. That’s to be expected, of course, in this age of digital beauty for a ‘franchise’ with such a high visual pedigree, a design precedent already developed by the masters decades earlier, as a starting point.

The only slight blemish I thought it had had visually was that digital Jeff Bridges veered into the uncanny valley for me on occasion (the human brain is still clearly smarter than the most advanced facial animation to date, and somehow knows that the VERY realistic looking guy onscreen is not flesh and blood, which fascinates me in itself,) however, watching the film at home, instead of on a massive theater screen (in 3D,) makes that blemish far less noticable and far less distracting.

I really enjoyed the story of TRON Legacy as well, and look forward to where they go from here. (There is at least one more film on the horizon.) I thought it was a really cool advancement of the original, and wisely brought back the heavy hitters from the original in a relevant and interesting way (possibly with the exception of ol’ TRON himself, whose insignia telegraphed his identity hours before the supposed “surprise” was “revealed”. Were we really not supposed to know Rinzler is Tron? Perhaps then removing the ‘T’ from his chest might’ve been good?) It also brought in some talented fresh blood, especially Olivia Wilde, who is indescribably beautiful as Quorra, and the most vibrant of the “new” characters.

Maybe it’s just me, but I found a couple of scenes in Legacy reminiscent of scenes from the Matrix trilogy, especially when Gem leads them to an eventual betrayal by Castor, which reminded me a lot of the Persephone / Merovingian stuff in Matrix Reloaded. Not really a compaint, just an observation. If I had a complaint, it would be how easy Sam Flynn stumbles upon his father’s secret hideout, which was a little silly. Belief definitely required suspension on that one. But, those little things aside, as I said, I really enjoyed it, and so far it has held up well upon repeat viewings.

Both TRON films also have Triple-A soundtracks. The original by Wendy Carlos (with some Journey thrown in), and Legacy by Daft Punk. Both great soundtracks that any electronic music lover should pick up immediately, if they don’t already own ’em. Daft Punk also make a pretty sweet cameo in the actual film.

So, yeah, TRON. It’s great. They’re great. Jeff Bridges, Syd Mead, Bruce Boxleitner, Journey, Olivia Wilde, Sark, Synthesizers, Solar Sailers, Moebius, Lightcycles, Identity Discs, Master Control Programs, Recognizers, Space Paranoids, non-stop coolness and an ever-present source of warmth and joy to my nostalgic heart. End of Line.