Apr 12 TRON: Legacy Blu-ray Review
4.7 Stars (out of 5)
Synopsis
While investigating the mysterious disappearance of his father, Kevin (Jeff Bridges), techie Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) lands in a beguiling computerized world of enslaved gladiators, where his dad has been living for more than 20 years. Joined by Kevin's trusted friend (Olivia Wilde), the father and son must journey across a breathtaking -- and perilous -- cyberscape in this 21st-century update to the beloved 1982 sci-fi classic. (Buy Now $22.99)
Starring:
Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, Michael Sheen, Beau Garrett, James Frain
Director:
Joseph Kosinski
Blu-ray Release Date:
April 5, 2011
Subtitles:
English SDH, French, Spanish
Rating
Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt
Audio 4.9 Stars (out of 5)
Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison
- Subwoofer - 5.0 Stars
- Dialog - 4.5 Stars
- Surround Effects - 5.0 Stars
- Dynamic Range – 5.0 Stars
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
This DTS-HD Master Audio track is quite impressive. During the disk battle, it sounded as though the disks were bouncing off of my walls while the crowed behind me roared with excitement. I expected the light cycle fight to sound great, but I didn't expect the heavy bass thumps from the soundtrack during it to vibrate the couch. It's not just the major action scenes that are impressive. Even during simple conversations ambient noises like thunder and seagulls can be heard.
Video 4.8 Stars (out of 5)
Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison
- Color Accuracy - 4.5 Stars
- Shadow detail - 5.0 Stars
- Clarity - 5.0 Stars
- Skin tones - 4.5 Stars
- Compression - 5.0 Stars
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Video resolution: 1080p, Aspect ratio: 2.35:1, 1.78:1, Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1, 1.78:1
Watching this film in Blu-ray is a thing of beauty. Either in the real world or on the grid, the clarity and detail are top notch. The color palate for most of the movie is limited to blacks, whites, and bright pastel colors giving the film an original slick look that can’t be forgotten. Most of the movie has a slight blue tint to it, but I believe it is done purposefully to show the difference between life inside a computer and life outside it. TRON is filled with dark scenes that require good compression and special care with shadows and this Blu-ray handles them perfectly.
Note: Some scenes were filmed for IMAX, and the aspect ratio will change between 2.35:1 and 1.78:1 while viewing. This may bother some viewers, but it did not hinder my experience.
Bonus Features 4.0 Stars (out of 5)
- The Next Day: Flynn Lives Revealed: Documentary style featurette showing the history of Encom and a little of what happened after the film ended. There are lots of easter eggs here, and some even tease at a possible third movie.
- First Look at Tron: Uprising: Sneak peek at the upcoming Disney XD computer animated television series.
- Launching the Legacy: A featurette explaining how TRON: Legacy got the green light to be made.
- Visualizing Tron: An FX featurette is detailing the visual look.
- Installing the Cast: Interviews with the cast.
- Disc Roars: Shows how a Comi-con crowd was used as crowd audio in the actual film.
- Music Video: "Derezzed" by Daft Punk.
- Disney Second Screen: Sync laptops or iPads to even more content.
Movie – 4.0 Stars (out of 5)
Review
TRON: Legacy is a fun and visually spectacular film that attempts to best the original by having more heart and meaningful messages. First off, TRON: Legacy is a gorgeous film with some of the most creative art design I have ever seen. The action sequences are mesmerizing and left me wanting more. The plot is more complicated than it should be, and made the movie a little convoluted. There are very important plot points that were just glossed over, and required me to watch the movie again before understanding them completely. By the way, understanding what an isomorphic equation is can be a major plus to understanding the plot. The first half of the film moves along at a great pace, but then it screeches to a halt to deliver some important exposition. It takes a long time for the film’s pace to catch up to itself, but it eventually does in the end.
I have never seen a film with a better marriage of soundtrack and action. It was like watching an extravagantly slick music video. Daft Punk’s electronic bass thumping score perfectly fits this movie’s futuristic neon style. This is one of best movie scores of 2010, and I was angered that it didn’t even receive an Oscar nomination. Watching this stunning film while experiencing the awesome musical score, is reason enough to own this Blu-ray. There were some scenes where armor clad characters were just walking while the soundtrack filled the room, and I leaned over and said to my wife, “This is cool”.
Reader Comments (1)
For me, TRON: Legacy was a perfect example of how 3D added absolutely nothing to the experience. What should have been a visual treat in 3D just became a dimmer, slightly blurry disappointment. Do yourself a favor and stick to 2D on this one. With visuals of this calibre, I will easily take brighter highlights, higher contrast and sharper resolution over a stupid 3D gimmick that does nothing to enhance the movie and only degrades the overall image quality!
Glorious 2D, baby!