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Jan 3, 2011

Of Legacies & Evolutions

At this time, I've watch the movie twice and played through the game twice so I thought now might be a good time to do some reviews of each of them, my first for the new year. I'll start with the film first, since that's the way it should be done.


Tron: Legacy opens and introduces us to Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), a young man with a taste for adrenaline and a dislike for responsibilities and authority. Having grown up without his father, and still having no idea what happened to him, has left a mark on the young man. His father's company of Encom is now run by a board of directors that would be more to Dillinger's liking than Flynn's and good friend Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) has been sidelined.

Right off the bat, I found Sam to be a likable character. He's got his own set of issues but they're tempered by an obvious sense of humor and a good heart. And it's clear that Alan has done his best to look out for his friend's son.

After getting a nostalgic look at Flynn's Arcade, we end up on the Grid with Sam, where he faces Recognizers, sentries, Clu and gets thrown into the Games. He escapes with the help of a friendly program named Quorra (Olivia Wilde) and soon finds his father and learns the truth of what happened so many years before, including the fate of the movie's namesake.

Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is a very interesting character in this, part visionary, part hacker, part zen philosopher. He's been trapped inside all these years and has done his best to come to terms with his new life and the things he's lost but you get the idea that everything he was is still simmering just under the peaceful seeming surface. Seeing his son again, all grown up, definitely shakes things up for him and solidifies his priorities, things his long captivity has made him realize were more important all along.

Throughout the film, as Flynn, Sam and Quorra race to stop Clu, you meet a whole host of interesting characters including Castor (Michael Sheen) & his crew at the End of Line Club, Siren Gem (Beau Garrett), the unstoppable Rinzler and Clu's somewhat oddball sidekick, Jarvis (James Frain). There is even a great cameo by Daft Punk as a pair of mp3 programs.

Some would say that the film's plot is too simple and sparse to be enjoyable but I can't agree. In an industry where everyone is trying to create the new Inception, the next A Beautiful Mind or is just resorting to blowing up as many things as they can, I found watching this sequel to the original Tron very refreshing. The story is classic, a young man's search for the truth, and his father, and his growth along the way. It sucks you in right from the very beginning and makes you care about the fate of the characters and it's all set against the beautiful backdrop that is the stunning visual effects of this film

Fans of the first film will immediately spot the familiar recognizers and tanks, though they have been updated, and the new Grid is pure eye candy. No hand done rotoscoping here and the new suits look fantastic. Each effect is done with an eye for detail and is flawless in its execution while Tron City looks like you could live there, and you want to by the end of the film. The only exception might be when you see young Kevin Flynn and his grid sidekick Clu 2. Yes, you can tell that the faces are entirely digital and under certain lights can look a little too false but when you consider they're attempting to create a young version of an actor who is now in his 60's, I can't entirely fault them.

Combine all of this with the amazing soundtrack created by Daft Punk and you really can't go wrong. The score is distinctive, bringing to mind certain scenes from the film long after you've finished watching it, and several of the songs, such as Derezzed, wouldn't be out of place on Daft Punk's latest album. Those planning to buy the OST do need to realize, though, that it IS a soundtrack and not a new studio album from the pair so it contains the entire score of the film and not just the dance hits. Personally, I enjoy driving to it.

I really can't recommend this enough. It's a beautiful film and I found I actually enjoyed it more, and got more out of it, when watching it the second time. The first time, you are so dazzled by the look and sound of the film that the plot actually takes second place. Just don't watch it expecting a high brow art-house film because that's not what Tron: Legacy is. This is a film for the imagination and the inner child, a film that makes you smile and catch your breath and that anyone, of any age, can sit and enjoy time and again.



SOME SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT!





The first thing I need to say about the game is don't play it first. While Tron: Evolution IS intended as a prequel to the film, the storyline works better if you have already seen the film. Not only do you see the correlation with certain events and the tie ins they've worked into it but you won't be spoiled about certain information. There are several things that you learn in the game that are, more or less, meant to be surprises in the film such as Castor/Zuse, Quorra being an ISO and the last of her kind and few other bits a pieces.

The first thing you will notice about the game, though, is that it is just as visually breathtaking as the film. You really do feel like you're in that world, which is great because in playing the game you get to explore more of what you only glimpse in Tron: Legacy.

The year is 1989 and your character is Anon, a specially programed system monitor created by Kevin Flynn to sort out what's been going on with the Grid. In this role you meet Tron, Quorra, Clu, Zuse, many of the ISO's, a friendly program named Gibson and eventually come face to face with the creator himself. You witness Clu's attack on Tron and Flynn in a cut scene taken almost perfectly from the film, see the destruction and purge of the ISOs and go up against the game's real enemy, a terrible virus by the name of Abraxas. Towards the end, your main goal is to protect Quorra and get her to safety. Yes, that sympathetic program she mentions in the film...it's you!

Whether going up against Clu's variety of sentries or the virus infected programs Abraxas has created, you generally fight with your light disc. The game carefully teaches you the basics of fighting and moving through this digital realm and then gives you a list of combos to use. Different enemies have different weaknesses and you can upgrade your software, adding mods to your disc to make it easier to fight them or just increase your health and energy.

Controls for moving about take a little bit of getting used to and can be a tiny bit frustrating for a bit but, with practice, getting through the game becomes very interesting and enjoyable. Even after playing it twice I still often derezz when I hit the controls wrong but you get used to that quickly. The moves you use have been predominately taken from Parkour so you leap over objects, run along walls and spend a lot of time flying through the air over the bright lights of the Grid. When not competing hand-to-hand, you also go up against tanks...and then get to drive and fight with one! I have to say, using a tank to blast Recognizers out of the air is one of my favorite parts. Not to be left out, there are also fast paced lightcycle sections where you have to move quick while avoiding being derezzed by recognizers, tanks or an assortment of objects that get in your way.

Tron: Evolution is not a very long game and can go quite quickly once you get the hang of the moving and fighting but every minute is fun and very beautiful. Even once you finish the game, you can try again on higher levels or play online multiplayer battles with discs, tanks or lightcyles and you keep your level throughout. On the Xbox 360, there are of course a variety of achievements to be won and they aren't impossible to reach.

Remember that, like most of the Xbox games, you need an Gold membership to play the online multiplayer maps with friends or other random players but for anyone who has enjoyed either of the Tron films and wants another way to get immersed in the world, I highly recommend this game. It's eye catching and fun and challenging enough without discouraging less proficient gamers and adds a bit to the storyline of the film.


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