Jeri Jacquin
Currently on 4K Ultra HD from Walt Disney Home Entertainment is the 1982 film TRON and the 2010 follow-up TRON: Legacy.
TRON
Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is a software engineer who run a video game arcade. His pastime includes hacking into his previous employer ENCOM’s system with his own program called a CLU. Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) and Lora Baines (Cindy Morgan) are dealing with Ed Dillinger (David Warner) who has been living large off of Flynn’s games. When the couple figures it is Flynn using the CLU, they go to his store to warn him. Trying to get evidence of Dillinger’s underhandedness, Flynn finds himself being uploaded into the ENCOM game!
Fitting into the games, Flynn meets Ram (Dan Shor) and Tron and in a game of Light Cycle, the MCP is in hot pursuit. Through it all it becomes clear that Flynn has something the game doesn’t, inside information that can help Tron, he must get past Sark first. Step by step and move by move, Tron and Flynn must find a way to free the system and find a way back home.
Bridges as Flynn gives 80’s diehard video gamers something to get excited about on the big screen. The character of Flynn has become so iconic that even my own grandchildren know who he is and that is in part to Bridges embracing the character he made so real. Boxleitner in the dual role of Bradley and Tron also gave a character that is complex in both the real and digital world. Morgan as Baines let it be known in the 80’s and today that women are equally as talented in creating as well as playing video games – and I have two grandkids who can attest to that. Both are well versed in how it all works and it is the characters from TRON that are a constant encouragement.
Warner as Dillinger as well as Sark has always been so good at playing bad. Taking on a videogame bad guy is equally as good if not better. He takes on the duality of bad in the real world and the game world and I was all for it in the 80’s and still love watching it every time I see it on television. Remember, “I do the thinking around here!”.
Other cast include Barnard Hughes as Dr. Walter Gibbs, Peter Jurasik as Crom, and Tony Stephano as Peter. The film’s writer/director is Steven Lisberger.
TRON: Legacy
After becoming CEO of ENCOM, seven years has passed and Flynn (Jeff Bridges) spends time with his young son talking about Tron and the grid, then, he suddenly disappears. Twenty years after that, son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) is a shareholder in the company and finding himself in trouble as his father was. Trying to get the company’s software out for free, Sam is arrested forcing Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) to bail him out because there is a message that brings him to a basement with a computer that suddenly goes off digitizing him into the grid. Immediately captured, Sam is sent to the games. Set to fight Rinzler, he instantly realizes Sam is a ‘user’.
Meeting up with Clu, Sam discovers the Light Cycle matches and it is Quorra (Olivia Wilde) who takes him to a hideout away from it all. It was Clu who sent the message to Bradley getting Sam to the Portal and tells him of the master key disc and his father Flynn. Now, father and son must work together to avoid Castor (Michael Sheen), Rinzler (Anis Cheurfa) and the warship to get back to the arcade as Sam intends to make some changes there as well.
Hedlund as Sam is a young man lost to a lot of his life still thinking about his father. Once in the world that he could never have imagined, he is put in the same danger as his father with one exception – he has Flynn on his side. The return of Jeff Bridges is everything to TRON: Legacy and I could not have wanted to see the film without him. He embraces Flynn and steps back into the role like he never left even though 30 years had passed. Dare I say – he is our Flynn and I loved his return then and now.
Keeping with the formula, Boxleitner returns as Bradley who has been watching out for Sam. Wilde as Quorra is a young ‘woman’ who knows how to protect Sam taking him to the one person who has answers. I love Sheen as Castor/Jarvis as his antics are absolutely fantastic and I have to admit that not smiling when he is on screen is impossible. He brings showmanship into a place no one else but Flynn and Sam could possibly go.
Other cast include Beau Garrett as Gem, James Frain as Jarvis, Jeffrey Nordling as Richard Mackey, Conrad Boates as Bartik, Cillian Murphy as Edward Dillinger Jr. and Steven Lisberger as Shaddix. The director is Joseph Kosinski.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment continues to bring quality programming to kids and kids at heart. Home of the most beloved animated features including SNOW WHITE, PINOCCHIO and SLEEPING BEAUTY to name a few is what keeps families coming back for more. To see what is currently available to add to your own family library please visit. www.movies.disney.com for their At Home titles!
TRON and TRON: Legacy has been digitally scanned and carefully restored by The Walt Disney Film Foundation to take care of direct and other imperfections to the film bringing it a mind-blowing pristine imagery. The man keeping an eye on the process is none other than director Steven Lisberger. It is just in time to see the amazing visuals at a third installment TRON: Ares is set to his theatres October 10, 2025 and the return of Flynn.
What an amazing opportunity to gather the kids and grandkids together to once again explore a film that was and continues to be a literal game changer. Led by Bridges and Leitner, it is not only a story of video games and those who make them but a bit of subtle politics as well. The story speaks of those controlled by others, living under the thumb of a ruthless dictator. Their survival depends on working together in order to stop the evil destruction.
The special effects, beginning with TRON, were absolutely stunning for their time and the remastering proves that director Lisberger got it right the first time. It is still brilliant in color and vibrant in the storytelling. TRON: Legacy reminds us that once again you can have a sequel that stays true to the original characters and storyline while pushing the envelope even further, now, fifteen years later, the prospect of the next part of the story is thrilling to fans.
In the end – the game has changed!
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