Pads & Panels

Title: Tron Legacy 3D and Tron Blu-ray Collection

Format: Blu-ray 3D

Directed By: Joseph Kosinski

Written By: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde

Studio: Disney

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Thomas Braaksma

The Film

Tron came zooming back into theaters last year with Tron Legacy 3D after a long absence from the world. Disney now releases it upon the small screen with a fully packed 5-disc option. The 5-disc bundle comes with the Blu-ray 3D, Blu-Ray, DVD, Digital Copy, and the re-release of the original classic on Blu-ray. This barrage of discs might at first seem excessive but with the different format options out there today it is a convenient pick up for the Tron lover.

Though a lot of consumers might not have the 3D ready TV yet, this package makes it convenient if you plan on purchasing one in the future or have a friend with a 3D TV. Though it’s a slight struggle at first since a lot of scenes in Legacy weren’t even shot in 3D (as they so kindly warn you at the beginning of the film), one could wonder if 3D is even necessary to pick up. This is especially true with a film that is entertaining enough on its own. Though after viewing both 2D and 3D, it is evident during the blazing action scenes what is missed in 2D. This is true especially in how stunning these scenes appear in 3D, even on the small screen. But that is up to the viewer to decide since the movie can carry its own either way. This is all personal preference, but Tron just seems at home in a 3D world. The one wishful thinking point of the movie would be if you could switch the 3D off for the parts without any 3D effects, since those parts seem somewhat blurry at times.

The Blu-ray

As for the bonuses to the combo pack, the main one is the re-release of the original classic Tron on Blu-ray. Revisiting Tron after watching Legacy is a great reference to how far the technology has come. It doesn’t seem to have gained much in the Blu-ray conversion but it is great to have, especially since some of the general audience that have seen Tron Legacy might have not even been born when the original was released. There is a good feature showing Tron’s impact on popular culture and a slew of bonuses that range from mildly entertaining to bland. The main part of this disc is for the original movie so the features accompanying the original are really just here for the diehards.

The first disc holds the main bonus features for Tron Legacy. The 3D copy only offers the movie and then a couple upcoming 3D trailers Disney has to offer. With most people still getting used to 3D, this is a great way to judge if it’s really necessary to see these movies in 3D. Some of the best highlights are seen with a feature going into why it took about 25 years to bring Tron back to the big screen. In this feature, they show the original fake trailer that they made to prove to executives Tron Legacy was worth making and to see how the fans would react. The trailer was originally shown at Comic-Con and it is a good piece to go along with the collection.

The set also has an interesting feature where it is revealed that the director Joseph Kosinski actually used the audience at the Tron Legacy Comic-Con panel for the sound of the crowd in the stadium scene of the actual movie. Other features also include a Daft Punk music video, a Disney Second Screen feature where the viewer can follow the movie on their computer when viewing, a short trailer for the upcoming animated series and some common features on the movies visuals and cast. There is also one feature entitled “Flynn Lives” that seemed promising to tell what happened the day after the film ended, but just ends up being about a Banksy-esque radical that start a revolution and really doesn’t give any lead-in to the talked about a third installment of the series.

The Tron Legacy 3D and Tron Original Classic 5-disc combo pack is a worthy collection to honor two fantastic movies. Though they might be saving some stuff for re-releases like most movies this huge do, this collection brings more then enough for any collector or fan of the movie. Pick it up and enjoy the Blu-ray until 3D TVs become a little more in the general public’s price range.

For more info, disney.go.com/tron

Pads & Panels received a copy of the Blu-ray courtesy of the studio for review purposes.