The long awaited sequel to Tron, Disney’s groundbreaking computer-animated 1982 feature (titled Tron: Legacy) is heading to the cinema screenings soon, and HeyUGuys were fortunate enough to attend a special screening yesterday, where they were privy to 23 minutes of footage (all in 3D!) and a preview of the film’s score, composed by French electronic duo Daft Punk.
The footage began with an introduction to lead character Sean Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) as he is being informed of a signal coming from the pager belonging to his long-lost father (Jeff Bridges). He traces the signal back to his dad’s games arcade – a place which has been left untouched since his disappearance decades back. This scene has a nice nostalgic feel to it, and an audience who came of age in the same era as the original film will be delighted to hear the game sound effects and music pumping out of the arcade when Flynn restores power to the place.
This was the longest sequence of the evening and then the audience were treated to a sneak peek of what they had really turned up to see – a series of scenes set within the new and improved digital world.
Bolstered by some incredible 3D work (up there with Avatar in the ability of completely immersing the viewer within a fully synthetically-created world), these scenes were genuinely thrilling and breathtaking.
The makers also seem to have pulled off the crucial device of maintaining the memorable minimalist neon look from the original film, whilst delivering a contemporary spin on the material. The huge space invaders-like flying ships, which appear to transport players around the different games arenas, look particular impressive in design and scope. We were only given a glimpse of the iconic Tron bikes (it looks like they are truly saving the best till last) but we were treated to a car chase, which ended with the two heroes escaping into the outer world, setting up the final scene of the evening where Sean is finally reunited with his father. It was nice to see a moment of quiet human interaction amongst all the effects work, and also the return of Bridges too, whose character seems to have been living a monk-like life of solitary atop of a huge mountain, overlooking the universe he has created.
The lights went up and the soundtrack was then played through the cinema’s surround system.
It’s obvious why the makers of this sequel would choose the retro-digital stylings of a group like Daft Punk, and their music here certainly didn’t disappoint. We were treated to the same bleep-y up-tempo electro sounds synonymous with the duo but rather interestingly, there were also a couple of cues which had a fantastic brooding Dark Knight-esque feel, with that familiar synth sound bubbling underneath.
This preview screening managed to successfully provide a tantalising peek at what is to come (a montage sequence even offered an astonishing look at a CG achieved de-aged Tron-era Bridges), and the amount of sighs which could be heard around the room when the projector stopped and the lights went up is a sure sign of the huge sense of anticipation which is building around this film.
You’ll be able to discover if this sequel will leave behind its own ‘Legacy’ when it’s released on 17th December.
