3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews

When Flynn, the world's greatest video game creator, sends out a secret signal from an amazing digital realm, his son discovers the clue and embarks on a personal journey to save his long-lost father. With the help of the fearless female warrior Quorra, father and son venture through an incredible cyber universe and wage the ultimate battle of good versus evil.

Wow, what a collection. The two-movie set includes not only Tron Legacy in both 2D and 3D, but also a newly restored Blu-ray of the original Tron movie. The original Tron is the weakest link in this set due to its age, but Disney has done a tremendous job restoring it. Fine detail is absolutely breathtaking for all of the normal film shots. The only real trouble is with the older special effects shots. While groundbreaking for their time, they are quite dated by today’s standards. Still, the only real issues are some minor line twitter and some overdriven color. The soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and was better than I anticipated. Sure it sounds a bit dated, but it still had plenty of range with good bass response and plenty of surround presence.

Tron Legacy is a whole different animal though. Disney includes both a 3D and 2D version here and both look terrific. The 3D version adds some depth for its 3D scenes (not all of the film is in true 3D, mostly just things in the grid) but it isn’t the best 3D I’ve seen. Most of the 3D seems a bit underused compared to the other 3D Blu-ray titles I’ve reviewed. Detail is still outstanding through both versions with great shadow detail and black levels. Grain can be a bit intrusive at times, but I remembered the same thing for the theatrical presentation. I did notice some minor compression issues early on in the grid sequences, but they were hardly distracting and barely noticeable. The film has a shifting aspect ratio that is similar to The Dark Knight, to display the scenes formatted especially for IMAX. Only problem here is none of the scenes were actually captured with IMAX cameras (like The Dark Knight) so there is no real change in resolution hence negating any real benefit of the open aspect ratio. The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is presented in 7.1 and man does it really show off some spectacular sound design. Bass response is system threatening once you’re in the world of Tron and the surround soundstage is engaging in all directions. The film’s sensational score from Daft Punk also sounds incredible, offering more presence than I remember from the theatrical presentation I saw. Lots of great reference quality sequences to show off your home theater on this disc.

This set includes a digital copy of Tron Legacy plus a DVD copy of the film as well. You also get quite a bit of insight into the making of the film with production features, interviews, on set footage and more. Disney also packs a sneak peek at the upcoming Tron animated series. The first film also features some great production features and a look at the impact the film has had over the years. A great collection of supplements and features!

Tron has always been a flawed classic that pushed the boundaries of the imagination, even if it was a bit goofy even for its time. Tron Legacy is a flawed sequel that delivered breathtaking visuals and sound with a story that just manages to get you through it all. I was hoping for a lot more, but was still entertained nonetheless. I honestly didn’t think the 3D presentation did much for this film so I would recommend sticking with the outstanding 2D release if you have to choose.