We didn't deserve TRON Legacy, and we certainly didn't appreciate it.
There are storytelling complexities here that are completely unappreciated to this day,
but it's not because the film's ideas and techniques go above the audience's heads.
You see, this film was just shy of the monstrous tidal wave of 80s inspired entertainment that
has consumed our current media everything.
Had TRON Legacy been released 4 years later, it would have been a guaranteed success.
But there's something different in the way that this film presents its nostalgic elements
because they serve a storytelling purpose.
It's easy to stick in a Eurythmics song or a poster for the Black Hole, but getting
them to mean something in the context of the story is much more difficult.
Quick side note: I want that poster so bad.
Back on topic: In the film, Kevin Flynn, genius programmer and one of the main characters
of the first TRON, has been missing, trapped in The Grid for over 20 years.
Sam, who rejects his father's legacy and thinks Kevin abandoned his family, finds himself
in the video game arcade his dad used to run.
The moment he turns on the power for the first time in 20 years, the music player comes alive
again and resumes playing "Separate Ways" by Journey.
This is important.
Music plays a huge role in TRON Legacy.
The lyrics of "Separate Ways" are written from the perspective of someone who is metaphorically
a world apart from the person he loves, but sings the song to let that person know he
still cares about them.
Kevin Flynn is literally a world apart from his son Sam, and it's almost as if Kevin
left that song in the arcade in the event of his disappearance to remind Sam he still
cares about him.
I can't actually play the song here because copyright.
And I'm not gonna sing it- alright, I'll sing a little.
SOMEDAY, LOVE WILL FIND YOU.
BREAK THOSE CHAINS THAT BIND YOU.
ONE NIGHT WILL REMIND YOU.
HOW WE TOUCHED AND WENT OUR SEPARATE WAYS.
There are so many levels here.
There's the level of "this is an 80s song and people who saw the original in the theater
will recognize it."
There's the connection with Journey, because they had songs in the soundtrack of the original
TRON, making that nostalgic connection feel more justified.
But then there's the level that Sam is entering a place untouched since the 1980s, like that
song is transporting him and the audience back in time.
And at the very core, there's the level that the lyrics are Kevin's voice reaching
out to Sam, letting him know that he didn't abandon him and that he still loves his son.
The entire story revolves around Sam and Kevin reuniting and repairing their broken family
bond.
The inclusion of (and I'm using quotations here) "Nostalgic Entertainment" isn't
simply to say, "Hey, remember the 80s?"
It's a storytelling tool, creating foreshadowing in a way that is a little goofy, but very
satisfying, and subtle enough that you might not pick up on it the first time you watch.
As I stated earlier, music plays a huge role in this film.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in The Grid, an advanced computer system filled with
artificial intelligence programs.
Sam uncovers the gateway to The Grid in the arcade and is transported there to find that
it's under the hostile rule of a system his father created in his own image named
Clu.
To create the world of The Grid, what we hear needs to be just as powerful as what we see.
Do I even need to address the fact that getting Daft Punk to compose a TRON soundtrack is
the greatest idea ever conceived?
The score for TRON Legacy is absolutely stellar.
There are nuances at play here that go far beyond my comprehension of music theory, but
here are a few things I do understand.
For one, the score makes excellent use of the arpeggio.
This is a term used to describe when a chord is broken up into individual notes and they
are played in either ascending or descending order.
There is perfect symmetry in an arpeggio, almost too perfect, as though it were created
by a machine.
When played over and over again, it's almost drowning and robotic feeling.
Couple this with the fact that the bulk of the music during the Grid sequences is done
with synthesized instruments, and you have a score that fully immerses us in the the
technological soundscapes of this technological system.
However, that doesn't mean that more traditional orchestral instruments are absent from the
film's score.
They're used during several action sequences and emotional moments between Sam and his
father.
The fact that they're brought into the picture during scenes that involve the film's two
human characters is important because it distinguishes their world from The Grid.
This becomes increasingly important during the film's final moments.
In the last scene, we see Sam after he escapes the grid with Quorra.
As she feels the warmth of the sun for the first time, the music swells with both synthesized
and tangible instruments, the convergence of both The Grid and our world.
The two of them ride together, ready for whatever awaits them.
The fact that there is no sequel is seen by many to be a tragedy, but in all honesty,
I don't want a sequel.
I love where this film ends.
I love all the unanswered questions.
I love how the existence of Quorra and the ISOs is never explained.
Realistically, we are probably not getting a third TRON, but that's okay it's easy
to be satisfied with what we have, especially with the existence of a film as phenomenal
as TRON Legacy.
Thank you so much for watching this video.
Is there a specific film or series you'd like to see me cover?
What's your favorite movie soundtrack?
Let me know in the comments.
Be sure to come back next week for more.
Stay tuned.
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