The board room scene doesn't even attempt to hide its criticism of current software design and business practices. Also ironic that this is in a Disney film, given the stance the company generally takes towards copyright infringement.
Alan Bradley: Given the prices we're charging to students and schools, what improvements have been made in Flynn...er, I mean, Encom OS 12? (Beat) CEO: (who has no real idea) This year we put a "12" on the box.
Then again, this analysis of the film argues that TRON: Legacy is actually an attack on idea that all information MUST be free, and it makes some very good points.
Award Snub: Despite getting critical and audience-based praise for its Visual Effects and Soundtrack, neither of these things were nominated for the Academy Awards. Instead, it got nominated for Best Sound Editing... Just carrying on the proud TRON tradition; the first film didn't get nominated for Best Visual Effects due to the Academy thinking that using CGI was "cheating", despite nearly every modern movie getting nominated using it.
Awesome Music: One thing everyone agrees upon including the critics, is that thescore by Daft Punkisindeedawesome. When Sam first goes to the arcade and switches on the power, Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" starts blaring over the sound system. The song REALLY powers the sense of '80s nostalgia in the sequence. Followed by Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams", which powers a sense of foreboding as Sam checks out Kevin's secret lab.... Kaskade's remix of Rinzler is utter bliss.
Badass Decay: Kevin Flynn is less proactive in this film than he was in the first one, instead withdrawing himself from the Grid because of his inability to defeat CLU. To paraphrase Dilbert, he's actively waiting for change, which happens when Sam arrives. Once he does, the old Kevin Flynn begins to reemerge.
Base-Breaking Character: Kevin Flynn's moral compass or possible lack thereof is a hot topic of debate, depending on what fan board you head to. Tron Sector's fanbase is more inclined to see him as a well-intentioned, benevolent figure unjustly exiled and imprisoned. Fans on Tumblr's Tron section lean more toward a darker view, to the point of arguing he was a high-functioning sociopath enamored of virtual godhood. As Legacy was written by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, any interpretation on the spectrum is possible.
Contested Sequel: Legacy displaced TRON 2.0 canon-wise, but the discredited sequel still has fans. 2.0 loyalists cite the game's attempt to translate modern computer systems, more colorful palette, and tone as closer to the original, put off by Legacy's Darker and Edgier shift. Others prefer Legacy's bleaker tone, sleeker look, and Bittersweet Ending. Still others will cheerfully use both canons by making a couple minor tweaks, and keeping Jet Bradley as Sam Flynn's Lancer.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Castor/Zuse is almost always considered one of the most well-liked characters in the movie. This derives from him being a Large HamDavid BowieExpy in a movie consisting predominantly of grim individuals making the most of his limited screen time.
Even Better Sequel: Tron is considered an impressive film despite the cheesy visuals, which could be forgiven considering the year it was made. Tron: Legacy? Better visuals, Darker and Edgier storyline, and Daft Punk for music? Well you got yourself an impressive sequel.
Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory: The movie, to put it very mildly, is rife with Christian, Gnostic and Buddhist undertones.
Everyone Is Satan in Hell: ...And, unsurprisingly, CLU shares many traits with a certain fallen angel.
The film itself gets called "Disney's Game of Thrones" on Tumblr due to the depressing tone and high body count.
Harsher in Hindsight: Flynn's Jedi-like robes, demeanor, and decision to self-exile while his corrupt apprentice lays waste to everything in range and his allies are left to struggle alone. Luke Skywalker was apparently taking notes. Alan and Lora apparently turned out a little better than Han and Leia, though.
The Shout-Out joke about the young Flynn's mistaking the Light Cycle baton for a lightsaber, now that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise.
Not only that. Later in the movie, Quorra and the Black Guards use identical tools as swords and staffs. He was right!
Another layer of the joke is added if you played TRON 2.0 and remember the short stealth level where the lightcycle rod was used as a improvised shock weapon. Right idea, wrong implementation.
Likewise when Sam sees Rinzler's disc split in two? Yes, it is perfectly legal! It was called a Sequencer upgrade in TRON 2.0. We also see it used prominently in TRON: Uprising.
Given how Castor is all in white and could also be described as "English..intelligent, and gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide," the casting of Sheen as Aziraphale led to a few jokes.
Just Here for Godzilla: The soundtrack and cameo appearance of Daft Punk brought music fans who otherwise wouldn't have seen it.
Jerkass Woobie: CLU, dear god CLU. Yes, he became a dictator of the Grid, yes wiped out the ISOs, and yes he reconfigured Tron's programming to become Rinzler, but when you really think about it, the guy was following the programming Kevin instilled in him. Since Kevin instilled the idea of "creating the perfect system", Clu simply thought he was following that idea. Obviously that doesn't excuse his actions, but when you get down to it, he was just doing what he was programmed to do. Makes you think Clu is more of HAL 9000, than anything.
Memetic Molester: Judging by the Kink Meme for this fandom, Clu headed here faster than a stolen light-cycle.
Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: Sam's line about how much he doesn't cares where his Disappeared Dad is after so many years ("He's either dead, or chillin' in Costa Rica. Probably both.") caused many Costa Rican movie goers to chuckle.
Moral Event Horizon: Clu is a dog-kicking program who takes pleasure in viewing and participating in games to derezz citizens in Tron City. It's not a question of if CLU crosses the line, but when. Here are some milestones:
Stealing Tron's light jet and leaving Tron to die in the Sea of Simulation after Tron refuses to shoot down the Flynns and crashed his jet into Clu's. Needless to say, much of the fanbase turned against Clu after seeing that.
And even before all of that, the genocide of the ISOs. Since he viewed the ISOs as an imperfection (as well as threatening his ability to create a perfect system, which is exactly what he was made to do), he purposely reprograms an ISO into a virus to infect and derezz ISOs in Evolution. This was not just used as a distraction for Flynn while he takes over the Grid, it was also used as an excuse to turn the Basics against the ISO population.
Turning the Games lethal, when Flynn explicitly made the Games non-lethal, which just seemed to be a dick move to punish Programs that annoyed him (and/or piss off Tron).
And "rectification"...Taking and twisting sentient Programs into attack drones. And then, when you try factoring in how much work must have gone into Rinzler and the twisted delight he likely got out of it.
Narm: "KEVIN FLYNN! WHERE ARE YOU NOW?" It's the needless insertion of the word now that really drives this narm home. The fact that his CGI face looks especially plastic in this shot certainly doesn't help matters.
Speaking of which, the younger Kevin Flynn's plastic face in the beginning provided some unintentional comedy.
Kevin Flynn's line in the flashbacks: "It is our DESTINY!" It sounded like he was going to tear his mask off and start eating the crowd.
Sam Flynn looks like he's having an orgasm while he's firing those turrets during the dogfight scene. Unintentional Hilarity Ensues.
"Oh man, I'm all over this."
"Biodigital jazz, man." That is all.
Also when he laughs while describing the ISO-s, Kevin Flynn sounds like he's choking.
Castor/ Zuse's dance moves during the battle scene in his own club. Many viewers couldn't take the intense battle scene, let alone Michael Sheen, seriously because of this.
In the aftermath of the raid on the End Of Line club, in which some partygoers are brutally derezzed, we see a woman crying over some remains - pixel remains.
And for those of you who saw the trailers ad nauseam, Quorra's "Here they come."
Just...this exchange:
CLU: FLYNN! Am I still to create the perfect system?!
Kevin: ...Yeah?
Something about Bridges's delivery takes some of the gravity out of the ensuing fight.
The infamous "KEVIN FLYNN! WHERE ARE YOU NOW?" line makes a lot more sense when you remember that Flynn is God in this place. It's a paraphrased "Where is your God now" to... well, "God" himself.
"You're messing with my Zen thing, man!" Also doubles as a callback to another character played by Bridges.
The Problem with Licensed Games: Ironically, considering how the original game spawned a beloved arcade game, the tie-in to Legacy, TRON: Evolution, earned average if not underwhelming marks.
Special Effects Failure: Sort of, with the deaging of Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner. The effect itself isn't actually that bad, and there's a few cases where it's pulled off quite well. Unfortunately, the rest of the time it's just off enough to teeter at the edge of the Unintentional Uncanny Valley. On the other hand, the Unintentional Uncanny Valley works perfectly for CLU himself, and adds to his menace.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: For a movie with "Tron" in the name, you wouldn't expect the title character to have only a few minutes of screentime in the film, and the majority of that Brainwashed and Crazy. It almost makes you wonder why they bothered to get Bruce Boxleitner back in the first place.
A frequent criticism of Legacy is that the questions of what makes the ISOs special and how Rinzler regained his identity as Tron are poorly developed.
The latter may suffer from Coconut Superpowers, because if the CGI model of Bruce Boxleitner's head had been detailed enough to be used in closeups, the scene where Rinzler says "I fight for the Users!" could have had much more impact by showing him taking off his helmet.
Who else thought the older light cycle Kevin had was going to be in a chase scene? Like most things, this is lampshaded by The Editing Room.
Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: Every "pure" AI character wants to kill the heroes in a painful and messy fashion. Expanded Universe material points to plenty of self-serving spin in Flynn's official story. 2/3 of the named characters are dead or de-rezzed, most of the other third have dim survival odds, probably wish they were dead, or both. The Grid is a Wretched Hive. It's arguable that Only the Leads Get a Happy Ending, but even that is under debate as Sam trudges off to a corporate job where it's clear that everyone sees him as a proxy for his father and Quorra has no analog world skills or identity. This lead to a backlash on Tumblr when Kosinski said that the planned sequel would go even moreDarker and Edgier.
Took the Bad Film Seriously: It isn't bad but it is a film Starring Special Effects with less of a story and acting emphasis. However, Olivia Wilde gives a rather touching Skilled, but Naive portrayal of her character Quorra, who could have easily ended up just another Satellite Love Interest. Additionally, Jeff Bridges puts quite a lot of work into making CLU a menacing and interesting villain since the script doesn't give him much help, and he's believably weary but likable as Kevin Flynn. Finally, Bruce Boxleitner doesn't get to replay Alan for long, but he does quite a good job in his brief scenes.
The younger faces for Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner were both realistic-looking and moderate CGI. In Clu's case, this was evidently deliberate. The main problem arises because the digital younger faces use motion capture from the real actors' current faces... and neither Jeff Bridges nor Bruce Boxleitner's faces are shaped like that anymore. It's especially obvious when Clu will speak and his mouth will almost move beyond his thin cheeks.
Invoked by the Armory Sirens. They look sexy, and they certainly strut in a fashion that should be sexy... but in a very synchronized, vaguely robotic way, lacking the fluidity of typical human movement. This is hammered home when they walk backward.
Vindicated by History: Fitting, considering the same fate befell the original film. Upon release, Legacy was met with mostly mixed reviews from critics, though audiences were more receptive to it. As time has gone on, however, Legacy's gone on to become far more beloved due to its astounding visual effects, strong action sequences, beautiful cinematography, some truly special performances, and Daft Punk just killing it with their amazing score. The story, as well, has gradually become more well-received because of its characters and themes, along with spectacular world building that helps the film's world come to life. All of this has lead the film to be viewed as something that was very much ahead of its time upon release.
Visual Effects of Awesome: Very much so. The memorable aesthetic of the first movie is successully updated with 21st century technology, and it looks awesome. The only contested case is the aforementioned Digital De-Aging of Flynn and Tron falling into the Unintentional Uncanny Valley.
The Tron Lines are fully practical effects built into the actors' costumes, and they all look spectacular. Many of them are also fully built into the set designs, lending the film an authentic feel.
The new way that programs are derezzed causes them to become a case of Literally Shattered Lives, and they look spectacular as they shatter into piles of millions of tiny glass pixels.
The aesthetic of the city's architecture is a gorgeous case of symmetry, lines of light, and hexagonal tesselation. Every aspect of the film's buildings, really, are spectacular. Tron Lines abound, populated with tons of programs, each and every one of them unique, and a truly impressive sense of scale.
The Solar Sailer sequence. Scenery Porn, beautifully digitized aurora borealis, rolling mists beneath a digital sky... It's breathtaking.
What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: One could easily be shocked that this film, unlike the 1982 originalnote Many of the arena deaths, for example, dismemberment and splatter easily compare with similar scenes in Gladiator, possibly being a nod to Scott's epic, only swapping dissolving luminescent cubes for real blood and gore., was intended for kids, considering its Darker and Edgier plot and much more brutalderesolutions. The movie is about as close to Gorn as you can get without showing any blood, the villain is essentially Hitler, and there are a lot of jokes that go straight over a kid's head... and somehow it still managed to get a PG rating, with Disney marketing it to young children. Its promotions on Disney Channel, as well as its Adidas apparel line, and its largecollection of toys, all of which are made and meant for children.
Tron is becoming this in the Fandom, especially all after all the crazy brain-screwing he's been through at the hands of Clu.
Kevin Flynn. All the guy wanted to do was to create a better world, and he gets stuck in the Grid for decades instead while his own program takes over. Decades in our world, thousands in his.
argues that TRON: Legacy is actually an attack on idea that all information MUST be free, and it makes some very good points.