Which Is Better: Tron (1982) Vs Tron Legacy (2010)

One of my goals with this blog is to introduce to my viewers films that maybe you've heard of, but most of the time films that largely you had no idea existed. Films that I think are undercut, because the critical opinion is so negative about the film that it is buried and lost to the general public. Now these are two films that did to some extent well, but I wouldn't be surprised if these are two films that you haven't heard of. I personally am a big fan of these two films, especially the second one. If you haven't seen these two films, watch them. They are worth your time. But if you haven't seen them, than there will be SLIGHT SPOILERS about the two films here. So "CONTINUE AT SPOILER RISK!" This will be a five round battle as most as my feuds go. A different thing I'll be doing is that this particular battle will start with Story first, instead of Cast. It'll go Story, Cast, Effects, Action, and Music. A new thing about the Verses battles is that I put chapter titles on what I talk about so that if there's a part you want to see and skip to, then that title is there to let you know. I only did it for the long rounds. Let me know if that works for you. More requests have come in and asked that I'd be more visual on my posts so expect more pictures and videos than usual.

1. Story

Plot Premise for Tron (1982)

Now the two stories for both these films may seem similar, but on closer inspection, they are two different stories that from time to time may have sone similarities. The plot of the first one is about a computer genius named Kevin Flynn, a former employee of the hit computer cooperation named ENCOM, who finds out that the executive of the company, Ed Dillinger, stole his video game ideas and passed them off as his own work. He countlessly tries multiple ways to find proof that those ideas were his. One of which includes sending Flynn's hacking program named Clu, but he is found out and destroyed. One night, he hacks into the company's mainframe, but is caught by the company's AI program, created by Dillinger, named Master Control Program or MCP for short. He then brings Flynn down to his level by sending him into the computer world, by way of a laser that turns real matter and digitizes it and thus transports the object or person inside the computer world. The name of the computer world is called The Grid, filled with programs created by their users, aka us. Now like most fictitious worlds, the computer world is oppressed by our villains. They do not believe in "Users" and force the other programs to do so. If they resist and don't deny the existence of the ones that created them, they are sent to become participants of the deadly Gladiator games, which in our reality, are similar the video games we play everyday. Anyways, these oppressors, run by Dillinger's program named Sark, who's in league with the MCP, sentences Flynn to these games and along the way, he meets Ram, and Tron, a program created by Flynn's ex-coworker and close friend, Alan Bradley. Together they team up and destroy the MCP and liberate the people and successfully does so. Dillinger is arrested after the proof is sent to the public, and Flynn safely gets back to the real world and takes Dillinger's place as the company's new CEO.

Plot premise for Tron Legacy (2010)

That is the plot of the first film. Now twenty-one years later, Kevin has disappeared leaving his young son, Sam in the care of his grandparents. Eight years later and now an adult, Sam, who is now ENCOM's primary shareholder, takes little interest in the company, besides the annual prank he places on the board of directors. Now Alan comes to Sam one night asking that he'd investigate a mysterious page message that Alan received, that came originated from Kevin's old arcade. Sam investigates and finds a secret office beneath full of history about Kevin's uses of the office. He enters in the last thing his father did, and like father, like son, Sam sits in front of that laser. What Sam finds is a new and improved version of the original Grid from the first film and is received by some mysterious guards. He later finds that Clu, Kevin's original program, now reborn, has taken over The Grid and reigns supreme. Sam soon reunites with his father aided by an ISO named Quorra. The trinity then hatch a plan to get back to the real world before the portal to the real world closes and traps them all inside.

Verdict

Wow! I didn't spoil much for both the films. I didn't go that in depth. There's a lot that I didn't reveal. So let's pick a winner. While I like the 1982 film, I like the sequel better so the first point goes to Tron Legacy.

2. Cast

Not a big cast for both casts. I don't think I need a chapter section for these. The 1982 cast has the talents of Jeff Bridges as Kevin/Clu, Bruce Boxleitner as Alan/Tron, David Warner as Dillinger/Sark, Cindy Morgan as Lora Baines/Yori, and Dan Shor as Roy Kleinberg/Ram. Such a nice and small cast. The cast of Legacy gets rid of Morgan, Shor, and Warner, but keeps Bridges and Boxleitner and adds a lot of new members to the cast. Garrett Hedlund as Sam, Olivia Wilde as Quorra, Michael Sheen as Zuse/Castor, James Frain as Jarvis, and Bruce Boxleitner adds another side of his character Tron, named Rinzler. The cast of both films aren't a lot different from each other, besides some new additions and people that got cut in the sequel. So for a winner, the 1982 cast wins out. I have never been a fan of Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde, and while they are good, I prefer the talents showcased in the '82 film better.

3. Effects

The effects are great for both. In 1982, Tron was a huge accomplishment for computer graphics and animation. Usually with these older cult films with aged effects, I respect for them for being considered technical achievements in their day and I shall do the same thing with this film. It was the first film ever to use computer imagery extensively. It even inspired one of the greatest animators of our day. John Lassiter, who went on to create a little animation studio called Pixar. I have mad respect for what the filmmakers were able to do back in the day with what the had on hand and what they were able to do with the technology that existed at the time. But while I appreciate the effects and the effort made in the '82 film, like I have in the pictures, you're going up against a more modern film. For Legacy, there are more sharper, brighter, more focused effects than the first film. Also the effects were better in the action sequences, more on that in a moment. The lighting on the vehicles, the suits, and the buildings all look great. So with that, the 2010 film walks away with its second win.

4. Action

Once again to compare one against another, let the clip do the talking. The first clip showcases the light cycle sequence from the first film.



Did you see Pac-Man at the end of this clip? Anyways, while that scene along with the rest of the film's action was great. It pales in comparison to the action takes place in the 2010 sequel. Sorry for the somewhat poor sound on this next clip. There's a better version of this sequence on YouTube, that I would've done instead of this version, if the channel that put the clip on disabled the ability to embed it.



Loads more action takes place in this film than this film, as well as its predecessor, and while I respect the original and what it was able to do back then, I watch the action now and some of them seem kinda lame at points. So with that Legacy gets another point.

5. Music

The soundtracks for both of these films are radically different for two reasons. They had different composers. The first film was composed by Wendy Carlos. The clip below of the score, went for a more adventurous tone and hints at the wonder of the computer world that is showcased in the film. Listen and let me know in the comments if you concur.


What did you think? The score in Legacy, composed by Daft Punk, is in stark contrast to that. This is opinion according to me, but this score hints at the father/son relationship in the story, and there are still elements of that wonder feel, but there's also that danger feel, because the world of The Grid is both a wondrous and dangerous place. It has more techno elements, which is Daft Punk's style, and also includes a grand orchestral moment towards the end.



That is my personal favorite part of the score, which is why I chose it. I consider it to be the best part of the score. For the final point, I'm going with Legacy. I like the score better than the one in the first film. I mean the score in the 1982 film is fine, but in a matter of preference, Legacy wins out for me.

With a final tally of four to one, Tron Legacy wins this battle and deservedly so. It's one of Disney's most underrated films that they've done. It has a thrilling plot, a lot of great action sequences, a slightly memorable score, great character moments, and message. The '82 film only won in Cast, because other than story, age has not been kind to it like some of the other films that came out in that period. As for why it didn't win in story, I preferred Legacy's story better, but I like the original's plot just the same. So what did you think of the winner? What did you think of the clips of the action and music? Have you seen these two films? If you haven't I strongly recommend that you see them, and then give me your thoughts. What did you think of the new things introduced like more clips and images as well as chapter points in the long parts of the feud. Thanks for reading, I'm the film fanatic, bye-bye