Tron_Fan
September 11th, 2005, 19:29
Tron UMD Review
By Tron_Fan
OK, I know what you’re already asking yourself. How is someone named “Tron_Fan” going to give me an honest review about the Tron UMD? Well, have no fear. Yes, I’ll admit this is going to be a positive review, but I also hope to give you enough unbiased information to allow you to choose for yourself if this is the right UMD for you.
To be honest, when I heard Tron was coming out on the PSP in UMD form I was a bit puzzled. Tron has a relatively small, albeit loyal, fan base, and this film is 23 years old. Of course, far be it from me to complain, I went as far as to reserve this UMD before it came out, much to the hilarity of the clerks working in the video game store.
Tron’s premise is that a computer hacker, Flynn, is sucked into the computer world by the evil Master Control Program. While in the computer he finds an oppressive society composed of computer programs being imprisoned and forced to take part in gladiatorial combat in the form of video games. If you win, you get to live, but must fight another day.
I won’t ruin the ending, but while in the computer he meets up with Tron, a program created by a friend of his from the outside world. Together they band together and vow to bring down the MCP and restore freedom to the system.
When Tron came out in 1982 people weren’t sure what to make of it. Instead of regular special effects, they were shown computer graphic effects. What seems commonplace to us today was something completely new and unexpected at the time. Tron did poorly at the box office and has been considered a “failure” ever since. Recent attempts to resurrect the genre (The Tron 2.0 video game) have been made, but it still remains a relatively cult movie.
The good thing about Tron is the computer graphics hold up to this day. You will have a hard time believing that this film was made 23 years ago. There’s enough of a feel of being actually inside the computer with innovative and interesting visual effects and concepts, to make you believe that there may be little worlds inside your own network and make you think twice about deleting a program.
As for this UMD, here is a breakdown of its attributes:
Sound 5/5
The sound is spectacular on this UMD. The immersive sound effects sound like nothing you’ve heard out of the movie before, now that you can plug headphones in and hear every little nuance.
Film Quality 5/5
Simply excellent. The colors of the computer graphics are vibrant and sharp as they ever were. The UMD plays flawlessly with no skips or loss of frames. The nice thing about this UMD is it plays at the correct film ratio, whereas the DVD (if played to a TV set) can crop part of the picture. All of the reds and blues jump off the screen at you and you’ll quickly forget that you’re watching a handheld UMD.
Story/Acting. 3/5
Let’s face it. The star of this show is the computer graphics. The story is interesting, sticks to the original intent, but is basically one man going against the system. Been done before, sure, but not really this way.
Bridges is probably the best actor of the bunch, with David Warner giving it all as the baddie Sark. What is probably most alluring for people my age is that this took place during the early 80’s when computers and networks were still in their infancy. It’s great to look back and see how far we’ve come, but also have a little nostalgia over the video game arcade and the culture of the early 80’s. For those who haven’t seen this film yet, the archaic feel to the “Real World” sequences might bring them down a bit, but they will be rewarded amply when the focus shifts to the computer world.
Bonus Material/Format. 5/5
The nice thing about this UMD is the bonus material. You get deleted scenes along with commentary from the actors and filmmakers. They include a Love Scene between programs, the famous lightcycle scene with deleted music, and an alternate opening. It’s great to have these bonus features on the UMD, and really does add to the whole Tron experience. You also get choices of alternate language tracks in the form of subtitles. I however, could not ever find the Storyboards which were mentioned on the case. Perhaps it's an Easter Egg or something, but I have never located them.
UMD access is pretty fast on the menus, so you’re not left waiting for the disc to spin and find what chapter/option you want.
Overall:
If you’re a fan of Tron get this UMD now and spare no expense.
If you can say “Yeah, I remember that movie! It was cool!” you should get this UMD and add it to your PSP collection, but maybe wait until the price drops a little or can pick it up for under $20.
If you’ve never seen it and may have the propensity to dislike it and think it is 80’s kitsch, you may want to consider renting it first. It’s not for everybody, but anyone who is a computer/video game geek at heart can’t help but love this movie.
By Tron_Fan
OK, I know what you’re already asking yourself. How is someone named “Tron_Fan” going to give me an honest review about the Tron UMD? Well, have no fear. Yes, I’ll admit this is going to be a positive review, but I also hope to give you enough unbiased information to allow you to choose for yourself if this is the right UMD for you.
To be honest, when I heard Tron was coming out on the PSP in UMD form I was a bit puzzled. Tron has a relatively small, albeit loyal, fan base, and this film is 23 years old. Of course, far be it from me to complain, I went as far as to reserve this UMD before it came out, much to the hilarity of the clerks working in the video game store.
Tron’s premise is that a computer hacker, Flynn, is sucked into the computer world by the evil Master Control Program. While in the computer he finds an oppressive society composed of computer programs being imprisoned and forced to take part in gladiatorial combat in the form of video games. If you win, you get to live, but must fight another day.
I won’t ruin the ending, but while in the computer he meets up with Tron, a program created by a friend of his from the outside world. Together they band together and vow to bring down the MCP and restore freedom to the system.
When Tron came out in 1982 people weren’t sure what to make of it. Instead of regular special effects, they were shown computer graphic effects. What seems commonplace to us today was something completely new and unexpected at the time. Tron did poorly at the box office and has been considered a “failure” ever since. Recent attempts to resurrect the genre (The Tron 2.0 video game) have been made, but it still remains a relatively cult movie.
The good thing about Tron is the computer graphics hold up to this day. You will have a hard time believing that this film was made 23 years ago. There’s enough of a feel of being actually inside the computer with innovative and interesting visual effects and concepts, to make you believe that there may be little worlds inside your own network and make you think twice about deleting a program.
As for this UMD, here is a breakdown of its attributes:
Sound 5/5
The sound is spectacular on this UMD. The immersive sound effects sound like nothing you’ve heard out of the movie before, now that you can plug headphones in and hear every little nuance.
Film Quality 5/5
Simply excellent. The colors of the computer graphics are vibrant and sharp as they ever were. The UMD plays flawlessly with no skips or loss of frames. The nice thing about this UMD is it plays at the correct film ratio, whereas the DVD (if played to a TV set) can crop part of the picture. All of the reds and blues jump off the screen at you and you’ll quickly forget that you’re watching a handheld UMD.
Story/Acting. 3/5
Let’s face it. The star of this show is the computer graphics. The story is interesting, sticks to the original intent, but is basically one man going against the system. Been done before, sure, but not really this way.
Bridges is probably the best actor of the bunch, with David Warner giving it all as the baddie Sark. What is probably most alluring for people my age is that this took place during the early 80’s when computers and networks were still in their infancy. It’s great to look back and see how far we’ve come, but also have a little nostalgia over the video game arcade and the culture of the early 80’s. For those who haven’t seen this film yet, the archaic feel to the “Real World” sequences might bring them down a bit, but they will be rewarded amply when the focus shifts to the computer world.
Bonus Material/Format. 5/5
The nice thing about this UMD is the bonus material. You get deleted scenes along with commentary from the actors and filmmakers. They include a Love Scene between programs, the famous lightcycle scene with deleted music, and an alternate opening. It’s great to have these bonus features on the UMD, and really does add to the whole Tron experience. You also get choices of alternate language tracks in the form of subtitles. I however, could not ever find the Storyboards which were mentioned on the case. Perhaps it's an Easter Egg or something, but I have never located them.
UMD access is pretty fast on the menus, so you’re not left waiting for the disc to spin and find what chapter/option you want.
Overall:
If you’re a fan of Tron get this UMD now and spare no expense.
If you can say “Yeah, I remember that movie! It was cool!” you should get this UMD and add it to your PSP collection, but maybe wait until the price drops a little or can pick it up for under $20.
If you’ve never seen it and may have the propensity to dislike it and think it is 80’s kitsch, you may want to consider renting it first. It’s not for everybody, but anyone who is a computer/video game geek at heart can’t help but love this movie.