This is a tough movie to transfer to UMD. The black levels need to be perfect, a problem even the DVD version had problems with. As expected, compression shows through every time the black levels lighten themselves up (even slightly). This is fairly common, and with the solid color backgrounds, you’ll find plenty of noise to complain about too. The style is maintained, and there is only minimal aliasing. That’s remarkable given all the diagonal lines. Clarity and detail is maintained during actor close ups as well. (***)
Picking things up is the audio. This is a fantastic audio experience for PSP owners. The stereo channels are used in every opportunity, whether that’s basic dialogue or the light cycle sequence. Bass is phenomenal with a solid pair of headphones, and there a few moments where it manages to sound like there’s surround work from rear speakers that don’t exist (or that the PSP is capable of). You’re not missing much by listening to this audio mix. (*****)
Extras are rather odd. The back of the case indicates there’s supposed to be some storyboards that show off early concepts for the light cycles. They’re not here anywhere on the disc. The features that did make it (aside from trailers) are all deleted scenes. There’s an introduction from the director and special effects supervisor. They discuss a deleted scene they argued about cutting, and director Steven Lisberger admits he made a mistake cutting it. The only other scene that might have helped with the understanding of the film was an alternate opening that explained the premise loosely. (**)
Interestingly, during that discussion about the deleted scenes, Lisberger briefly tosses out a Tron 2 idea. While it will likely never happen given how poorly the first film was received, it would be interesting to see how the effects work out given the technology. It’s hard to imagine how it would look with updated equipment at their disposal, and if they did upgrade it, they might as well not bother. It needs the simple style to work.
.jpg?t=20120527181101)
Article comments