On paper it may seem like an odd choice for Disney to pick popular french dance music producers Daft Punk to score their latest big screen epic "Tron Legacy", while its not Thomas Bangalter's first time to write and produce music for a full length feature, its certainly the first time he as been involved in a full on traditional score for a mainstream blockbuster.. In 2002 Thomas created a minimalistic score for Gasper Noes disturbing independent masterpiece "Irreversible" and recently for Noes latest "Enter the Void" mainly using uneasy drones to brilliant effect..
A few months back some previews of Daft Punks score hit the internet and one piece in particular sounded like a deeply atmospheric electro track in the vein of Anthony Rother/John Carpenter which really got my attention but hasn't actually featured on the soundtrack CD.
I was really hoping for maybe an almost ambient electro score from the french duo but as its turned out Daft Punk have had access to a full orchestra and have mixed it with moments of electronic minimalism, which may come as a shock or disappointment for those who were hoping for a full on Daft Punk album. While the score may not have the originality or stand alone listening experience of soundtracks like Thomas Newman's "American Beauty" or "Blade Runner" by Vangelis but it certainly has a few epic spine tingling moments.
A few of the traditionally orchestrated pieces worth mentioning are "Overture" and the deeply emotive yet short "Arrival" some of the purely electronic compositions that stand out are the rather excellent "End Of Line" which reminds me of John Carpenter and early Orbital. and the Lush mix of synths and strings on "Son Of Flynn" Other High points utilise a stunning blend of tough electro grooves and the trademark fuzzy Daft Punk acid sequences combined with stunning orchestral strings and horn swells on "Tron Legacy (end titles)
While most of the music fits safely into the Hollywood mould of action movies and at times you would be hard pushed to tell the difference between Daft Punks score or the work of say established Hollywood composers like Hans Zimmer etc, so there's no doubt that Daft Punk have succeeded in their first venture into traditional movie scoring and have blended the use of electronic sounds effectively to compliment the technologically advanced themes of the movie.
Overall the soundtrack stands up pretty well for a home listening experience with the exception of a couple of obvious action driven compositions which I'm sure will effortlessly blend in with the images depicted in the visually stunning movie and I'm sure that the score will certainly secure Daft Punk some future work in Hollywood but I wouldn't bring the "Tron Legacy" soundtrack to any party..
7.5/10
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