Soundtracks that were better than the movie - Daft Punk - Tron Legacy 2010 (Walt Disney)

I feel that soundtracks should be able to standalone from what they support. Most of the time soundtracks are filled with incidental music and snippets played at certain cues within their main feature. Sometimes the soundtracks have fully fledged arrangements that weren't heard in their entirety because there is only limited time available in a feature film. Sometimes soundtracks are meandering wastes of time to listen to without pictures to punctuate their meaning. Sometimes the soundtracks outshine the main feature. 

Tron Legacy is one such case where the soundtrack outshines the thing it supports. The movie is a remake of an early-eighties film starring Jeff Bridges entering a computer world to fight the good-fight. It was applauded at the time for its special effects and restored some faith in the Disney brand that a forward looking film could be made under their watch. This obscures the fact that the characters were forgettable and it was ultimately a hollow shell of an excuse to show pretty graphics. The updated version, Tron Legacy, starring Jeff Bridges in two roles, is the same sort of thing. Forgettable plot and eye-candy.

The problem with the new film is this, flashy special effects with no real new ideas on why they are happening are par-for-the-course in 2010. In modern times we are meant to go to movies as if they are spectacles and not because they are worthy stories. The eighties Tron was released in a time when this sort of movie-making was not as commonplace and thus the lack of plot or recognizable characters didn't bother as much. Tron was still only for kids.

Daft Punk, purveyors of fun and interesting dance music, created this score. What is of note is that this doesn't sound like one of their albums or a collection of their singles - it sounds like a movie score. The music here is miles ahead of the original's score that melded electronic and organic instruments to varying results. The music by Daft Punk works as whole by finding interesting variations on a single memorable theme. It stands apart from the film as an engaging listen throughout. Tron Legacy works as music on its own feet without the flashy gimmicks of the movie. Listen below!

Here is the Tron Legacy page on youtube showing all the soundtrack plus remixes

Below is a youtube link to play 'The Grid' which acts as the real introduction to the world of the soundtrack.