Music is very important in film. A score has to be able to fit the tone and style of the film. In the best cases, it should enhance the overall experience for the viewer.
Movies like Star Wars, E.T. and Jurassic Park are noted for the direction of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg respectively, but without John Williams scores they would not be as iconic. Climactic scenes such as the battle on the Death Star, or E.T. and Elliot flying across the moon on a bike would not be the same without his music.
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Similarly, the scene of The Avengers assembling for the first time or for the final battle in Endgame wouldn’t hit nearly as hard without Alan Silvestri’s score backing it up. But there’s one soundtrack in particular that I think deserves to be included in discussions regarding film scores and that’s Daft Punk’s soundtrack for Tron: Legacy.
Tron: Legacy came out in 2010 a sequel to the 80s classic Tron starring Jeff Bridges. I remember seeing the film in theaters in 3D, and it was one of the best moviegoing experiences I ever had. I’ll be honest though. Story wise, Legacy isn’t that unique. Most of that enjoyment came from the perfect mixture of amazing effects and incredible music. Were it not for Daft Punk’s music, I’d probably enjoy the film like 80% less. To me, it truly is one of the best examples of music really elevating the events happening onscreen.
In the lead up to the film, there were some people who though Daft Punk was just going to make some regular dance beats. While there are admittedly in the film – especially with the track “Derezzed” – their score still feels cinematic. Something I don’t think many people expected was just how epic the music ended up being.
During the film’s climactic action sequences, you can feel the stakes through the music. What they do musically feels on the same level as John Williams. The chase at the end with the Light Jets with the track “C.L.U” playing over just feels really intense and puts you on the edge of your seat. The track “Flynn Lives’ is an amazing piece that really brings out an emotional impact during the climax that again I honestly don’t think could’ve been achieved without the music.
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I don’t feel like I’m really pointing out anything new, but I do feel like Daft Punk’s work on the film deserves to be recognized in the same category as greats like Williams or Silvestri or Zimmer. This might be a hot take, but Inception came out the same year as Tron: Legacy, and I feel that this score is just as iconic as Hans Zimmer score for that film too.
It feels like it really isn’t though and perhaps the reason for that is because of Legacy’s overall mixed reception. With the third film, Ares, currently in production, it’s unlikely that Daft Punk will return since they allegedly retired a few years ago. If by some miracle they do happen to return, however, it would be interesting to see how they could top their previous work. If not, I look forward to seeing who Disney might hire to at attempt to create something comparable.
