NOTE: This review contains minor spoilers for "Tron Legacy".
As of early last night, Disney XD's official Youtube page has posted the full preview episode to the new series, "Tron Uprising", for public viewing. The episode, entitled "Beck's Beginning", is essentially the pilot for the entire series that will begin airing on Disney XD starting next month, but does this first episode give us a good sign of things to come, or will this ultimately be one series that deserves to be wiped off the grid of anxious Tron fans?
First, the plot: The series takes place between Clu's betrayal of Kevin Flynn in 1989 and Sam Flynn's arrival on The Grid in "Tron Legacy" over 20 years later. During this time, Clu, along with his right-hand man, General Tessler (Lance Henrikson), begin seizing control of every city of the digital world, with Argon City, the main setting for the rest of the series, as their latest target. However, one particular young program, Beck, (Elijah Wood of "Lord of the Rings" fame), will not stand for such tyranny, and decides to rebel against Clu's regime by disguising himself as Tron in order to try and inspire others to his cause. Beck's actions catch the attention of the REAL Tron (once again played by Bruce Boxleitner), who somehow survived Clu's betrayal that fateful night and has gone into hiding. Tron takes Beck under his wing as an apprentice in order to truly shape him into his successor, and the two begin planning an uprising, one that'll forever change the very fate of the Grid itself.
Right off the bat with this first 30-minute episode, this series hits the ground running and never stops. It's full of drama, a TON of action, and some really, REALLY cool sequences featuring lightcycles and even other vehicles that fans of the Tron franchise have never seen before, including an ATV and a helicopter! Elijah Wood, as series protagonist Beck, delivers probably his best performance since "Lord of the Rings", and the rest of the all-star voice cast is just as good, including Mandy Moore and "Die Hard" alum Reginald Veljohnson as two of Beck's allies on the Grid. It's also good to see Bruce Boxleitner's Tron have a bigger role this time around, though one wonders if this series will show how Clu eventually brainwashes Tron into becoming his new right-hand man Rinzler prior to the events of "Tron Legacy". Overall, between this and "Legend of Korra", 2012's been a great year for geek properties on TV, and "Tron Uprising" is no exception.
You can watch "Beck's Beginning" via Disney XD's Youtube page right via the source link below (US residents only; sorry guys), or you can also buy it free off of iTunes starting tomorrow. The rest of the series will premiere on Disney XD starting Thursday, June 7th at 9 PM EST. Trust me, programs, you WON'T be disappointed.
Score: 10/10