In my opinion, the only (and I do mean ONLY) redeeming quality of Tron: Legacy is a throw-away sub-plot that implies mind control. The film’s antagonist, Clu v2.0, has seized control of the system and is capturing programs for his bad-guy plans. Early in the film, we see a group being rounded up and several are sent off for “Reclamation.”

Later in the movie, we are told, but never shown, that reclamation is a process wherein a program has their code overwritten and becomes a slave to Clu. There is even a character who heroically resists their programming just in time to save the heroes, blah, blah, blah.

The movie has a fundamental problem with “saying and not showing” alongside the fundamental problem of sucking. But anyway. This idea has fascinated me since seeing the film for the first time. Especially since the terrific Olivia Wilde is sent for Reclamation…but rescued before anything remotely fun can happen.

The included image may not seem to have anything to do with all that, but my brain has other ideas. I’m knee-deep in transforming this latex-clad model into one of the light-suited heroes of the Tron universe. The only “problem” is that she will be undergoing this Reclamation process. Being reprogrammed into a drone that serves the nefarious “Host Controller.”

Its a lot of detail work in both the image and animation, but I think its going to be pretty fun when its finally finished.