Tron: Legacy is a bit of a polarizing film. Some people loved it, others hated it while few could find much middle ground. Say what you will about the movie itself, it is hard to deny that Legacy re-introduced us to an intriguing universe that deserves to be explored a bit more.

While a third Tron film grows less and less likely with each passing month, Disney remains committed to the franchise with a new animated series set to debut on Disney XD soon. We have long known of this project, as it was announced shortly after the release of Legacy, but it has been awhile since we have been reminded that the show is still on the horizon.

That reminder has finally arrived in the form of a new trailer for the show, showcasing an impressive animated style that fits the digital world of Tron perfectly. The show also boosts an incredible voice cast, starring Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reubens and even Bruce Boxleitner back as Tron.

You can check out the new trailer after the jump.

The fun folks over at Corridor Digital finally made a follow-up to their classic Graphic Violence video from a year ago with a new one, Brush with Death.

Speaking of all things internet and fun, Freddie Wong produced a new video over the Thanksgiving break, and those Dragonball Z fans have been clamoring for this one for quite some time.

The holidays are upon us, so why wouldn’t someone cut a mash-up video between Star Wars and How the Grinch Stole Christmas? The only difference is that Vader’s heart didn’t grow 3 sizes…he took his mask off and died.

This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are joined by Joseph Dilworth of Pop Culture Zoo and, of course, hilarity and informative discussion ensues. During the show all manner of new and recurring topics are discussed, dissected and otherwise examined.

Some of those topics include Emerald City Comic Con, Tron Legacy and potential sequels, Star Trek old and new, the Wolverine sequel without Darren Aronofsky, the renewal of Community and Fringe‘s rating slump, casting for various films including Kevin Costner as Pa Kent in Superman, X-Men First Class, Martin Scorsese’s The Dark Night and a whole lot more. And again this week, no Charlie Sheen. You’re welcome.

Of course, your hosts and guest also made some picks this week including Joseph’s dual picks of the movie Sourcecode and the new comic Vampirella, Matt’s pick of the movie Rubber and Chris’ pick of the new movie Limitless, featuring Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

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Taking place following the events of the Tron: Betrayal graphic novel and before those of the newly released Tron: Legacy, Tron: Evolution adds another chapter to the Tron saga. Tron: Evolution does so by taking elements from other well established franchises and puts them together in a package that while not completely enthralling to play through looks and sounds amazing and gives fans of the Tron franchise added life to some of their favorite characters.

Gameplay:

The core gameplay of Tron: Evolution consists of four basic parts. Platforming, hand to hand combat, light cycles and light tanks. The game actually goes out of its way to keep all four parts separated from each other in single player mode. The platforming is heavily parkour style roaming throughout the city. This includes lots of wall running and launching players over chasms similar to that of the 2008 Prince of Persia. Unlike Prince of Persia, the controls are just loose enough that often the Monitor doesn’t make the jump exactly the right way which leads to repeated deaths overcoming the same simple obstacle. This leads to what should be simple sections to become frustrating.

Combat is a beast all of its own. While there is occassionally a section of platforming where one opponent appears, they are easily dispatched. Most combat takes place in closed off arenas where the Monitor must take on a few waves of enemies, attempting to derezz them using his light disc or capoeira inspired hand to hand combat. For the most part, hand to hand combat doesn’t come in to play as players spend much of their time deflecting their opponents’ light discs from all angles or avoiding unblockable attacks.

Players are granted a series of differently powered discs as they upgrade (level up) which can be used to exploit various weaknesses of different opponents. This comes to be one of the biggest weaknesses of Tron: Evolution as the art style, while beautiful, doesn’t aid in telling apart different opponents. Most look identical and as a result, in the heat of battle, it is nearly impossible to tell them apart and plan an strategy to exploit their very specific weaknesses other than repeated deaths of trial and error.

The Light Cycles and Light Tank sections of single player feel more like added fan service than an integral part of the game. The Tank sections are slow moving and lack excitement or opponent AI. The Light Cycle sections feel like mini obstacle races with little to offer in terms of defining moments for the gameplay.

Welcome to this week’s On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage this week. Let is know if we missed something interesting. Let’s get started!

• We knew somebody would bitch. A conservative group of “people” have declared war on the Thor film for casting Idris Elba as a Norse God.

• ‘Tis the season . . . to adapt the classic Bed Intruder YouTube sensation into a Christmas Carol. Blame the mohawk-sporting conductor!

• Anybody who uses Google Docs knows how awesome it can be, but here‘s an amazing animation using the online tool just to prove that fact.

• In honor of Tron: Legacy hitting theaters this weekend, Playboy payed homage with their own Tron themed adult photos. Thankfully, they skipped any nudity with a Bruce Boxleitner look alike.

• Love The Walking Dead? Well, you’re going to want to catch our very own Matt Raub as he hosts a weekly recap show discussing AMC’s hit. Flickcast Editor Chris Ullrich even stops by for a visit!

• We’ve seen images, but now the first video of the Tim Burton Superman Lives costume test has hit the web. Thank Zod this film never got made.

• In honor of the holidays, here’s a list of the top non-traditional Christmas movies.

• Plus, how about a list of the top Christmas action movies? We love lists, why not? Yippie-Kay-Yay Santa!

• It’s official: George Lucas doesn’t give a shit anymore. Why? Because in the new Star Wars: Force Unleashed II game you can kill Han Solo and Chewbacca. Dammit George, why?

• List for list’s sake: The top 10 films of 2010 that made WAY more money than they deserved.

• Finally, because we love it so, here’s that alternate ending to the new Yogi Bear movie we told you about before. Yes, it’s definitely worth a look.

Note: This review may contain spoilers. You have been warned.

I have a caveat.  It’s nearly impossible for me to write about Tron Legacy (directed by Joseph Kosinski) without the veil of nostalgia clouding my eyes.  I was nine years old when the original Tron came out and a few years later my brother watched it on constant rotation at our house.

I have very fond memories of Tron that are directly tied to my siblings – and I happen to love how the animation looks even after two decades – so it is difficult for me to be objective in regards to it’s predecessor.

We are introduced to Sam Flynn as a young boy.  His father, Flynn (played by a digitally re-constructed, be-mulleted, 1982-era Jeff Bridges…more on that later), is tucking him in for the night and telling him about Tron and the digital universe known as The Grid…he tells it kind of like a bed-time story, but it’s much creepier (see Digital Bridges, Uncanny Valley).

Sam’s room is full of Tron video game paraphernalia – action figures, posters, etc. – and when Kevin says goodnight to leave for work, it is apparent that the boy desperately wants more his father’s attention.

Tron: Legacy‘s immensely anticipated release is only just a brief week away, so what could be more exciting than rumors about a sequel? Up until this week, the news of a secret (but brief) cameo in Tron: Legacy have surfaced, one that might hint towards a villain in a future Tron installment. Don’t keep reading if you don’t want it spoiled!

According to io9, actor Cillian Murphy appears as Edward Dillinger, son of Ed Dillinger, the former baddie in the original Tron. You can spot him in the “real world” during Tron Legacy, at an Encom board meeting.

“That was little tit-bit we didn’t need slipping out early,” said Brigham Taylor, Production Executive on Tron: Legacy. “He’s a character that fits into the mythology of Tron. He’s connected to one of the characters from the past and we’re really excited to have him involved.”

While the cameo is rather short, the fact that this was kept such a secret until now means that this character is going to be big to the Tron universe in the future. After all, they wouldn’t have casted someone as well-known as Murphy in the role, had they not had plans for Edward Dillinger.

In the meantime, charge up your lightcycles and race to the theater next Friday, December 17th, when Tron: Legacy is released in theaters and IMAX 3D.

While the 3D element, amazing digital effects, and Jeff Bridges are all great reasons to see Tron: Legacy in theaters this month, one easily overlooked bonus is the excellent original score done by the Electronica group Daft Punk.

The group managed to combine some great digital elements with classic gaming sounds for a full (2 CD) album that would blow away most film composers today. Not only is the 2-disc album currently out and doing well, but the musical duo even has a cameo in the film as-yes-digital DJ’s.

In this new clip from the film, we get the very first meeting between our protagonist Sam Flynn and one of our digital baddies, Castor. Pay close attention to see if you can catch Daft Punk in their very first film role.

Click through to see the clip and catch Tron: Legacy in both 3D and 2D theaters on December 17th.

Although the light cycles and identity discs are pretty cool, by far the coolest visual aspect to both TRON and the upcoming TRON: Legacy is the skintight light suits that all of the characters in the game grid sport. One question has always arrisen though: where do those wonderful suits come from?

Do they manifest the moment a player enters the game, or is there a gigantic TRON Gap store that players have to go through to pick them up? Well, in this new clip we finally get that mystery revealed.

In the film, Sam Flynn, son of the famed game creator Kevin Flynn gets transported into the game where he embarks on a journey to save his trapped father.

After the jump, check out a clip from TRON: Legacy in which the game sirens dress Sam in the traditional light suit and get him ready for his very first game. Be sure to catch TRON: Legacy in theaters on December 17th.

Just in time for a Tuesday comes the latest trailer for Disney’s highly anticipated sequel Tron Legacy. I say “highly anticipated” but in truth, it may only be the geeks and fans of the original movie who respond to this new one. But really, that’s just fine with me.

In case you haven’t been watching TV, reading a comic book or on the Internet prior to today, the new film picks up almost 28 years after the events of 1982′s original. Jeff Bridge’s Kevin Flynn has gone missing and it’s up to his son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), to get to the bottom of the mystery. Mix this story with some very impressive visuals of the game grid and more plus Olivia Wilde in a skin-tight outfit, and you’ve got yourself a film.

How good a film remains to be seen. However, with this new trailer added to the mix it’s definitely looking better and better. Check out all the trailerery goodness after the jump. And no, the above picture doesn’t really have that much to do with this trailer, it just looks good.

Tron Legacy fills us with a sense of wonder and awe starting on December 17.