As The World Trons: A Tron (1982) Review

2008-11-11
3:18:00 pm

Tron is one of those movies that I've been hearing about how awesome it is from people who are a few years older than me for a while now. Well, sorry those people, but I've got to disagree. I think if I had seen Tron when I was a kid it would have blown my freaking mind and I'd probably love it now, but seeing as I don't have the nostalgia factor, I watched it like I would any other movie and, while the effects were crazy good for the time and still hold up, the story seems a bit confusing and thrown together.

The story revolves around computer guru Jeff Bridges (who sounds just like The Dude) who used to work for a big corporation that's been taken over by a guy who stole Jeff's designs for video games and passed them off as his own. There's also a computer program called Master Control Program who's running that dirtbag's life. But the real story takes place inside the computer as Bridges gets zapped inside and has to deal with programs designed by his friends in the real world who resemble them. Bruce Boxleitner and Cindy Morgan (who I did not recognize as the girl from Caddyshack) play the friends in the real world and programs in the computer.

I think the confusion stems from the very beginning of the movie where they jump into the computer and show off a bunch of craziness without much context. I knew a little bit about the movie, but not much so I was kind of lost right off the bat. Then it bounces to the real world and back into the computer. I got the overall plot points and, like I said, it looks sick once they're inside the computer. They do a great job making the people/programs inside the computer look unnatural. I read they did it by shooting in black and white and then adding color in post. It's very creepy looking.

All in all, Tron is entertaining enough, but not all that absorbing. The sound levels also seem to bounce around like crazy, which is a pet peeve of mine as I'm trying to watch these movies while my wife sleeps. Keep it down you darn movies! Anyway, I recommend Tron to special effects fans, Jeff Bridges fans and anyone who saw it when they were three and want to check it out again.