Tron (1982)

Tron (1982) – A computer programmer gets sent into his own operating system. The only way out is by defeating the program that has taken over the system.

Directed by Steven Lisberger                               Starring – Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner

A little set-up on my mindset as I walked in to see “Tron” for the first time.  In 1979, the Walt Disney Studios had released a science fiction movie that was supposed to be a step towards more adult offerings.  Prior to that, “science fiction” from Disney was Flubber from “The Absent-Minded Professor”.  So I was excited to see what they could do.

It was the first movie I ever had a serious urge to walk out on.

The movie has a cult following, but I have no idea why.  I still find the movie nearly unwatchable.  Disney spent nine million dollars more on this one than had been spent on Star Wars. The whole thing came off as a high budget TV show. The science was dreadful, the acting about the same.  There was a “cute” robot that was such an obvious attempt to riff on and rip off R2-D2 that it was a little sickening.    I was bitterly, bitterly disappointed. (Here’s my full review of “The Black Hole“)

Flash forward three years.  I walked into “Tron” with a certain trepidation.

I walked out pleasantly surprised.  The effects here were some pretty snazzy digital ones.  The acting was OK, as was the script.  The story went someplace new and interesting.  As a villain, the MCU is a Disney standard. Its greatest character flaw is that it’s just mean. The movie is far from perfect but it was, and is, head and shoulders above TBH.

“Tron” does lose its way occasionally in the spiffy effects and forget to keep the story going.  At the time the “arcade game” visuals were so new and exciting we were willing to forgive the transgression.  Compared to the excesses that have followed it, the flaw is pretty small for the viewer today.

The movie earned back almost twice its production budget but was considered a disappointment by Disney.  The movie has earned a more deserved cult following than its predecessor.

Why You Will Like It: It’s a fun action/adventure film with some effects that are still pretty cool even if dated.

Recommendation: **** Recommended