TRON |
  • USA • 1982 • 96m •   • Directed by: Steven Lisberger. • Starring: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes, Dan Shor, Peter Jurasik, Tony Stephano, Craig Chudy, Vince Deadrick Jr., Sam Schatz, Jackson Bostwick, David S. Cass Sr.. • Music by: Wendy Carlos.      Hacker/arcade owner Kevin Flynn is desperate to prove that the hottest videogames from ENCOM were stolen from him by a former co-worker, who is now a senior executive there. Flynn's efforts, however, are made fruitless by ENCOM's "Big Brother," the megalomaniacal Master Control Program. One night, the MCP catches Flynn in an attempted hack and pulls him into the virtual world. Flynn finds that the MCP is making life in the virtual world just as, if not more, miserable as in the real world. Flynn's only hope is to find TRON, a heroic independent system security program, and help him destroy the MCP to bring order to both worlds.
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Review:
It's all how you look at it.
Tron still holds up incredibly well 31 years after it's original release and while the effects can be a bit wonky from time to time, they give the movie a certain edge and stylized feel. When I think of this movie, shades of blue, red, orange and black come to mind, for those are the colors seen frequently throughout the picture and the fact that some of the effects look grainy at times really makes the film's environment look more digitized in my eyes. I also like the look of the characters, particularly Tron, Sark and the Master Control Program, who looks like Zordon's cousin three times removed. He spins around, freezes when he wants to talk to someone and his voice (provided by David Warner, the same guy who plays Sark) is one of the most intimidating voices I've ever heard. You could take this guy's voice and put it over Darth Vader. It's just that awesome and mighty.
The acting is pretty decent. Jeff Bridges is great as always, playing the fun loving schmuck Kevin Flynn who "plays video games better than anybody" and Bruce Boxleitner is a gallant Alan BradleyTron who is determined to take out the MCP and bring balance back to the cyber world. He's the Chosen One in some ways and the most heroic out of the programs, although Kevin Flynn builds up his bravery and assists Tron in the MCP's defeat. David Warner has that presence to him that really makes him a force to be reckoned with and his portrayal of Sark and the MCP stand apart from all the other film's performances. Every time this guy enters the picture, you can just tell that some crap is going to hit the fan. He's plays two of Disney's most memorable adversaries and he's probably my favorite player out of the film. He also plays similar characters in Titanic, Star Trek 5 and 6 and he even plays the voice of Ra's Al Ghul in Batman: The Animated Series.
The last thing I must talk about is the film's awesome score and sound effects. As I said before, this is what inspired Daft Punk to do what they do and it's not that hard to see why they got so enraptured. The film's score, composed by Wendy Carlos is an electronic feast for the ears, with a very exciting, blood rushing excellence only accomplished through computer chips. It's so catchy that they even used the music in the Tron arcade game, just listen to the film's score and then listen to the music from the game. It's identical. And the sound effects really make this film feel like a video game movie. Every time a character walks, there's this slight "clink" noise and the sound effects for the disk throwing, the light cycles and the character deaths makes me feel like I'm standing right in front of an arcade cabinet playing a game from the golden age. They really do a good job of making you feel part of the Tron universe and adding that bit of magic that takes you out of reality and places you in the realms of a digital fantasy.
Tron is an all around great thriller and would change Disney forever. Perhaps without Tron, there would be no Toy Story 3 or Monsters Inc. or Finding Nemo. Maybe Disney wouldn't have had their grand Renaissance. Maybe special effects wouldn't have progressed the way they did. Maybe Jeff Bridges wouldn't be the highly profitable actor he is today.
Review by DJ Zurn from the Internet Movie Database.
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