Tron Review

Tron

1982

Attention computer geeks and fans of retro videogames: this is the film for you! Jeff Bridges plays Flynn, a computer programmer who tries to hack into a corporate mainframe to prove he designed the latest hit videogame, Space Paranoids, which was stolen by his old boss, who then fired Flynn. What an asshole! While sneaking back into his old workplace, Flynn comes across what looks like the shrink-ray from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, only it doesn't turn him microscopic... it turns him microcyclic! That is, it sends him into the digital world, where he’s forced to compete in gladiatorial videogames for the amusement of a sinister computer program called Master Control. Tron has an ingenius concept and an overall good execution, despite some glitches.

The visuals in Tron are STUNNING! The landscapes, costumes, vehicles and weapons are all very imaginative. Everything's so colorful and neon! Talk about a fun acid trip. The boomerang-like Identity Disc is the coolest fictional weapon since the lightsaber! The majority of the film is set in the digital world, where personified “programs” take on the appearance of their human "users." There are around 1100 effects shots in the film, around 900 of which have actors composited into them. I usually hate special effects extravaganzas, especially when everything onscreen is CGI except the actors, but this is one that really worked. The retro graphics suited the concepts perfectly. The outstanding visuals are matched by an equally outstanding soundtrack -- one of the most overlooked film scores of all time.

I love how the filmmakers "physicalized" everything in Tron, giving everything in the digital world a clever, metaphorical likeness to the real world. Input/Output towers are actual towers. Water is "power." Finding cracks in the system is taken very literally. Bit, the first-ever CG character in film history (sorry, Jar Jar), can only say two words: yes and no. You'll enjoy the film much more if you get these references, which play like inside jokes for nerds. I'm sure even I didn't get them all, but I certainly enjoyed all the elements reminiscient of videogames, from the competitive mini-games to the final boss battle (who has two forms, by the way).

However, the film is not without its flaws. It can be hard to follow. Not everything makes sense, no matter how many times you see it. Like, why does Clu's accent suddenly change from robotic to normal? Why does Flynn attack Tron and Yori on the Solar Sailer? And why does Flynn jump into the MCP? Some of the writing is downright illogical. For instance, why would the evil programs permit their prisoner-programs to carry Identity Discs on them? Sure, the discs are memory banks that store their user-given information on them, but the discs double as versatile weapons. Um, hello? The Light Cycles sequence, despite being is one of the greatest action scenes of all time, has a confusing color scheme. Up to this point in the film, the bad guys all wear red; the good guys, blue. But when they morph into motorcycles, the bad guys turn into blue bikes, while the good guys' bikes are red, yellow and orange. WTF? Speaking of confusing colors, it can be difficult to keep track of who's who in the long-shots, because they're all wearing the same damn costume. Couldn't Flynn have been a different color than the rest of the programs? After all, he's the only user.

How much these dents affect the overall experience is bound to vary by opinion. I'm willing to forgive them, like I do outdated graphics or a weak story in an old videogame. Despite its shortcomings, I still feel Tron is one of the greatest science-fiction films of all time, a must-see for gamers, and still a far better alternative to its pathetic sequel, Tron: Legacy. Like many classic videogames, the original Tron is proof that worse technology often breeds better quality. 4/5 stars.