TRON (1982) Disney/Sci-Fi-Action RT: 96 minutes Rated PG (some mild violence and language) Director: Steven Lisberger Screenplay: Steven Lisberger Music: Wendy Carlos Cinematography: Bruce Logan Release date: July 9, 1982 (US) Cast: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes, Dan Shor, Peter Jurasik. Box Office: $33M (US)/$50M (World)
Rating: ***
Given the video game craze that swept the nation in ’82, the folks at Disney figured they had the box office smash of the summer with TRON. What they didn’t count on was a little movie called E.T. Maybe you’ve heard of it? It must have come as a shock to Disney execs that audiences would rather root for an extra-terrestrial trying to phone home than human programmers forced to play video games inside a computer. To be fair, it didn’t totally bomb. It grossed $33M (the equivalent of just under $100M in 2022 dollars), an okay figure but still far below the studio’s initial projection. It underperformed, plain and simple. It later found success on home video and is now considered a classic of sorts.
It goes without saying that I saw TRON during its original run. I had to do a bit of traveling to see it because it was gone from my local theaters by time I returned from my annual forced two-week hiatus from moviegoing- i.e. the family vacation down the shore. The closest theater showing it was 45 minutes away, so I had to convince Dad to drive me and my then-gf (and still good friend) Julie there on a Sunday afternoon. As a video game loving 14YO, I couldn’t wait to feast my eyes on what undoubtedly had to be the coolest movie of the summer. Well, my eyes weren’t disappointed, but the rest of me was a little. It has great visuals, but the narrative leaves something to be desired, namely coherence. If you’re not a computer expert, it’s hard to follow. It also lacks the ability to engage the viewer on an emotional level. It has no heart to go along with the impressive visual spectacle.
In the real world, arcade owner Kevin Flynn (Bridges, Starman) is trying to hack into the mainframe of ENCOM’s system. A former employee of the computer company, he’s been trying to prove that he’s the inventor of several popular video games including “Space Paranoids”, not the current CEO Ed Dillinger (Warner, Time Bandits) who stole the plans and took all the credit. Try as he might, Flynn is always thwarted by the MCP (Master Control Program), an artificial intelligence program that oversees ENCOM’s entire computer system. Like HAL before it and Skynet after it, MCP is becoming too powerful. It’s stealing other programs to increase its own capabilities.
One of the programs MCP appropriates is TRON, a self-governing security program created by ENCOM programmer Alan Bradley (Boxleitner, Scarecrow and Mrs. King). When he discovers his access to the mainframe has been revoked, he and his girlfriend, fellow employee Lora Baines (Morgan, Caddyshack), team up with Flynn to locate evidence of Dillinger’s plagiarism within the system. By way of protecting itself and the system, MCP uses an experimental laser to digitize Flynn and upload him into the system as a prisoner with other hijacked programs. There, he’ll be forced to play games until he’s killed or “derezzed” (as in “deresolution”).
Once inside the computer, Flynn discovers a cyberworld ruled by MCP whose main objective is total power. This means threatening programs, presented as living beings that resemble their creators, to denounce their belief in Users. Those who don’t are forced to take part in deadly jai alai matches and light cycle duels. Flynn manages to escape the grid along with two other programs, Ram (Shor, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure) and Tron (Boxleitner). Together, they set out to destroy MCP and free all the captured programs.
Directed by Steven Lisberger whose only other directorial efforts are the abysmal 1987 comedy Hot Pursuit and the 1989 sci-fi Slipstream (never saw it), TRON is cool to look at. It was very groundbreaking for its time. It gave birth to what we now know as CGI. Pixar head John Lasseter has stated that without TRON, there would be no Toy Story. The integration of human characters and computerized landscapes is seamless. Those light cycles are so neat! Surprisingly, it wasn’t even nominated for its visual effects at that year’s Oscars. Talk about an unfair snub. Sure, the effects look dated forty years later, but there’s no rule that says it can’t be watched through the eyes of a kid that grew up in the early 80s.
TRON has a good cast starting with Bridges, one of my favorite actors. He’s good as the hero of the piece. Boxleitner and Morgan provide ample support as both co-stars and characters. Warner always plays a great villain; he’s the lone saving grace of Time Bandits, a movie I abhor. Barnard Hughes, best known as the grandfather in 1987’s The Lost Boys, is also good as the guy who runs ENCOM’s science division. He’s the inventor of the laser that beams Bridges into cyberspace. His character also plays a crucial role in the computerized world.
Here’s where I admit to my ignorance of computers and other technological type things. I got confused while watching TRON. I could follow the basic plot, but all the tech-speak lost me. Time hasn’t cleared matters up any. I still don’t know a lot about this stuff. No big deal, I just focused on the basic story. Still, it would have nice if the makers made it more accessible to the cyber-challenged. I’m also disappointed in the murky way it handles its deeper theme of religion. Come on, don’t tell me you didn’t see the whole belief in Users thing for what it really is. It’s a metaphor for God. It’s there if you look closely, but it goes largely unexplored in favor of action.
I like TRON, please don’t get me wrong. It’s an enjoyable 80s movie that isn’t as incredible as it ought to be. Like I said, it looks amazing, but that’s it. It’s really flawed in other departments. I guess the same could be said of a lot of FX-heavy movies from back in the day. Either way, it’s a piece of childhood that will always stay with me.
