Tron

I don’t know about anybody else but I really quite like this movie. While I did love its concept, I do agree some parts are difficult to comprehend at times and at others there is a slow rhythm making the film not quite as compelling as it would have liked. Regardless, I still like TRON a lot, especially for the superb effects and visuals and unique sound effects, both assets of which are quite ahead of their time. Also the soundtrack is very memorable and fits perfectly, and even with the odd stilted moment the dialogue intrigues. The direction is good enough and serves its purpose well in the more action-packed moments, and I did like the characters and acting. Jeff Bridges is charming and likable with a cool character, while David Warner comes close to stealing the show. All in all, a very intriguing film then and now and ahead of its time.

One might call Steven Lisberger’s “Tron” the movie that set the stage for visual effects as we know them today. The plot of course has a video game programmer (Jeff Bridges) getting transferred into a digital computer world by a sinister program, and then having to help the other programs rebel. But of course, the movie’s main purpose is to have some of the coolest visual effects imaginable, depicting a computer world. All the more impressive when one sees the old-style computers that they used back then (they didn’t even have the Internet!).

OK, so we could be cynical and say that “Tron” led to a series of lesser movies that were excuses for constant visual effects, but I still say that it’s one of the neatest things that I’ve ever seen. It helps that the movie elicits fine performances from Bridges, David Warner, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan and Barnard Hughes. Bridges brings out the same energy that he did in “The Last Picture Show”, “Jagged Edge”, “The Fisher King”, “The Big Lebowski” and “Crazy Heart”.

All in all, it’s one that you can’t afford to miss!