Tron (1982)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1982
	Director: Steven Lisberger
	Actors: Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski, True Grit), Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF
	Conditions of visioning: 21.01.2016. HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: Flynn (Bridges), genius programmer, is trying to hack into the Master Control Program of the company he was fired from when this one sends him inside its own digital world.
Review: After watching and appreciating Tron Legacy, I was really curious to watch again the original Tron and found out that I had never seen it in full actually, only chosen segments like the famous bike race probably during some Christmas Disney special. I had the same remark about Fantasia, and Tron also shares with the musical animated film an experimental look and daring special effects for the time. Those effects make the originality of the movie (and its success at the time) but are also its main weakness when watched today. Indeed those effects date from the very first days of 3D digital imaging and more than occupying some key scenes of the movie they constitute a large number of those which can be a bit laughable, like the tanks vs. bike chase. The story is quite actual (a corporation spying on others, the way employees are treated) although the love triangle is a bit too much, and I could recognize a concept similar to The Terminator's Skynet (1984) and they way programs talk of each other is strikingly close to the way it is done in the Matrix universe. I also found interesting the quasi-religious relationship the programs have with the users. What is sure is that the concept of this movie born in the very early days of the digital age is original. I appreciated to see that some design elements (the disks, the bikes, the carrier ship, the recognizer vehicles) have been re-used in the sequel / remake. The look of the Grid world is well-thought and was also re-used for the sequel, in particular the excellent idea of the character's clothes with bright lines in the shape of micro-circuits. The only problem is that the optical techniques used in 1982 show too much that the actors were wearing some kind of grey pyjamas. Also a bit ridiculous. And I found the electronic music to be very poor and accompanying very badly the action scenes in particular. So I would recommend Tron only to cinema enthusiasts curious about this piece of cinema History and willing to go thought it while accepting its defaults.
Rating: 4 /10