Tron (1982)

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The original 'Tron' was always a fascinating title to me when I was a kid. It seemed as though everyone, including myself, was aware of it, but we had never seen it. It was just a video cassette that stood out on rental shelves with its tech-fancy font against a flat black background, and a couple of mysterious futuristic-looking characters in front of the "O". 'The Simpsons' even jokes about how no one ever saw it in the Halloween short 'Homer3.' It was one of the strangest entities that sported a Disney logo, to my recollection.

Fast-forward to around the time 'Tron: Legacy' was coming out, me remembering 'Tron' was even a thing, and finally deciding to give it a chance, wondering why I never had before. Besides, with its ads and Daft Punk soundtrack, I really wanted to see 'Legacy,' so a bit of homework felt necessary. When it was all said and done, I found it, and still find it, relatively entertaining for its time; 1982, when widespread video game tech was still in its infancy, and the best console one could get their hands on was an Atari 2600. One must always keep in mind the real-world era in which this was released.

Former ENCOM employee and computer hacker, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), who now owns a video arcade, attempts to infiltrate ENCOM's system using CLU, a program designed to break in and search for Flynn's allegedly stolen work. With this, CLU has difficulty when the search is disrupted by ENCOM's Master Control Program, or "MCP" as it's more often referred to here. The MCP (voice of David Warner) informs senior executive vice president Ed Dillinger (also David Warner) about the hacker and blocks ENCOM's access, thereby becoming its own entity by swiping various documents, some of which are government-related, to increase its power.

Meanwhile, two ENCOM workers, Lora (Cindy Morgan) and Alan (Bruce Boxleitner), figure out that Flynn is the mystery hacker, knowing his history, and head to the arcade to warn him that they're on to him. However, when Flynn informs them of Dillinger's plagiarism, the trio plans a break-in to ENCOM in an attempt to unlock Alan's "Tron" program, meant to counteract the MCP. Soon, Flynn comes face-to-face with the MCP while attempting a hack, and he gets pulled into the system we now know more as "The Grid." Just to say it, if you're a bit confused by any of this, forgive me, because the opening is a little confusing.

Within the Grid, computer programs roam around, resembling avatars of their creators. For example, CLU is also played by Jeff Bridges. Here, the MCP rules over everything with its partner, Sark (also David Warner), opposing belief in the "Users," and forcing those with faith to participate in deadly games. In my eyes, the whole thing makes for a sort of tech bible story, the "Users" essentially being their Gods, able to manipulate things within the system. In this strange world, Flynn, with the help of programs Tron (also Bruce Boxleitner), Ram (Dan Shor), and Yori (also Cindy Morgan), intends to get to the MCP and destroy it from within.

As previously mentioned, things can get a little confusing with this movie, but it does make for a charming time capsule, capturing what "futuristic" looked like in 1982. It's intriguing to see how dated it seems by today's standards, but at the time, it was a groundbreaking revolution in animation, known for its pioneering use of CGI. Also, to my surprise, despite assuming no one ever watched this, it actually outperformed 'Blade Runner' and 'The Thing' at the box office that year. Apparently, it was something I missed the boat on, but I still don't recall anyone discussing it as much as other titles released around the same time, growing up.

I'll also mention that if you're any 'South Park' fan, that will add to the fun in watching this, as there are at least a couple of things in the film the show parodies, perhaps most popularly "Moses" who resembles the MCP, but there are a couple more. As far as my enjoyment of the film goes, it's not something I'd place among my favourites, but it's a fun watch, at least, if you're hanging out on a Sunday afternoon. It's a product of its time, and I respect that; however, it's a title that warrants further examination as well, as I personally feel like they were going after something a little deeper than I had originall thought.

3/5

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