Tron

I will fully admit that I loved Tron as a child but I didn’t remember a thing about it. I knew Jeff Bridges somehow got sucked into a video game and had to fight his way out and that was about all my knowledge other than it thrilled me beyond belief as a kid. As I sat at Comic-Con this year holding my Flynn’s Arcade token and seeing test footage from Tron Legacy I realized I should try again and watch Tron to remember why I loved it.

I love it again.

Tron is a frickin’ fantastic movie that I think was way ahead of its time both in the way it presented computer technology and in how the computer world was carried out on screen. The CGI may be way behind what we can do now, but how Steven Lisberger used the CGI makes the film not dated but instead it’s artistic and quite extraordinary looking. Flynn, Tron and the other programs look like a beautiful mixture of computer, neon and color-washed black & white photographs. It’s hard to explain but a visual treat.

Jeff Bridges is also a joy to watch. I am sorry to say that I don’t see enough of his films. If I had been a teen in the 80’s I probably would have had a crush on him after seeing Tron, but good looks aside he is a great actor that makes Flynn’s intelligence and rule-breaking spirit endearing and adventurous.

I will probably be adding Tron to my DVD collection before long, but I might wait until closer to the release of Tron Legacy to see what fun doo-dads they decide to add to the DVD.

Director: Steven Lisberger
Writer: Steven Lisberger & Bonnie MacBird
Kevin Flynn: Jeff Bridges
Alan/Tron: Bruce Boxleitner
Ed Dillinger: David Warner
Lora/Yori: Cindy Morgan

Ram: You really think the users are still there?
Tron: They better be. I don't wanna bust out of here and find nothing but a lot of cold circuits waiting for me.