Tron

Who: Bill
What: Tron
Where: Rented DVD from Netflix
Why: Believe it or not, I’d never seen the whole movie!

I admit it-- it took me 26 years to watch Tron from start to finish. There were opportunities to see it before, but for one reason or another, I never got around to watching all of it until now. But I’m glad I finally did.

Tron is one of the first movies to make extensive use of computer-generated graphics. In the early 1980‘s, the emerging field of computer technology was taking hold in the workplace. Video games were capturing the imagination of people not only in dedicated arcades but in homes thanks to Atari. The timing could not have been better for a film such as Tron to take advantage of the fascination with computers and computer-based games. For Walt Disney Productions, Tron was a story well beyond the typical boundaries previously put forth by the studio. Just two years earlier for example, lackluster efforts such as Herbie Goes Bananas was standard fare when it came to Disney’s live-action product even though the studio was beginning to try out different concepts such as 1979’s The Black Hole.

Most of the action in Tron is set within the fantasy world of computer gaming. An ambitious programmer named Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) has made numerous attempts to remotely hack into his former employer’s mainframe to prove the thievery of co-worker Ed Dillinger (David Warner), who stole ideas of Flynn’s in order to advance to an executive level. Dillinger has created a self-running Master Control Program or MCP and it is the MCP that prevents Flynn’s efforts to gain access. Meanwhile, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) has developed a security program called TRON to watch over the MCP. But the MCP, which has evolved to nearly outsmart its human counterparts, doesn’t take kindly to being monitored by anyone or any program. After Flynn is brought back to the lab by Bradley and co-worker--and former girlfriend-- Lora Baines (Cindy Morgan), Flynn directly confronts the MCP and is transported into the gaming world where his program counterpart Clu is challenged to a series of games. Its up to Flynn/Clu to outsmart the MCP and stay alive to destroy it, or be erased forever. Characters in the real world have digital counterparts. Thus, Dillinger is the meanacing leader named Sark as well as the MCP’s voice, Lora is Yori, and Alan is Tron.

The visual effects make Tron stand out. It amazed audiences in 1982 and when seen from that perspective, it still looks impressive in 2008. For years, rumors of a sequel had come and gone. On July 24, 2008, guests at San Diego Comic Con were surprised when Disney presented test footage from what was termed “TR2N” or Tron 2. The projected release date is for 2011. Jeff Bridges is scheduled to return as Kevin Flynn. Director and co-writer Steven Lisberger will also be involved in the sequel as a co-producer. With the incredible advancements in CGI since Tron was released, antcipation should be high for another stunning visual achievement in how movies are made.