Tron: A Movie Review.
For a movie created in 1982, it does retain that feeling. However, from other movies from that era (The Last Starfighter, or Blade Runner for instance), it somehow retains a charm that does not make it feel as dated like one would expect. While some may feel that in regards to todays standards, the Computer Generated and traditional animation would be cheesy, in no way does did this movie give that impression to me. It retained a crispness and innovative idea that is quite capable of transcending the generational gap.
Jeff Bridges gave an energetic performance overall, making it a distinct impression between himself and his program counterpart "Clu", while Bruce Boxleitner did exactly the same with his roles as Allen and "Tron". David Warner has always been a favorite of mine, with his roles of Ed Dillanger/"Szark"/"The Master Control Program", I'm left reminded of his roles in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze" as Doctor Jordan Perry, and even his role as The Lobe in "Freakazoid!". However, Cindy Morgan, who played Laura Baines/"Yori" wether through the script or sheer luck, I was left feeling like her role was merely tacked on as the go-between between Allen/Tron and Flynn. Especially during the last part of the movie, where her program Counterpart "Yori" passionately kissed Flynn, only to turn around and do the same to Tron. The rest of the cast, however minor, did leave some form of an impression, even if the screen time and story wasn't centered around them.
Visually, when thinking of when it was created, the movie was very impressive. It pushed a lot of boundries, and created a new standard with how movies from that point on were created. The scope and feel reminded me a lot of "Blade Runner", which was directed by the acclaimed Ridely Scott (Alien, Legend, Gladiator), and Steve Lisberger managed to not only create a world in which could be concieved as plausable, it was aluring. You almost wanted to take part in it yourself. You felt a connection. Nowadays, its few and far between that movies are capable of allowing the viewer to truly feel that connection with what is represented onscreen before them.
My only dislike of the movie, is through Cindy Morgan's characters. As stated earlier, I felt like she was an afterthought and only tacked on to allow a heroine to stand alongside the other two heros. This purpose could have easily been corrected by Dan Shor's character "Ram", if it were recast as a female. It would have allowed for a more dramatic approach during the movie, when the character discovers that Flynn is infact a "User", and given more of an impact to cement Flynn's goals in going after the Master Control Program to destroy it. Of course, this is standard Hollywood fare, if there are two male heros, then no matter how tacked on or unappropriate it may seem, there must be a heroine to stand alongside the heros.
I can however see why this movie was given such mixed reviews by critics at the time. It's new. It doesn't have such massive and indepth stories and underlying notions that Star Wars had. The story, while intriguing, wasn't as ground breaking as they exptected and left you a bit confused in some areas. However, it did rattle a lot of cages in Hollywood, only for techniques that were created and used with this movie, to be adopted and improved upon as time passed. Now we have movies like Avatar, where there are people who are so drawn in by the realisim of it all, that they can't tell which is real, and which is Computer Generated.
For only just now seeing it for the first time, I was impressed. Overall, it was a good movie. Not one I would watch religiously until I got what the story was, but it was a good movie.
End line.
Jeff Bridges gave an energetic performance overall, making it a distinct impression between himself and his program counterpart "Clu", while Bruce Boxleitner did exactly the same with his roles as Allen and "Tron". David Warner has always been a favorite of mine, with his roles of Ed Dillanger/"Szark"/"The Master Control Program", I'm left reminded of his roles in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze" as Doctor Jordan Perry, and even his role as The Lobe in "Freakazoid!". However, Cindy Morgan, who played Laura Baines/"Yori" wether through the script or sheer luck, I was left feeling like her role was merely tacked on as the go-between between Allen/Tron and Flynn. Especially during the last part of the movie, where her program Counterpart "Yori" passionately kissed Flynn, only to turn around and do the same to Tron. The rest of the cast, however minor, did leave some form of an impression, even if the screen time and story wasn't centered around them.
Visually, when thinking of when it was created, the movie was very impressive. It pushed a lot of boundries, and created a new standard with how movies from that point on were created. The scope and feel reminded me a lot of "Blade Runner", which was directed by the acclaimed Ridely Scott (Alien, Legend, Gladiator), and Steve Lisberger managed to not only create a world in which could be concieved as plausable, it was aluring. You almost wanted to take part in it yourself. You felt a connection. Nowadays, its few and far between that movies are capable of allowing the viewer to truly feel that connection with what is represented onscreen before them.
My only dislike of the movie, is through Cindy Morgan's characters. As stated earlier, I felt like she was an afterthought and only tacked on to allow a heroine to stand alongside the other two heros. This purpose could have easily been corrected by Dan Shor's character "Ram", if it were recast as a female. It would have allowed for a more dramatic approach during the movie, when the character discovers that Flynn is infact a "User", and given more of an impact to cement Flynn's goals in going after the Master Control Program to destroy it. Of course, this is standard Hollywood fare, if there are two male heros, then no matter how tacked on or unappropriate it may seem, there must be a heroine to stand alongside the heros.
I can however see why this movie was given such mixed reviews by critics at the time. It's new. It doesn't have such massive and indepth stories and underlying notions that Star Wars had. The story, while intriguing, wasn't as ground breaking as they exptected and left you a bit confused in some areas. However, it did rattle a lot of cages in Hollywood, only for techniques that were created and used with this movie, to be adopted and improved upon as time passed. Now we have movies like Avatar, where there are people who are so drawn in by the realisim of it all, that they can't tell which is real, and which is Computer Generated.
For only just now seeing it for the first time, I was impressed. Overall, it was a good movie. Not one I would watch religiously until I got what the story was, but it was a good movie.
End line.