TRON is a landmark film. Wonderfully visionary, a monumental technical achievement. It made possible so many later films which we came to know and love. There, now that we've got that out of the way can we point out that TRON is not a good movie? It has plenty of technological wizardry but the film is sorely lacking in entertainment. The story is weak, doing very little to grab the viewer. It doesn't matter how much of a visual spectacle your film is if the story doesn't engage. Director Steven Lisberger seems to have lost sight of that. Give Lisberger and his crew credit for pulling off something which in 1982 seemed truly impossible. But the innovative technology is all this film has going for it.
TRON takes place largely inside a computer. Have you ever wondered what goes on inside your computer? Apparently Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner are in there tossing Frisbees around. Now that just sounds silly. But that's OK, silly can at times be entertaining. This is not one of those times. Entertainment here is in desperately short supply. Bridges gives the film a little juice, providing some humor and creating a character you care about at least a little bit. Boxleitner on the other hand is a dud, a total wet blanket with all the personality of a doorknob. And that's a problem since Boxleitner plays Tron himself. Or is it Tron itself? Because you see these characters are playing computer programs. Well, except for Bridges, he's a person but he's in the computer anyway. Yeah, it's all very weird. Could have been wonderfully weird but it isn't. The story just kind of sits there, it's never developed properly. There's the requisite villain and the requisite girl but really it's just a big light show. For 1982 a very impressive light show but still just a light show nonetheless. It takes more than a light show to make a film. You need to actually have something happen. In this film there's not nearly enough going on to hold the viewer's interest. The dazzling (for their time) visuals only take you so far. In its time TRON was something special. But time has been unkind. What was revolutionary in 1982 is mundane today. And the film doesn't have a story to fall back on. We see it with so many big-budget visual extravaganza films today. It doesn't matter how good your film looks if the story stinks. Story is always the most important thing. And the story lets TRON down. Bravo for the vision. Bravo for having the technological know-how to bring the vision to the screen. TRON was a wonderful technological achievement. But there are other films you can say that about which were also wonderful entertainment. Here TRON falls well short.
TRON takes place largely inside a computer. Have you ever wondered what goes on inside your computer? Apparently Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner are in there tossing Frisbees around. Now that just sounds silly. But that's OK, silly can at times be entertaining. This is not one of those times. Entertainment here is in desperately short supply. Bridges gives the film a little juice, providing some humor and creating a character you care about at least a little bit. Boxleitner on the other hand is a dud, a total wet blanket with all the personality of a doorknob. And that's a problem since Boxleitner plays Tron himself. Or is it Tron itself? Because you see these characters are playing computer programs. Well, except for Bridges, he's a person but he's in the computer anyway. Yeah, it's all very weird. Could have been wonderfully weird but it isn't. The story just kind of sits there, it's never developed properly. There's the requisite villain and the requisite girl but really it's just a big light show. For 1982 a very impressive light show but still just a light show nonetheless. It takes more than a light show to make a film. You need to actually have something happen. In this film there's not nearly enough going on to hold the viewer's interest. The dazzling (for their time) visuals only take you so far. In its time TRON was something special. But time has been unkind. What was revolutionary in 1982 is mundane today. And the film doesn't have a story to fall back on. We see it with so many big-budget visual extravaganza films today. It doesn't matter how good your film looks if the story stinks. Story is always the most important thing. And the story lets TRON down. Bravo for the vision. Bravo for having the technological know-how to bring the vision to the screen. TRON was a wonderful technological achievement. But there are other films you can say that about which were also wonderful entertainment. Here TRON falls well short.