Brilliant video game designer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is trying to prove that ENCOM stole his games from him and he
breaks into ENCOM to find the evidence in their computers. The MCP (aka Master Control Program) transports Flynn
into the digital world of The Grid after Flynn attempts to hacvk the mainframe. The MCP intends to have Flynn die into
the games where Flynn meets Tron (Bruce Boxleitner)- Tron is the watchdog program created by Alan (Flynn's friend).
Flynn and Tron fight to survive and bring down the MCP.
TRON is an uneven film and yet it is fun in many parts. I found the first half to be a little slow where
the second half kicks into overdrive. TRON was ahead of its time due to being the first film to use computer generated
effects and set the stage for other films that would use CGI like THE LAST STARFIGHTER and inspire a generation of animators
and special effects people who would go on to pioneer CGI. Also TRON looked at the world of the internet before
it was there. The film does have programs seeing users like Gods. The film is born out of cocnerns
of people wnating free access and freedom from big corporations on the way data is spread.
I rewatched TRON LEGACY after seing TRON again. TRON LEGACY is a better paced and better written movie where
TRON is the little movie that pushed boundaries of filmmaking for the early 1980s.
SPECIAL FETAURES:
Audio commentary with Steven Lisberger, Donald Kusher, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Richard Taylor.
THE TRON PHENOMENON- the filmmakers and cast of TRON LEGACY discuss TRON's impact on pop culture
The following extras are only on the Blu-ray-
PHOTO TRONOLOGY- Director Stevn Lisberger and his son carl explore the Disney photo library as they uncover original
production photos and Steven shares stories about the making of the film. This featurtte is one of my favorite
extras
Also the original DVD extras from the long out-of-print two disc DVD special edition are included:
Various featurttes and interviews on TRON including segments from TV shows when TRON first came out in theaters.
Various trailers and promo reels are nice to watch, but the best extra is the 90 minute THE MAKING OF TRON which chronicles
the story of Steven Lisberger as an animator to making TRON to ET spelling doom for the theater at the box office (they acknowledge
TRON would have ben huge if it was released ten years later). The deleted scenes include an interesting inimate scene
between Tron and Yori.
FINAL ANALYSIS: TRON is a groundbreaking film and thankfully Disney has put it back in print (which puts
an end to the high prices for the DVD on eBay and other sellers). The extras are great and the film should be
checked out by fans of the new film who haven't seen the original.
