Now one time at the arcade I played an old game called tron, you had to pick between 3 games. I only got to play a game where your option is to try to wreck cars into each other, I lost and decided not to waste another quarter on it. Any way's when I saw this at my rental store and decided to pick it up.

So what is Tron. Tron is a live action movie that uses animation, and CGI (well 1982 CGI) to create a unique and unusual movie.

Movie.
All right the movie can be a bit confusing, after all it's been 20 years and the people who made it still can't figure it out.

All right there are two worlds, the real world, and the one in the computer. The computer world exists in the computer, and everybody looks like an alter ego of there programmer, or user. However everything is being taken over in the computer world by the master control program (MCP). In the real world a computer programmer named Flynn is trying to hack into his corporations computer system to prove that is boss stole the video games he programmed, and took credit for him. When he messes with the MCP, he finds himself zapped into the computer (geeze and I thought only Captain N and Johnny Quest had that problem).

The MCP has put him on the game grid just like he has all the other files he wants to get rid of. In the game grid the files fight each other to the death, sort of a gladiator thing. In the game grid Flynn meets Tron a security program powerful enough to stop the MCP. Flynn decides to help Tron to break out of the game grid and stop the MCP. In the process Flynn hopes to find the evidence he needs to prove that he's the creator of the game, and a way out of the computer.

Now you have to admire some of the movies classic feel. For example going to an arcade and having it full. Or watching them work on those old computers. I am not surprise that this movie came out in the 80's, a time when the computer was viewed by a lot of people has a mystical, super powerful thing.

However there are a few problems, for examples like a previous movie I reviewed Final Fantasy the sprits within, the overall story in Tron takes the back seat to the special FX. Not that the story isn’t well drawn out, just like Final Fantasy the story doesn’t end up has exciting has it could be. It does seem to lack and it seems like they are to busy showing the special fx, that you just want them to move on.

So what are the special FX like. Well see in the computer world they use a lot of special light techniques. The actors wore suits with lines on them, and they use some sort of lighting effect to the finish frame, to make the costumes glow. It's a nice technique, now add some 1980's cartoonish CGI animation to the mix and you got the fx of tron. While I do like the glow of the costumes, however it starts giving you a headache after looking at it for more then an hour. Another thing is the 1980 technology it seems like all the bad guy ships come out of the game blaster, however since the technology was so new back then you do come to realize a lot of hard work that was put into making this movie.

Also the backgrounds also look like an inside of the computer with a lot of polygons, and light up floors. They manage to make sure that you do feel like you are in another world. However just like the flashing costumes it does become somewhat of a headache to look at them after an hour.

Final Recommendation.
While Tron is does get a little slow in the story department, it does have a farily well thought out plot along with some great, if archaic special fx. It has been released on a two-disc dvd, it's worth a rental.




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8