Review of Tron (1982) by Keegan C — 02 Apr 2011

Tron is like the Matrix for the 1980's though not near the mass success as the 90's special effects extravaganza it still retains it's sense of discovery. Steven Lisberger takes a pretty high road with this Disney Sci-Fi flick that at times I feel like I'm watching a Kubrick film. The cinematography, production design, sparse musical score (exception of course 2001: A Space Odyssey).

Kubrick's films as well took a while for audiences to warm up too and it's easy to see why critics didn't fawn over Tron during it's release. Two years afterwards Revenge of the Nerds would be released and much of the humor stems to making fun of people who use computers since well much of the 80's audience thought if you messing with a computer you were pretty much a hopeless case, but time has told us otherwise.

Despite it's bleeding edge backlash Tron has quite a long range of influence overtime from movies to videogames and the underground; and much of it undetected by audiences and critics alike (not surprisingly).

Quite ironically as well this film was release the same year as Blade Runner another film that didn't do well in critical reception and box offices, difference though critics and audiences caught on and it's influence is indisputable. Though Tron's movie plot is nowhere near the existential heights of Blade Runner Tron's special effects and creativity make it up in droves that could easily outweigh any hollywood flick today since most of them are a creative death.

So I guess you can join the critic and audience bandwagon and not look at it twice, but you really shouldn't allow it to obscure your decision especially when all this brilliance is waiting to overwhelm you.