Tron (1982)

"I took a wrong turn somewhere..."

This is a strange film to see for the first time in 2018. It’s groundbreaking. It’s unique. It’s triumphantly of its time. And it’s utter pants.

Oh, it looks great. Unreservedly so; it captures the aesthetics of 1982 vintage computer graphics with perfection but is also, importantly, good to look at and of utility foretelling the story- although characters can be hard to tell apart in cyberspace. Then there’s Jeff Bridges’ rakish charm and David Warner’s desperate baddie.

There’s ever a surprisingly metaphysical side, as the baddies dismiss programs who have faith in “users” as religious fanatics. This line of thought may not be taken very far, but it’s indisputably there. I also don’t mind the total lack of realism in showing 1982 vintage computer programming in this almost proto-cyberspace way. Realism is boring, and this is a fascinating bit of the zeitgeist two years before William Gibson writes Neuromancer.

Unfortunately, though, the script, plot and characterisation are poor, and not even a generally high standard of performance can save them. Yes, the visuals are amazing and the look of the film is justly Famous. But I’m the end what we have is a turd which has been polished to a legendary standard. No wonder the visuals are all that ever gets talked about.