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In the world of Tron, programmers are called “users,” and their “programs” are personified into active, sentient characters that resemble their users. Programs worship users as gods. One user, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a former employer of ENCOM, hacks his way into ENCOM’s mainframe computer controlled by the Master Control Program (MCP), in an effort to uncover evidence supporting his claim that a senior vice president, the aptly named Ed Dillinger (David Warner), stole several video arcade games from Flynn and profited from them by advancing up the corporate ladder. The MCP captures and disables Flynn’s program, Clu, before he can find any incriminating evidence.

In an effort to stop Flynn or any insiders working with Flynn, Dillinger and the MCP strictly limit access to the mainframe. Bradley and his girlfriend, Lora (Cindy Morgan), a scientist working on laser technology at ENCOM and Flynn’s ex, decide to warn Flynn at his video arcade. Instead, Flynn convinces Bradley and Lora to help him hack into ENCOM's mainframe computer. Bradley, suspicious of Dillinger and the MCP’s activities, hopes to upload his own security program, Tron, inside the mainframe at the same time. Aware of their plan, the MCP takes over an experimental laser to digitize Flynn, sending him into the cyberspace construct of the mainframe.

Inside the mainframe, the MCP and the MCP’s chief henchman, Sark (Warner again) decides to turn Flynn into a gladiator, forcing him to play a jai-alai-like game against another user, Crom (Peter Jurasik). Flynn doesn’t realize the life-or-death stakes until after he’s defeated Crom. After Flynn refuses to “finish the game,” Sark disposes of Crom. Almost immediately, Sark forces Flynn to participate in another game, this time using “Light Cycles” as part of a team that includes Ram (Dan Shor), an actuarial program, and Tron (Boxleitner again), Bradley’s security program. Together, they make a daring escape from the MCP’s arena with the goal of reaching an Input/Output Tower so Tron can communicate with Bradley, get new directions and information, and ultimately, defeat the MCP. After an attack by Sark's forces, Flynn, Ram, and Tron are separated, Tron seeks out another program, Yuri (Morgan again).

Lisberger found inspiration for Tron in the mid-1970s when he saw his first video arcade game. The germ of an idea turned a screenplay that would take several years of false starts and the development of computer animation (albeit in its earliest, crude form) and other visual effects to bring Lisberger’s vision to the screen. Lisberger ultimately brought Tron to Disney Pictures, obtaining a surprising amount of creative control for a first-time filmmaker. They supported Lisberger’s decision to hire Jean Giraud (a.k.a. Moebius of Heavy Metal magazine fame) and futurist Syd Mead (Blade Runner). With computer animation still too new and undeveloped (not to mention limited computing power), Lisberger relied on “back-lit animation” (a process where the actors where filmed on bare soundstages against black-and-white backgrounds and later colorized through rotoscoping).

Tron's innovative visuals, however, don't extend to character and story. The characters are flat, one-dimensional, and unengaging (in the real world or inside the mainframe). Over Tron’s two-hour running time, we learn nothing about the characters that isn’t spelled out within the first few minutes (e.g., Flynn and Bradley are programmers, Flynn wants to get back at Dillinger, Dillinger is a power-hungry executive, Lori is a scientist and dual romantic interest, etc.). The plot movies from one virtual gladiatorial contest to another and centers on the attempt to stop the MCP before it takes over the government's computer systems (an idea probably borrowed from 1971's Colossus: The Forbin Project). Lisberger (Slipstream, Hot Pursuit) obviously didn’t know much about character development or pacing (and his staging tends toward the shallow end of the filmmaking pool).

Seventeen million dollars later (a large sum in 1982), Disney released "Tron" to mixed reviews from critics and almost complete indifference from mainstream audiences. A video arcade game was more successful, ultimately generating more revenue than the film itself. Lisberger’s shortcomings as a storyteller played a part, probably a large part, in "Tron’s" under-performance at the box office. Lisberger’s vision of a simulated gaming world, however, influenced video game designers and the richly imagined, complex worlds video gamers experience today, as well as influencing an another sub-genre, cyber-punk (e.g., William Gibson and "Neuromancer"), that was just getting started.

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originally posted: 06/04/08 05:27:35
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