Tron

Original Release: 1982 Jul 9
Watched: 2010 Sep 12 to 2010 Sep 13
Queue: Sam’s
Format: DVD

So, I’ve recently moved from going through my queue in the order things were originally added to the queue, to picking randomly what will be next. But I make exceptions when there is a particular reason to watch something sooner rather than many years in the future. In this case of course Tron: Legacy is due to come out this December, so to prepare we all had to watch Tron. I think I last saw Tron in the theaters when it first came out. Most likely with my dad.[[[ jml]

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That last bit was Alex. He liked Tron.

Anyway, Tron. This is of course one of those classic geek movies. At the time it seemed like it was just so cool visually. Watching it now, it just looks so cheap and basic. There was of course actually not that much CGI in the movie. Wikipedia says less than 20 minutes. The rest is just made to look like what people thought CGI should look like. And Sark? What’s up with the paper things on his head? It looks like something somebody’s first grader cut out or something. Of course, this was great at the time I guess. But it just shows how fast these kinds of things move. It will be interesting to see what they do with the new movie.

Then of course there is the actual plot, which honestly just doesn’t make much sense. Well, I mean, OK, if you back up a bit from it, it is just your standard quest thing once you get into it. They are on a quest into the enemy’s territory to destroy him with an object that he is vulnerable. Hmmm, Tron as Frodo?

Bottom line, it was fun to watch in a nostalgic kind of way, or to prep for watching the new movie. But I’m not sure it really holds up as a stand alone movie. It just sort of seems dated and quaint.