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Directed by: Steven Lisberger Starring: Jeff Bridges From IMDB: A hacker is literally abducted into the world of a computer and forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program. I saw this movie on opening day back in 1982. I was 8 years old and this movie utterly consumed me. I remember walking out of the theater with all the other kids. Everyone was quiet, we were so captivated by the movie. Tron was, for its time the absolute state of the art in cutting-edge computer graphics. Take a moment to think about where computing was during that time. The IBM XT and Apple ][ series were just starting out. The footage was all rendered on powerful graphics workstations intended for plotting Xray beams, hence the term "ray-tracing". There is actually very little true CG in the movie. The neon-like scenes were hand drawn using a very unusual technique - cels were photgraphed over a light source. Every frame of the in-computer scenes was painstakingly hand-painted. The plot was simple. A man is pulled into the world of a mainframe computer that was being run by the Master Control Program (MCP), a maniacal power-hungry AI that desired control of the world. Inside the computer, the MCP had a vice-like grip on the affairs of the other programs who were subjugated, made to play games and eventually absorbed into the MCP, thereby making it more powerful. Our hero Flynn is treated just like any other program, made to play the games and live under the oppression of the MCP. He eventually breaks free and leads a small band of insugents that unseat the MCP. In the age of Shrek and The Incredibles the CG looks archaic. It is, by comparison but I feel that it gives the movie a little more charm. Those of us that were around in those days remember how awe-inspiring the future of computing looked. Maybe I look back on it so highly because of nostalgia. It's hard to be objective about something that I hold so dearly. I can watch this movie once a month and not get tired of it. Get the collecters edition DVD, it has tons of cool features and a lot of history on the movie. RATING: 5.0 PROS: Pioneer film in CG, gorgeous hand-drawn scenery . CONS: Limp acting from everyone but Mr. Bridges. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084827/
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Aug 22, 2005 03:39
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 15:14 |
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quote:Syn came out of the closet to say: Sup, saw-Tron-when-it-opened buddy? I was 11 at the time, and the movie was indeed the bee's knees back then. Revisiting it a few years ago, I found the plot to be pretty lame, even boring most of the time. The visual style is undeniably cool, however, and makes it worth a watch. 3/5
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Aug 22, 2005 20:21
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I actually saw this movie for the first time last year (20 now so it's release was a little before my time) and found it to be spectacular. The blocky tanks and whatnot never bothered me, rather I really just thought it was cool looking and different, archaic CG nonwithstanding. The plot was good enough to serve, and it was really very inventive. The handcrafted special effects made a much more visually interesting and compelling world than the shitbomb called "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," and made me really hope to see CG useage recede in the near future. 4/5
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Sep 10, 2005 20:57
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Tron was THE FIRST feature-length film to incorporate computer effects the way it did. Without Tron, we would be years behind where we are now in visual development - and the stunning animated CG films of modern times would not be achievable today without Tron pioneering and proving that it could in fact be done. PROS: Excellent concept. Visually lightyears ahead of its time. Worth seeing just for the exquisite design work and beautiful visual quality. The lightcycles and disc battles are timelessly cool. Genuinely entertaining in spite of its flaws. CONS: Very poorly conceived story and script makes for really far too campy execution. Wonky acting. (Some good, some bad.) Drags at certain points. 3/5 as a movie itself. 5/5 in terms of what it did for the industry, and what it achieved visually. My score: A solid 4/5 My score for the film including the new edition's DVD content: 5/5 DanSTC fucked around with this message at 06:26 on Sep 12, 2005 |
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Sep 12, 2005 06:22
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I can appreciate the work that was put into Tron, but I personally found the storyline boring and the acting dull. But that's just one man's opinion 
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Sep 17, 2005 11:26
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 15:14 |
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Saw it a bunch as a kid, thought it was neat. Then I saw it again for some class a year ago, and HOLKY poo poo the evil boss of the company IRL was the head of the in-game bad guys. I just never, ever noticed it before. It just goes to show how entrancing the movie really is when you grew up on Pac•Man. Also, I demand more light-bike racing based games.
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Sep 18, 2005 03:08
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