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Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes ... see more see more... , Dan Shor , Peter Jurasik , Jackson Bostwick , Tony Brubaker , Loyd Catlett , Craig Chudy , Erik Cord , Vince Deadrick Jr. , Michael Dudikoff , Bob Neill , Sam Schatz , Tony Stephano , Jack Manning , Ted White , Gerald Berns , Mark Stewart , Charlie Picerni , Dave Cass

One of the earliest feature films to reflect the video-game craze of the 1980s, Disney's Tron stars Jeff Bridges as computer programmer Kevin Flynn, who becomes part of the very game that he's program... read more read more...ming. Flynn's principal antagonist is his glory-grabbing boss, Ed Dillinger (David Warner), who likewise metamorphoses into a video-game character. The title character, a computer-generated superhero, is played by Bruce Boxleitner. Though antiquated by 1990s standards, Tron represented the last word in special effects back in 1982. Surprisingly, despite its long-range influence on the movie industry, the film was a box-office disappointment when first released. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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66% liked it

67,734 ratings

Critics

70% liked it

46 critics

PG, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Steven Lisberger

Release Date: July 9, 1982

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DVD Release Date: January 15, 2002

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Stats: 4,852 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (4,852)

  • fb1341085175
    October 23, 2011
    fb1341085175
    It plays like an early 1980s EPCOT Center ride: visionary in an innocent way, charmingly retro, visually stunning in parts but also overstays its welcome and becomes an unexciting bore.
  • fb729949618
    September 18, 2011
    fb729949618
    I'm sure this movie was awesome and groundbreaking in 1982, but having seen it in 2010 right before the new one, it seems very cheesy. Who knows, in 30 years the new Tron might look cheesy? All in all though, good idea for a movie and some descent acting.
  • fb100001493964409
    September 13, 2011
    fb100001493964409
    Yeah... This movie... Really isn't that good. Like, at all. It doesn't even really have the heart that some 80s films manage to exist from (like "Labyrinth"). The only thing this film has going for it are the special effects. The effects were revolutionary at the time, but, well.... read more.. I know the history of special effects like the back of my hand (never understood that expression, why would you KNOW the back of your hand, oh well, beside the point) and there is no denying how insanely important this film is. It features the first fully computer animated 3D sequences in a feature film, a huge landmark. But no matter how good "King Kong" (1933) looked back then, it still hasn't aged well, and Tron is NOT an exception. The once revolutionary effects have as much power as a screensaver (actually, stare at your computer's screen saver while listening to 80s synth music might be indistinguishable from the actual movie...). I guess what I'm trying to say is that this film survives exclusively on nostalgia, but it is worth seeing at least once, but only as a landmark. And nothing else.
  • spielberg00
    August 12, 2011
    spielberg00
    TRON was amazing.
  • CloudStrife84
    July 6, 2011
    CloudStrife84
    Looks really dated by now, but considering it was made in 1982, the special effects are quite impressive for their time. I'm sure audiences back then were just as amazed by its visuals as we are currently by its sequel. This has a somewhat better script, but overall I like Legacy... read more more. Mainly because of its amazing music, which the original lacks. Definitely worth checking out though, if you're interested to know how it all began. And Jeff Bridges is as cool as ever.
  • blkbomb
    June 17, 2011
    blkbomb
    Tron: "My User has information that could... that could make this a free system again! No, really! You'd have programs lined up just to use this place, and no MCP looking over your shoulder." Tron is a very cool sic-fi film that features some fun special effects. For the time, th... read moreey were some of the most impressive effects used and I still like how they hold up today. The plot is for the most part, not that important, but it is still there. It's a fun story and I never found a dull moment come across in the movie. Jeff Bridges is great in the lead role as Flynn. Tron was a lot better than I expected it to be and I look forward to seeing the new one.
  • DreamExtractor
    April 30, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Im sure it was a surprise to everyone that saw it, on how creative it is, and how well they made it.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    April 17, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    I thought this movie was pretty good and seeing that it was made at 1982 the visual effects were decent enough to pull it off. The story is good and we have a young Jeff Bridges owning everyone in this movie. It has some very important facts related with Tron Legacy which are key... read more to understand the new movie so don't miss it.

    Programmer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) has been swindled. His former colleague Ed Dillinger (David Warner) stole the ideas for several popular arcade games from Flynn. Flynn is sure that if he can get inside his old company, he can successfully crack the system and find the stolen code -- proving that it's his.

    His plan goes well at first. With help from Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) and Lora (Cindy Morgan), he gets into the company, and starts poking around the computer system. But he has not counted on Dillinger's powerful artificial intelligence, the Master Control Program (MCP). The MCP is self-aware, and instantly realizes what Flynn is up to. Rather than see his human patron ruined, the MCP uses an experimental laser to "digitize" Flynn, turning him into a computer file, which is then in at his mercy.

    All of the programs in the System appear to be humans, with the faces of their creators and glowing lines on their unisex costumes. SARK, a control program (who looks like Dillinger) is tasked with eliminating Flynn. The MCP wants Flynn to be run through a series of game programs, where he will be "de-res'd" (deleted) upon being defeated. Flynn, a pretty good video game player, survives his first challenge.

    He is imprisoned with TRON, a monitoring program Alan Bradley wrote, but that the MCP keeps safely locked away. Their next challenge gives them an opportunity to escape, and after defeating their MCP-allied opponents, they flee on "light-cycles." Flynn gradually learns that as a programmer, he has magic powers in this world. He is able to resurrect dying programs, rebuild broken vehicles, etc. Eventually, he decides to confront the MCP directly and heads toward the center of the system.

    In a climactic confrontation, Flynn and TRON assault the MCP and ultimately defeat it. At this point, the entire system comes alive, with the MCP's various security measures vanishing. Flynn is rematerialized, and TRON uncovers Dillinger's deceit. Dillinger is unseated from his high position, and Flynn takes his place.
  • fb100000257973100
    April 4, 2011
    fb100000257973100
    Back when it first came out into theatres, TRON was unlike anything that was ever seen. Watching it now, it feels like taking the ultimate nostalgia trip to the eighties when computers were starting to get huge due to the advent of video games. This is a film that did not need a ... read moregood narrative to tell itā(TM)s story, but one is given and when properly decoded, it predicts the future of computers and inspires some of the grandest films that have been released in recent memory. Now, the direction of the film is, shockingly good for the time and the way this film was made. The pacing is kept up for the majority of the time, the script is also tight for the majority of the time, and you start to really care about these characters. The only problem is that they give us this world that is beautiful to stare at, but they do not go into all the other little details. I, personally, would have liked if they would have taken some more time to explore this world, really get into the magic that is behind everything. As I said before, this film did not need great acting to make this film as wonderful as it is. But, sense this film does have great acting, it just adds to the grandness. The actors really surprise me by how well they acted in front of a blue screen. Why? Because this was the first film to use excessive amounts of blue screen for the film and they all done a good job acting like there was something there. Now, future films would have been much better if inspiring actors learned from this film. Like the video games that inspired this film, the movieā(TM)s score has the qualities of a video game soundtrack and, it just works. It works when they are in the real world. It works when Flynn (Bridges) is in the Space Paranoids. It just works. Now, overall, this is a film that does show the birth of computer films, shows the first attempt to use a large amount of CGI in film, and just a revolutionary film that I recommend to anyone except those that think if a film does not have perfect effects then it is not good. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
  • yona71
    March 21, 2011
    yona71
    I caught some of this one on cable the other night after not seeing it in many years, and it does indeed have a charm to it. The effects seem somewhat animated which is strange but interesting. It came out in '82, so we must take that into account
    Jeff Bridges stars as Flynn who ... read morehacks into the mainframe of his ex-employer's system to prove that his work has been stolen by another executive. Ultimately, he gets pulled into a computerized world where he joins computer gladiator-esque characters on the grid where they must do battle with the MCP(Master Control Program) to actually decide the fate of the electronic and real world. Have I lost you? lol
    The "light cycle" sequences are quite unique and I'd say the most memorable thing to me about the world of Tron. If you've seen "Tron Legacy", there can be no comparison made with the effects because it's a whole other thing. But like I said, time and place.
    What I did not recall is how good the soundtrack is which was made by Wendy Carlos who is best known for their work on Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" and "A Clockwork Orange". This film is dated without question, but definitely worth seeing if you have the slightest interest in it because it is somewhat of a classic.
    And yes, that is the girl from "Caddyshack" wearing the modified Cooper Ice Hockey helmet with the accompanying glow in the dark apparel.

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Critic Reviews

Chris Nashawaty
April 7, 2011
Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly

For most people, TRON's importance is as a historical footnote. It's the Model T of our CGI age. But the film's fans are passionate ones. Full Review

Dave Kehr
June 4, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

It's a simple idea that ought to serve, but Lisberger's failures of pacing, structure, variation, and characterization ultimately make the film seem monotonous and distant. Full Review

June 4, 2007
Variety

Tron is loaded with visual delights but falls way short of the mark in story and viewer involvement. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A dazzling movie from Walt Disney in which computers have been used to make themselves romantic and glamorous. Here's a technological sound-and-light show that is sensational and brainy, stylish, and ... Full Review

Janet Maslin
August 30, 2004
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Its computer sequences exist in a blue-gray scheme filled with flashing lights, speeding objects and dizzying motion. Its visual effects are wonderfully new. They are also numbing after a while. Full Review

Wesley Lovell
August 16, 2011
Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy

More important for its revolutionary visual effects than anything else, the film is both entertaining and prescient. Full Review

Peter Canavese
April 15, 2011
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

There's an undeniable cart-before-the-horse aspect to Tron...but Lisberger's film will always stand as a touchstone in the development of CGI as a storytelling tool... [Blu-ray] Full Review

Brian Orndorf
March 28, 2011
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

Perhaps one of the more stunning features in motion picture history, creatively adapting mistakes and hunting invention, shaping a movie that displays such curiosity with technology and boldness with ... Full Review

David Nusair
December 17, 2010
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...a hopelessly dated relic of the early 1980s... Full Review

Nick Schager
December 17, 2010
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Without the rosy filter of nostalgia, it's a virtually unwatchable virtual-reality saga. Full Review

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TRON Trivia

  • Long before The Matrix there was another film in which a man tries to free himself from a computer generated world. What was the title of this film?  Answer »
  • In what Disney movie do you find the character called Master Control Unit.  Answer »
  • Steve Lisburger directed which film that was the first to use computer graphics?  Answer »
  • In the Disney movie "Tron", which actor/actress played the security program that helped defeat the MCP?  Answer »
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