Before the Matrix there was Tron

Tron in many ways was supposed to be a big hit. It had ultra cutting-edge special effects for its time and the story seemed to be pretty cool. However the film, criticized for poor acting and a lack of a coherent plot made the film a minor success. Since then it's become a cult favorite with its audience steadily growing over the years. I actually first experienced Tron through Kingdom Hearts II, the Playstation 2 videogame with the world of Tron as one of its levels. I got interested in the movie so I rented it and while it's not to me buy worthy, it was certainly an entertaining film.

Tron isn't actually the computer world name but one of the main characters. I don't even know what the name of it is but anyway. The Master Control Program(MCP) has been turning the computer world into a kind of militaristic world, with second-in-command Sark making people play videogames until they "de-rez" or basically, die. Unfortunate for Flynn who is zapped into the computer world and has to team up with a program named Tron to defeat the MCP and save computer land.

Even typing that plot, part of me is thinking "good lord, that is kind of silly" but since I play quite a lot of videogames with tales of flying fortresses and airships and mystical beasts, I just let it slide. Some people couldn't figure out the plot but to me it kind of made sense although I'm no computer expert so all the "geek speak" tends to fly over my head.

What attracts people to Tron is most likely the animation which is one of the first if not the first heavily-CGI extensive film and while it doesn't have the pristine shine of recent films, it's certainly quite a visual feast, especially if you're watching it for the first time. The much-praised lightcycle is just as cool as people describe it and the film's quite colorful. However I found that the novelty value went down where I wasn't wowed anymore and was like "okay, on with the story". Oddly enough the film didn't even get nominated for Visual Effects Oscar since people thought they "cheated" by using a computer. Nowadays, every Visual Effect Oscar has to include computers. Screw models, matte paintings, miniatures and in-camera techniques and stunts, if you got a computer and you're talented at it, you could get nominated.

It's a film that feels slow at times and story might be hokey but boy is it a blast to watch, just don't pay attention to most if not all of the acting at times.

"TRON in KINGDOM HEARTS 2!"

Yep, that's right! If you like the movie "TRON" then you'll love playing in it on KH2 for PS2. Ever since I played it I now wanna by the movie!

My nephews love it!

I disagree with the reviewer who commented that younger gamers wouldn't appreciate this film. My nephews, ages 10 and 12, asked me about Tron after the recent release of Disney's "Kingdom Hearts 2", which features levels based on the film. The SciFi Channel recently aired the movie and I recorded it to my DVR for them. They loved it, and when I told them I needed to delete it, they asked me to find it on DVD.

There are aspects of the film that are quite dated, but it did help the boys visualize basic concepts of information systems, and was timeless enough to get them to actually appreciate a movie from when I was their age!