Tron (1982)

Directed by Steven Lisberger. Starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan, David Warner, Dan Shor, Barnard Hughes, Peter Jurasik. [PG]

While trying to hack the mainframe of a large corporation to prove that one of the head honchos (Warner) stole his game designs, software engineer Bridges is zapped into cyberspace. There, he’s forced to participate in deadly games, but with the help of “anthropomorphized programs,” he also plots to eliminate the Master Control Program, a power-hungry artificial intelligence that runs the mainframe. Nearly wall-to-wall groundbreaking visual effects—combining computer graphics, live-action, and backlit animation—are still a (retro) treat today, but the barely-comprehensible story is a wash; there’s no shortage of clunky tech jargon, but virtually no humanity or sense of awe. Despite the efforts of charismatic Bridges and sinister Warner, there’s almost nothing to grab onto, reducing the whole thing to an abstract light show, with the most entertaining scenes being the competitive battles involving light cycles, discs, etc. A box office underperformer, but has developed a devoted following, especially among computer gaming enthusiasts from the 80s. Followed by a sequel (Tron: Legacy) and a television series (“Tron: Uprising”).

54/100