Tron: The Franchise That Won't Go Away

On July 9, 1982, Disney released the film Tron, which made a little money and garnered decent reviews, but did not become the phenomenon in the vein of Star Wars that the studio was hoping for. Some merchandise was released, including a popular arcade game, and the film did well on home video. In the ensuing years after its release, however, Tron was relegated to a cult film and gained very little attention from the general public. Tron was kept alive through a computer game or two, comic books, and fan publications. When rumblings of a sequel came to the surface in the late 2000's, fans who thought they'd never see more Tron started to get excited. 2010 brought Tron Legacy, which grossed over $400 million yet received lukewarm critical notices, and briefly took the franchise back into the public eye. A short-lived Disney XD show, the animated Tron Uprising, ran for one season and garnered a strong reception from fans and critics alike. It seemed Tron was here to stay, yet the momentum fans hoped for was never reached. The last few years have seen a third Tron film put into production only to be shuttered by Disney. Rumors still fly that another Tron film is on the way, and a popular thrill ride based on the series is coming to Disney World after successfully debuting at Shanghai Disneyland. It appears that the franchise is not going anywhere anytime soon. What exactly is it that keeps Tron from fading into obscurity?

A New Frontier

In the early 1980's, computers and video games were a new phenomenon. Arcades were appearing in every town, and in 1982 they brought in over $4 billion in revenue, which is equivalent to over $10 billion in today's dollars. This amount doesn't include the almost $4 billion that home video games generated. It didn't take long for film-makers to realize that computers and video games were a viable resource to tell a story on film. Enter Steven Lisberger, a young animator who saw the possibility of creating visuals by way of the computer. While he and his associates produced the occasional commercial or TV special, Lisberger came up with the concept of a computer warrior fighting in video game battles. He pitched this idea to several film studios but all of them turned him down. Disney, who desperately needed a live-action hit, took a risk with Lisberger and began the development of Tron. The film, with its extensive use of computer graphics, had a difficult yet brilliant production process. Nothing like it had ever been done before. Once the film was completed and released to theaters, the film-makers and Disney waited with bated breath for the response. When Tron released it went up against competition along the lines of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Rocky III, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Poltergeist, and got somewhat lost in the shuffle. Many casual film-goers and critics alike didn't "get it". They simply dismissed the films as one of many disposable sci-fi outings of the era. While the movie's plot was solid science-fiction fare, something wasn't quite right with the characters. Maybe they didn't click with some audiences. Perhaps there was a bit of confusion as to why the title character wasn't the main character. Regardless, Tron didn't get the recognition Disney had hoped for. There was, however, a small group of movie watchers who soaked up every minute of Tron. The imaginations of many children were captured in spades. The luminous effects, the computer wizardry, the cool action sequences, and Flynn's arcade. What kid wouldn't have wanted to be Jeff Bridges, living in the back of an arcade in 1982?

The group of friends I associated with would use our imaginations to turn frisbees into identity discs, see-saws into light cycles. We argued over who was going to be Tron and who was stuck being RAM (*spoiler: RAM dies in the film). As the years passed we moved on to other playground activities, yet Tron remained my favorite film. I recall only a few years after the movie released, I would answer the question, "what is your favorite movie?". My response for years was, "Tron". Many would ask, "What's a Tron?". I would usually respond with, "It's a movie about a guy who gets sucked into a computer.". That would be the end of the conversation.

Tron's popularity was indeed short-lived, yet a growing group of fans and a persistent director would keep the idea going.

The Triumphant Return (Sort Of)

Tron  barely lived on during the 90's with no officially released media. Steven Lisberger pushed on for a sequel, but it seemed the film would only reside in the memories of die-hard fans. In the early 2000's, however, a spark ignited with the release of a computer game and a comic book series. By the middle of the decade it seemed like another film might be possible. In 2008 a teaser trailer released, complete with light cycles and Jeff Bridges. Fans went nuts. Tron 2 was happening! As what was once thought of as impossible became reality, footage from the now-titled Tron Legacy looked spectacular. Releasing in December of 2010, Tron Legacy looked amazing and performed well. Critics praised the effects, overall look of the film, and the soundtrack, but didn't connect with the story. Not quite a direct sequel and not an official reboot, it was difficult to connect the two movies other than the basic premise of the computer world.

Tron Legacy was successful in bringing renewed interest to the franchise. People were talking about it. The spectacular soundtrack was everywhere. Tron Uprising debuted on Disney XD. A third film was in development. As time would have it, however, Disney seemed to lose interest in Tron. With the acquisitions of money-generating machines such as Star Wars and Marvel, why did Disney need Tron? Filming was set to begin on the third installment, but production was abruptly halted indefinitely. Fans petitioned, to no avail. Or was it? There are now rumors of a Tron reboot, and with the announcement of the Tron ride in the Magic Kingdom, it would make sense to prepare another film.

Standing the Test of Time

        

Whatever the reason, Tron won't go away. Maybe it's the fact that Tron paved the way for computer animation in film. Perhaps it's the person-in-a-computer gimmick. The light cycles and throwing discs, the day-glo outfits, or the groundbreaking soundtracks. No one knew that 35 years later, Tron would still be around. There are still more stories of the computer world to be told, and it looks like, if fans are patient, they will see more Tron in the coming years.

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*Another landmark cultural phenomenon occurred in 1982. It was the grand opening of Epcot Center in Walt Disney World. In some ways, Tron and Epcot have a lot in common. Look for the next post toward the end of the month for a look at Epcot as it celebrates 35 years.

My Science Project: Another 80's Nerd Flick

The 80's was rife with films that dealt with science and teenage nerds, each of them attempting to make the subject seem cool, most of them failing to capture the coolness of Marty McFly or the success of Back to the Future. The already reviewed WarGames and The Manhattan Project, along with Real Genius and Weird Science were varied attempts to earn the cash of teen movie goers.

Perhaps the least successful and oft-forgotten entry in this genre is 1985's My Science Project. Released in late summer, the movie failed to generate much box office and was negatively received by critics. The film found some life on cable TV, but has only lived on recently in the minds of those nostalgic individuals who read blogs like this one and actually seek out information regarding films from their favorite decade.

Michael Harlan (John Stockwell, Top Gun) is a high school senior who spends most of his time working on his car. His grades have been less than stellar and he needs to pull out all the stops to pass his science class by coming up with a top-notch project. His girlfriend dumps him, so Michael teams up with nerdy Ellie (Danielle von Zerneck, La Bamba) to help with finding the perfect object to present to his class. They end up at a military dump and find a strange glowing device that looks like one of those electrical spheres found at Spencer Gifts. Michael and Ellie, along with friend Vince (Fisher Stevens, Short Circuit) present the device to their teacher (a wonderfully over the top Dennis Hopper). The device is activated and slowly creates pandemonium as it brings items from the past into the present with disastrous results, The students find themselves battling their way through the school in order to rescue a trapped Ellie.

The first two-thirds of My Science Project are fairly uneventful. The characters are introduced. They find the device, mess around with it, it makes their teacher disappear. Fisher Stevens is really annoying. When the device turns the school into a living museum (wait, this plot device sounds familiar...) is where the film really takes off. As the teens work their way through the building, they encounter gladiators, the Viet Cong, aliens, and a T-Rex. This portion of the movie is what the entire film should have been. It's very entertaining, funny, and without question a reason to sit through the first 45 minutes or so.




My Science Project isn't a great movie. Anyone who came through the 80's will find something to feel nostalgic about while watching it. Those who make it to the climax will be rewarded. The movie could, and maybe should be remade as an expanded version of the last 30 minutes. Recommended for those who enjoy dumb 80's flicks.

Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn - Cheap Fun

If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, then the movie industry sure knows how to flatter. Following the success of both Mad Max in 1979 and The Road Warrior in 1981, Hollywood saw fit to capitalize on the post-apocalyptic theme by churning out several similar-themed duds such as 1990: Bronx Warriors (1982), Stryker (1983), and Exterminators of the Year 3000 (1983). No one remembers these movies, and for good reason. They were cheap B-movies that saw limited theatrical release and middling success in the home video market.

Another cheap Mad Max knockoff released in 1983 that was both critically and theatrically dismissed was Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn. Thanks to late-night TV and VHS, Metalstorm has garnered that coveted "cult-following" status that so many bad 1980's science-fiction films manage to achieve. The novelty of the original 3-D release is gone, but the slightly western-tinged sci-fi fun remains and separates Metalstorm from the pack of imitators.

On a desert-like planet, space ranger Dogen (Jeffrey Byron) makes the rounds in his dune buggy, and is then attacked by an alien on a flying pedestal of some kind. The alien leaves a crystal behind that Dogen takes with him and wants to know more about. During his search for answers Dogen meets such characters as Dhyana (Kelly Preston), Rhodes (Tim Thomerson), and Hurok (Richard Moll). A plot of world domination (what else?) by the hand of Jared-Syn is uncovered, and a few chases in Mad Max style vehicles as well as confrontations with Jared-Syn's cyborg son Baal ensue.

Metalstorm is a blast to watch as yes, it is cheap, but that's part of the charm. The action is fun, if not a bit poorly staged, and the characters are effective enough, each with a history that should have been a bit more fleshed out. There's a certain charm when it comes to hand-puppet sand worms, an animated electrical creature, and a nonsensical plot involving a mysterious crystal mask. The vehicles literally fall apart during the chase scenes, and the staging for 3-D thrills is obvious. All the while it is clear that the cast and crew were having a lot of fun creating this movie, a notion cemented by the interviews contained on the recent Blu-ray release of this film from Shout! Factory.

It would have been nice to have seen a sequel to Metalstorm. The villain gets away, nullifying the subtitle of the movie. The world of Metalstorm is an interesting one that begs for more details to be unearthed in another film. In today's world of remakes and reboots, there's always a chance we'll see another iteration of Metalsotrm. If nothing else, it is one of the coolest titles for a movie, ever, sans the subtitle. Anyone looking for a fun throwback to good old-fashioned cheap movie making should check out Shout! Factory's Blu-ray release. It comes recommended.