By day Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is the owner of a popular games arcade, yet at night he’s a computer hacker. Using his “Clu” programme, he scours the labyrinthine digital vault of Encom, a company of which Ed Dillinger (David Warner) is senior executive Vice President. Flynn is looking for evidence, but is thwarted by the MCP (Master Control Programme) at every turn.

Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) is a programmer at Encom, angered at access being blocked to his “Tron” programme. An independent programme he designed to act as security for Encom’s computer system. Bradley goes to Dillinger for an explanation – and realises this is probably due to Flynn’s hacking. An old friend of Flynn’s he and his girlfriend Lora (Cindy Morgan) go to his arcade to warn him that his machinations are being noticed .

Frustrated, Flynn explains to them that the reason he has been doing this, is because Dillinger got to his lofty position in the company by stealing his ideas for video games and passing them off as his own. Alan and Lora are shocked, but sympathetic to his plight, and offer to help him expose Dillinger. They sneak him in to the Encom building, and Lora puts him at a computer terminal in her lab.

Lora has been working on a teleportation device, and earlier in the day successfully tested it on an orange. It works by taking an object apart molecule by molecule, and then rebuilding it in another location. However… whilst it’s in it’s deconstructed state – it exists inside the computer. As Flynn begins to hack the computer, the MCP comes online. In an act of self defence, it actives the laser and Flynn is physically deconstructed. He finds himself inside the computer. He has been turned into a computer programme.

Inside the computer he is imprisoned by Sark (David Warner in a dual role), and meets other programmes, who inside this strange world are sentient beings – worshipping their “users” as Deities. These programmes are currently held in prison by the MCP, only allowed out to compete on the “Game Grid”. A gladiatorial combat arena, designed to hopefully “de-rez” (I.e. Kill) them  and get them out of the way. Due to Flynn’s humanity, he refuses to kill another programme he is competing against, which infuriates Sark. With the intention of killing him once and for all, he sends him to compete on the “Light cycles”.

Whist waiting in the arena he meets Tron (Bruce Boxleitner, in a dual role), and is immediately stunned by his resemblance to his friend Alan Bradley. Realising swiftly that the programmes take on the physical appearance and personality traits of their users, he is comforted by this familiar face. Knowing that his friend designed Tron he quickly realises he can trust him. Along with another programme, Ram – they defeat Sark’s troops on the grid and launch a daring escape. Their mission to navigate this strange digital landscape, destroy the MCP, free all the other programmes, and find the evidence that Flynn desperately needs to get his due.

Read all that again. Pretty ahead of it’s time for 1982 isn’t it? As were the visual effects. A mix of VERY EARLY CGI, animation and roto scoping – this was Disney’s grab at piece of post Star Wars sci-fi blockbuster pie. Writer/Director/Animator Steve Lisberger’s movie is still visually stunning all these years later. Whilst the effects look obviously dated now, they still have a charmingly retro feel – and their basic look has allowed them to age very well. This, coupled with the intriguing and original story makes the film a very attractive prospect indeed.

Jeff Bridges is charming and funny as Kevin Flynn, who really is the lead character of the movie despite it being called Tron. He brings a Harrison Ford like swagger to the role, and is a likeable and human companion on this journey into a strange world.

Bruce Boxleitner also impresses in his dual role as Alan Bradley and Tron. As Alan Bradley he is a nerdy computer programmer with big thick glasses and a schoolboy haircut. As Tron he is macho, tough, brave and daring – and thrilling to watch in the movie’s fast paced action scenes.

David Warner is also huge camp fun as the boo hiss pantomime villain.

Surprisingly, at the time of it’s release, this movie wasn’t the giant box office smash everyone had hoped for. It’s story was confusing to some, and it faced strong competition from other releases. 1982 was a big year for sci-fi blockbusters – and Tron got lost in the melee.

The final insult was when it was refused consideration for an Academy Award for best visual effects. At the time, the use of computers was considered “cheating”. Oh the irony! If only that was still the case today.

However, the years have been kind to this movie. It did very well on home video and the DVD was a massive seller. Videogame spin-offs have been wildly successful and the film gained a cult audience which went from strength to strength. As the years went past, the more advances made in computer technology were made, the more relevant Tron became.

So much so, that despite it’s underwhelming success upon release, and it being almost 30 years old, Disney are taking perhaps the biggest gamble that the studio has ever taken. The massive budget 3D sequel Tron Legacy is coming out at Christmas, with Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner returning to the roles they first played all those years ago. The trailers are wowing audiences across the globe, and if the advance hype is to be believed – this movie has the potential to overtake Avatar in terms of box office returns.

It’s nice that the world has caught up with Tron and I strongly recommend anyone who’s not seen it, do so quickly before the sequel is released. If anything, just to appreciate how really ahead of it’s time it was.

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