I want to write something like, “no one wishes they actually enjoyed Tron more than I do.” But that would be a lie, because at the very least, Disney themselves have desperately tried to have the IP take off since its 1982 debut. The problem has always been that there’s just not enough to hold onto in this universe—literally and figuratively. Even in this premiere, Tron struggles to offer anything beyond its virtual reality premise and fantastical, neon interpretation of digital space.

It’s such a worn concept now, and so many things throwing their hat into the Light Cycle arena have brought more to the affair. Something like Star Wars persists because it has a consummately well-written narrative and charismatic performances. I could bet on no one in all of human history describing Tron in that fashion. I wouldn’t, because gambling is a sin, but I could.

Visually, Tron still looks vibrantly colorful and imaginative. Plus, who among us nerds hasn’t adored “trapped in a video game” stories since their childhood? But boy, is everything else just awful. The cast seems like they’re resisting the urge to burst out laughing in most of the virtual world scenes. Considering the costumes they’re wearing, who could blame them? You’re supposed to do another take, though, I think. David Warner as Sark is the only one who does any sort of commendable job, if only for the fact that he does keep a straight face.

Tron‘s computer world always feels like a deserted vacuum, which isn’t a compelling setting for an action movie. While that aesthetic is appropriate when envisioning a hyperreality based on the minimalism of ’80s arcade games, it lends itself to too many traits, such as a barely present musical score, that aren’t conducive to an entertaining movie. Tron is best appreciated as an optimistic tribute to the seminal technological era it emerged from. Oh, and in anything that adapts its sincerely fun Light Cycle game. On that note, the 1982 Tron arcade game almost certainly holds up better than the film it’s based on.