Tron review

Tron:

Science and religion have always been on two sides of the same coin; both seek the same goals but their methods are incompatible. Whether it’s the theory of evolution v. the theory of creation, the merits of stem cell research v. the moral dilemma of abortion, or the findings of animal testing v. the issue of animal cruelty; discussions between science and religion almost always end with heated debates.

            My reason for explaining this is because it perfectly illustrates just what makes Steve Lisberger’s 1982 film Tron a masterpiece; it does the impossible by successfully combining a large number of scientific elements with just as many religious allegories. The film’s protagonist is a man named Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges. Flynn is a computer genius who has lost his job at a computer-design company after having the blueprints for his greatest program stolen. When Flynn attempts to retrieve his files to prove that the program was written by him, a hostile computer system known as the MCP beams him into the computer. After this, most of the story takes place inside the computer network known as the Space Paranoids, as Flynn works together with various digital avatars or “programs,” as they are called, in an attempt to free the network from the tyranny of the MCP and his right-hand program, Sark.

Within the world of the Space Paranoids, most of the programs look at the users (people in the real world) the way humans would look at gods, so the MCP attempts to use his power to make the programs stop believing in them. The MCP realizes that as long as the programs believe in the users, they will have hope and, consequently, the threat of rebellion remains. This is the same as the Biblical tale of Moses, where the pharaoh constantly uses his power to scare people into losing their faith in God. As such, when Flynn shows up and rallies the programs against the MCP, he takes on the role of a Moses character. However, Flynn reflects more Biblical characters than just Moses. Flynn creates an entire world of sentient beings, then enters this new world to bring its people to salvation after it becomes wrought with fear and corruption; this makes Flynn the perfect example of a Jesus character.

            That Lisberger was able to successfully combine so many scientific elements with so many religious allegories into a story with a cogent storyline is nothing short of a miracle. The film is not only marvelous because of its surprisingly good plot, but also because of its acting and special effects. The acting work of Jeff Bridges and David Warner (Sark) truly add to the excitement of the story because both of them successfully portray characters with large amounts of subtext. In addition to that, while Tron’s graphics look pretty pathetic by today’s standards, twenty-eight years ago it was very state-of-the-art; this was the film that pioneered CGI animation, one of the most common forms of animation of the last decade.

Tron: Entertainment: 9; Plot: 10; Effects: 9