Tron Legacy: The User Triumphs Over All
In preparation for the release of Tron Ares next week, Michael and I ventured back into the personified digital world of the Tron Legacy film. Based on the cult classic Tron from 1982, Tron Legacy premiered fifteen years ago with incredible visual effects, futuristic storylines, and breathtaking music.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the movie explores a unique way of thinking about the digital programs that we use in today’s world. While this was Joseph Kosinski’s directorial debut in Hollywood, he would later bring epic sequels to the Top Gun and Twister franchises as well. Tron Legacy begins with the voice of Jeff Bridges, who starred in the original film. He explains his vision for the personified interpretation of the digital world, known as the grid. Through an incredible use of blended digital and landscape film compositions, we are whisked into exposition, as Jeff Bridge’s character, Kevin Flynn, disappears without a trace. Leaving his son, Sam, and his fledgling company, Encom, to fend for themselves, the film fast forwards decades into the future, with Sam rebelling against the profit motives of his father’s company.
His father’s old friend, Alan Bradley, would eventually tell Sam about a mysterious message he received from his pager, originating from Kevin Flynn’s office at a defunct arcade. Sam drives to the old arcade to investigate, marveling as the room full of arcade games comes to life when he turns on the power. As he explorers one of his father’s original arcade games, Tron, the song, Separate Ways by Journey, begins to permeate throughout the room. It brilliantly foreshadows the surprises to come, as Sam learns that there is a secret doorway behind one of the arcade games. As he explorers his father’s desk in the secret room, he unintentionally awakens a laser which zaps him into the virtual world that his father created many years ago.
The digital world of the grid is futuristic, dystopian, and “radical” to quote Kevin Flynn’s character. As soon as Sam runs into the open grid, a large flying ship whisks him into the air, with suited computer programs stating his unauthorized status, calling him a “user”. The ship moves in the air toward a large stadium, where Sam is changed into a “light suit” that resembles a motorcycle suit with fluorescent strips. Once he is suited, a female-looking figure provides one world of advice: survive. Within minutes, he is flown into the sky and dropped into floating arenas with an opponent across from him. With a glowing disc attached to his suit, he learns that he is tasked to destroy his opponent by throwing the boomerang-like disc.
Through his incredible agility, he survives and eventually makes it to the next round of games involving light cycles. Mimicking real world motorcycles, they are spontaneously generated from a running leap with a glowing rod. At this point in the film, the pulse-pounding soundtrack by Daft Punk is fully appreciated. The mind-bending visuals and incredible score cultivate a one-of-a-kind racing simulation on screen. The duo behind Daft Punk, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, achieved world-renowned fame in the 1990’s and became influential in the electronic music scene. Their score is exceptional, winning best original score from the International Film Music Critics Association and nominated for a Grammy in 2010. From its iconic track “The Game Has Changed” to the classical electronic dance interlude “End of LIne”, the soundtrack cultivates the digital atmosphere of the film beautifully. Throughout the film, Daft Punk masterfully whisks the audience into the story with their interpolation of orchestral and electronic music.
The race is cut short with a surprise intrusion by a masked program, eventually revealed to be Quorra, a personified isomorphic algorithm that was organically created on the grid. Named ISO for short, they are the last surviving creation that sparked an incredible discovery by Kevin Flynn. He called them “the next stage of evolution”, a sentiment that has profound implications for the next film. Quorra pulls Sam into their vehicle and drives through a rocky terrain, outside the grid, toward a large house. Sam eventually learns that his father is alive, and he had been trapped in the digital world for decades.
Kevin illuminates hope during the tearful meeting, as they both have a few hours left to be able to leave the digital realm and rejoin humanity. The portal was opened when the laser was turned on back in the real world, though it has a time limit. The movie lends itself to a race through the grid, as they dodged attacks from rogue security programs. It is full of imaginative visuals and computer programming inner jokes, complimenting the world building of the original film.
With the rise in artificial intelligence, Tron, and its sequel Tron Legacy, were ahead of their time. They imagined a world where computer programs and the digital environment mirrored our own, creating a system of organic growth in the inorganic world. Tron Ares, coming to theaters on October 10th, imagines a near future where the power of artificial intelligence becomes a dominate force beyond our dreams.
In the meantime, I will put on my headphones to listen to Daft Punk’s orchestral and electronic soundtrack, pretending that I am whisked into the digital world. Both movies are available to stream on Disney+.
