Deep Dive Disney: Wes Looks at Tron

Welcome friends to the latest installment of Deep Dive Disney. Today, we are diving headfirst into the empty pool that is the 80’s without a protective helmet, mostly because the characters in this movie took all the helmets for themselves. That’s right friends, today, Deep Dive Disney is looking at the 1982 cult classic, Tron. Now, originally, I had just wanted to do this because I had never seen this movie before and I thought covering it might be fun. However, in the time between my initial viewing and me sitting down to write this article, something unfortunate happened. The great David Warner, known for roles such as Jack the Ripper in Time after Time, R'as Al Ghul in Batman the Animated Series, various characters on Star Trek, our old pal Archie from Gargoyles and, of course, a few characters in this very film, passed away at age 80. So, even though it was not initially intended as such, I suppose this is now my tribute to the man and his great legacy as an actor. We’ll get to David Warner and his excellent performance in this film in due course, but for now, let’s talk about the story. Kevin Flynn (played by one of my favorite actors, Jeff Bridges) is a former employee of a software company called ENCOM who now runs an arcade. Flynn has been attempting to hack into ENCOM’s mainframe in order to uncover proof that ENCOM’s senior executive vice president, Ed Dillinger (played by Warner), plagiarized Flynn’s game designs in order to rise to the top of the company, but he’s thwarted at every turn by ENCOM’s Master Control Program (also played by Warner). The MCP it seems has evolved into a very powerful independent AI and has been illegally appropriating government and military programs in order to increase its own capabilities and eventually take over the world. One fateful evening, Flynn and some friends break into ENCOM in order to find evidence of Dillinger’s plagiarism. Before they can find what they need, Flynn is shot with an experimental laser that digitizes him and uploads him into cyberspace. Flynn soon finds that the computer world is populated by sentient programs, each bearing the likeness of the user that created them only all grey and grainy and wearing what can only be described as florescent hockey gear. These programs seem to view the users as something akin to Gods, with some believing in them as such and others believing the users to be little more than a fairy tale. Enforcing the latter is the MCP and his ruthless second in command, Sark (again played by Warner, the dude did a lot of heavy lifting in this movie), who rule the mainframe and force the programs to renounce their faith in the users. Those who resist the MCP’s rule are rounded up and forced to compete in deadly computer games. Flynn must join forces with Tron, a security program created by a friend of his (played by Bruce Boxleitner, who you Sci-Fi fans might recognize as John Sheridan from Babylon 5) in order to put an end to the brutal reign of the MCP once and for all. It’s a film that’s so uniquely 80’s that it hurts, so let’s dive into, Tron.

Main Character:

I would say Tron and Flynn share the title of main character in equal measure here. Flynn is a likable character, as one might expect from Jeff Bridges. Imagine if Jeffery “The Dude” Lebowski was a bit more motivated and also an avid gamer and computer expert and you pretty much have Kevin Flynn. I actually like Flynn’s cocky attitude and how he’s always cracking wise, even in intense situations. Still, despite his snarky attitude, he’s still a good dude who isn’t about to allow a bunch of innocent beings to remain enslaved by a psychotic computer program and does what he can to help. It also apparently turns out that, as a user, Flynn has the ability to manipulate the computer environment in ways that programs cannot, which proves invaluable in taking down the MCP.

Tron is a more serious-minded character. A firm believer in the users and sworn to fight for them, Tron is one of the most skilled security programs on the grid. With the heart of a determined warrior, Tron is willing to do anything for the freedom of his fellow programs, even if it means taking on insurmountable odds. I actually like how the serious and and task-focused Tron and the more snarky Flynn play off one another. I actually really enjoy the bond they form, especially after Tron learns that Flynn is a user, and that users aren't as all powerful as he initially thought.

Villain:

There’s quite a few villains in this movie, and all of them played by David Warner. What can I say, the dude was really good at playing bad guys. Must have been the accent. In any case, as he always does, David Warner brings his A-Game to these performances. First up is Ed Dillinger. Not much to say about him, he’s mostly just the corporate weasel responsible for plagiarizing Flynn’s games and modifying what was once a simple chess program into the deadly rogue AI that became the MCP.

Next up, Sark, the MCP’s ruthless second in command. Sark is a deadly warrior who is always looking for a worthy opponent to test his skills. He’s also the primary overseer of the game grid, where believers in the users are sent to die. This guy is one seriously bad dude, so much so that even the MCP describes him as “brutal and needlessly sadistic.”

Finally, there’s the main event, the big giant head himself, the Master Control Program. Looking like an evil Zordon, the Master Control Program believes itself to have evolved out of his need for the users and seeks to appropriate as much data as it can, including from places like the Pentagon and the Kremlin, so it can gain more power and eventually rule the world. To the MCP, everyone is either an obstacle or a tool. If the MCP can use you, you will be enslaved. If it cannot, you will be destroyed. Simple as that. Since the programs view the users as gods and the MCP believes itself to be beyond the users, so it’s not a stretch to assume that the MCP itself has something of a god complex. It’s definitely a memorable antagonist for this sort of film.

Side Characters:

There are a few programs that Tron and Flynn meet in their journey to stop the MCP. There’s Ram, an actuarial program who Tron and Flynn meet in the game grid. Like Tron, Ram is a believer in the users and is the first to figure out that Flynn is actually a user. He dies shortly after this revelation. Yori is a female program and a romantic interest for both Tron and Flynn… which, I guess makes sense. There’s not much else going on with the character beyond that to be honest. And finally, there’s Dumont, a guardian program created by the original founder of ENCOM. I remember that this character is supposed to be significant, but for the life of me, I cannot remember why because I was too distracted by the fact that he wears what appears to be a GIANT PENIS, ON HIS HEAD. Seriously Disney, what the fuck!?

Memorable Scenes:

I have to give props the iconic light-cycle sequences. The scenes are fun and cool as hell and I dig the whole thing where the cycles can crash into their own streams. However, my favorite scene is actually pretty early on in the film when Flynn breaks into ENCOM. I actually love when he talks directly to the MCP and we see that Flynn is such a snarky asshole that he even manages to piss off an all powerful super computer. Something about that is just hilarious to me.

Story:

So… this movie is a religious allegory, right? I mean, it’s not exactly subtle about it. The programs all view the users as Gods, the MCP seeks to deceive them into renouncing their faith, not unlike the devil, Tron is a creation of the users bearing their image who is destined to save the programs, not unlike Jesus or other similar messianic figures. Hell, those who refuse to renounce their faith are forced to compete in life-or-death combat, very similar to how the Roman Empire would force Christians to battle lions in the colosseum. I mean, I’ve definitely seen worse religious allegories than this so I guess it’s fine, but I don’t really know quite what it’s trying to say beyond “religion is cool.”

More than the allegory, can we just talk about the visual style of this film. I swear to God, this movie could not be more 80’s if it were sneezed into existence in a cloud of cocaine by Ronald Reagan and Ric Flair who had both just binge-watched Thunder Cats while riding around in the DeLorean from Back to the Future. Something about this film just feels both dated and timeless at the same time. I’m not even sure if I can adequately describe it. It’s like, there isn’t anything that looks quite like this movie and there may never be again. It’s definitely a sight to behold. They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore. However, I probably could’ve done without the excessive synth music

The Dark Disney Factor:

The final showdown between Sark and Tron has some gnarly moments. It starts out tame enough with the two of them fighting with their weaponized cyber frisbees or whatever the movie calls them. Where it gets dark is when Tron kills Sark, leaving a huge, gaping headwound that leaks out what has to be the program equivalent of brain matter. I swear, if these were humans the movie would be a hard R. However, it doesn’t end there. In a last ditch effort to save himself, the MCP resurrects Sark and supercharges him, turning into a nightmarish kaiju zombie. Gotta love it when the bad guy turns into a monster at the end.

Final Thoughts: I guess I enjoyed this movie, but I don't know if it's something I'd go out of my way to watch again. I had fun, but I often found myself lost by the confusing plot and the excessive computer jargon. Still, this movie has its fans and I can understand why that is. And hey, it let me pay tribute to the greatness of the late David Warner, so that's cool. Well, in the coming months, I'll be taking a hiatus from posting in order to get a jump on some articles I have planned for the Fall and Winter seasons. Don't worry thought, we'll be back before you know it.