Much like Wonder Park, I have previously talked about TRON before, when I brought up my favourite Live-Action mix movie. That was before I decided to do the Live-Action Mix marathon last year. Funny enough, I did think about doing TRON as part of that marathon, but when it came down to this and Roger Rabbit, really the choice made itself. Still, since these kinds of movies are now open for me to review, I figured, why not talk about TRON? Is it a true animated flick? No, but it was one of those movies that really helped pioneer animated special effects. We had King Kong in the 30s, and the 90s blew up with Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park, but TRON often gets overlooked in this regard, even though we haven't seen such a thing prior, or really since until maybe Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. A whole world completely created out of CGI? Sure, it's completely passé now, especially since a majority of our animated movies are completely CG, but back in the 80s, this was a game changer. Sadly, like most game changers, it was not appreciated in its time, but has a very devoted cult following. Including me, this is one of my all-time favourite movies.
Tron isn't one of my favourite movies because of the story or characters, though both are quite solid. The plot follows Flynn as he tries to some data that will prove that he programmed some games, instead of Dillinger, the Senior Executive of the company Flynn used to be employed at. Flynn gets pulled into the world inside of the computer, and must assist the program TRON in taking down the Master Control Program. A nice touch that gives the story some extra strength is that in the world of programs, users, the real world people who build and give orders to the programs, are treated as a kind of religion, which does give the film a bit of depth. One could see the movie as the programs, individual beings built by individual users, fighting against the MCP, a program that has built itself with the information from several other programs, as a tale of individuality versus those kinds of beliefs of being part of a higher calling. Whether it is or not, I can't say because I'm not the director or writer of this movie, but that is something I noticed.
Similarly, the characters are pretty fun as well. Flynn is very much a playful person, with little moments of him goofing around every now and again. I also like the detail of Dillinger's actor, David Warner, also plays Sark, a program under the command of the MCP, mirroring the relation in the real world. As much as Dillinger thinks he is in charge of the MCP, it really is the MCP who is in control of Dillinger. I also really liked Ram, and his cheerful nature. On a similar topic, the acting isn't too bad, one particular scene I noticed on rewatch is when Flynn is listening to Sark for the first time, you can tell by the look on his face, he recognizes something. In a similar vein, when Sark is staring at the ring game after it's finished, you can tell exactly what he's thinking by the look on his face. While the characters aren't bad, they aren't why this is one of my favourite movies.
Simply put, TRON is one of my favourite movies in the same way movies like Freaked or King Kong are. As movies, they're good, heck I'd even say Freaked is fantastic, but then you take into account their effects, and you really think about their place in film history. TRON is one of the first movies to use such extensive CGI, creating a whole world that only existed in codes and a few props to interact with. Some people may look at the CG and argue that it looks dated and ugly by today's standards, but I disagree. This is one of the few times I would argue that dated CG was the right choice, because the world inside of dated computers, would probably have a similar look to a dated computer effect. On top of that, the light effects on the costumes and for things like liquids is fascinating. I don't want to sell this movie only on the effects, because again the story is interesting and the characters are charming, but the thing I think back to is always the special effects.
Honestly, that is a good reason for me to do more critical and in-depth looks at my favourite movies, because that gives me a chance to really notice things and refresh my memory on things I tend not to remember. For example, the music in this movie is fascinating. There are long stretches where there is no background music, and when there is, it's oddly ambient. Also, the movie has some humour to it, not laugh out loud funny, this isn't a comedy after all, but characters have little quips and reactions that do add a touch of humour to this movie. Honestly, it is nice taking a deeper look at movies I like, because I get to find new things to appreciate about them. So, while the story and characters are not the strongest, I can't say this film is bad.
This really was an ambitious movie for Disney, I can imagine they were eager to take a chance on such a movie because of how badly they were doing after Walt's passing. Say what you will about their movies prior to the Renaissance, but they were ambitious and not very typical of Disney's output. TRON is not a movie that is going to be for everyone, I think that it is a cult film through and through. However, if this sounds interesting to you, I definitely recommend it. Though it doesn't have the best story, characters or world-building, there is still a lot to appreciate here, and I can't imagine where special effects in cinema would be today if not for this movie. It does seem like those who love this movie, really love it because much like other Disney cult hits like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Treasure Planet, it is getting a fair bit of love. I do think it deserves it, truly a unique movie for its time, and one that I keep in the back of my mind with fond memories.
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