But God Gave The Increase: Along Way to

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Along Way to

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Steven Davis Review of Tron Legacy

Friends,

I saw Tron Legacy last night with my brother Matt in IMAX 3D. We initially planned to catch a Jeff Bridges double bill with True Grit to follow Tron, but we couldn't make it work. Besides, I was a buzzing a little from Tron and it was better I didn't see another movie after--I needed time to think and process.

I don't often write movie reviews and I'm not sure this qualifies since I'm not spending a lot of time on it nor will I polish it, but I wanted to pass along a few of my observations. I'm doing this more with a religious element in mind so this isn't a review for the average proletariat.

Spoilers will follow, so if you haven't seen the movie, best not read on.

I FIGHT FOR THE USERS:

There's no doubt that the original Tron had some religious elements to it. Within the computer world many programs referenced a belief in "users" but there were also many non-believers. The idea of a "user" being a higher power was overt. However, even in the physical world there are references to a higher power--a higher realm from which ideas are conceived, etc. This was apparent when Dumont (the old man) complains to Ed Dillinger (boss at Encom) and Dillinger expresses his frustration with Dumont's dedication to it.

This idea is compounded in the Legacy film. To no one's surprise, there is still a lingering belief in the Users, but the waters are muddied a little as Flynn (Jeff Bridges) lives in "the grid" world. Within this world he is referred to as The Creator and later we learn his powers are great despite the fragile and ancient state in which he's embodied. His doppleganger--evil twin if you will--is Clue, an entirely digital clone of Flynn who was instructed (in the early days of The Grid) to make it "prefect." It's no surprise that Clue goes bad (thirst for perfection, power, etc) and becomes an arch enemy to Flynn. It is Clue's end-game to steal Flynn's disc and enter the physical (human) realm and take it over by force. He has amassed an army of reconditioned program clones to help in his megalomaniacal plan.

Are we seeing a religious element yet? I don't want to be heavy-handed with this or overtly "mormon" but I will. Mormonism is one of the few Christian religions that believes in a pre-existence. If you remember from Sunday School, Mormon's claim that we lived before we were born. God wanted man to receive a body, be tested, and return to Him. Two plans were presented: plan one stated that the "system" would be perfect and no one would be allowed to get out-of-line. The second was more "open source" (see: agency). You don't need to be Mormon to understand this, though. As Christians we all believe in a God, a devil, and a Savior. I think you can draw your own conclusions.

Are you seeing a parallel yet?

ENTER: THE SON

Sam Flynn is the son of Kevin Flynn. Through clever writing mechanics, he finds his way into the grid and is soon new proof of the Users. The Son makes it through his first trials and soon connects with his real father, a zen-like sentient being who hold the key to civilization. He is The Creator. So, the plan from here is to get all 3 good guys (one of them is Quorra played by a stunning, Joan-of-Arc powered Olivia Wilde) to the physical world. Of course, Clue gets in the way along with a former ally to Flynn gone bad.

Sam Flynn is really the key here. At the very least, he has to get out of the grid and into the physical world. At the climax of the movie there is a show-down among Flynn, Sam, Clue and Quorra. The short version is: Sam and Quorra make it to the light stream and back to the physical world, but not before Flynn and Clue have it out.

"I was told to make it perfect," Clue says pleading with Flynn.

"Yes." Flynn replies.

"And I did."

"Yes."

"So why are you against me?"

"Because I didn't fully understand it when I created you."

"We can still do it."

"No, it's over."

Shortly after, Flynn uses his enormous power to call Clue back from the light beam and is destroyed along with the entire grid leaving nothing but a primordial wasteland--or blank slate if you will. Before Sam and Quorro make it to the light beam, she expresses how much she'd love to see the sun rise--she doesn't know what it's like. The last scene of the movie shows Sam riding his Ducati with Quorro on the back as the sun rises. The parallel here is fantastic and maybe not subtle enough. She was saved by The Son and she finds power and beauty in seeing the physical sun. It was a good way to end the movie.

Whether or not you wish to see the religious connection is up to you. If you do, The Grid doesn't necessarily need to reflect a belief in the pre-existence (satan amassing an army of his followers, rebelling against the creator), or if you choose to believe in the basic paradox of Good v Evil. Either way it works.