You really have no way of knowing what they're like until you watch them.
Because they're so popular, no one bothers to review them anymore, and most of them came out before 1984, so the only real ratings at the time were G and R (which wasn't really accurate until much, much later, which is why us kids got the VERY suggestive bar song in The Great Mouse Detective, but couldn't watch The Ghost and The Darkness, which is debatably less violent than Lord of the Rings.)
But now I've gotten myself a subscription to a streaming service and guess what I found!!!
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| (Alternative title: Epileptic Triggers 101) |
Due to pop-culture and the sequel, you're probably familiar with the premise: A man gets transported into a computer, and there are epic Frisbee fights.
Sorry to bust the bubble, but only the first part of that really applies to this film.
The Story & Plot
Before we begin, a clarification:
Story is the why characters do things, such as Frodo wanting to protect the Shire and the friends he loves.
Plot is how characters do things.
This movie is an example of all plot, minimal story.
Early on, Flynn says he has to hack into Encom to prove that he created a game his boss is now taking the credit for, but nothing in the rest of the film reflects this moral conflict, except for the concept of the Master Control Program absorbing other programs to make itself bigger.
Being pulled into the game, Flynn's focus abruptly changes to breaking the MCP so he can escape.
Admittedly, I wasn't too invested in the tension because SPOILERS >> I knew a bunch of the characters make it to the sequel<< SPOILERS but also because the characters themselves didn't seem that invested in them either. Maybe it was just a thing of the era. 'When all seems hopeless, might as well go to your doom quietly, unless you're the main character!'
The Characters
The characters are all pretty simplistic, but not horribly so. Despite what I said about the lack of tension in the previous category, the actors themselves are very good and have just the right amount of earnestness in their portrayals, neither being cardboard or melodramatic.
Sark, though.
Sark is the primary villain, tasked by the MCP to kill Flynn in the games. Sark boasts to the MCP that he's grown tired of fighting accounting programs and the like, but is too afraid to take on a user. So we end up with a villain whose specific task is to kill Flynn, but he and Flynn NEVER have a direct confrontation (except for when he's boasting about capturing Flynn, then saunters off.)
The World
The most popular view of Tron was about how it utilized computer-animation to portray the computer world, and, predictably, it's a bit underwhelming to us now, but I can see how shocking it would be to audiences back then.
As for worldbuilding, I think I'd be able to appreciate it more if I was a programmer, because then I'd understand how the different programs function better.
I did like the detail that programs take on the appearance of their makers, and regard their makers as somewhat divine, because that makes sense, given the situation. However, if the filmmakers were trying to draw some real-world parallels with this, then it gets hairy later on when one of the programs asks Flynn if they [the users] have a plan, and Flynn says that there is no plan.
Negative Details
One scene.
Flynn's ex-co-workers come to visit him and he makes several comments that imply that the female co-worker has had sex with him and that she is now having sex with the male co-worker (or at least is living with him,) and that he himself is willing to do it again.
That's it.
I'm honestly surprised it's only that much!
Conclusion
All in all, I'd say a pretty okay movie. Not very engaging, but alright. Probably a good sick-day movie.
I'm hoping the sequel is better.
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