Tron: On-This-Day Thursday
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Every Thursday, an older film released on this opening weekend years ago will be reviewed. They can be classics, or simply popular films that happened to be released to the world on the same date.
For July 9th, we are going to have a look at Tron.
It’s difficult to review a cult classic like Tron, because I can see why it is so adored whilst also being able to acknowledge that it’s kind of just an average film. Its special effects and creative world are all fine and dandy, but it kind of just exists. It’s as if you’ve just been told something really good, and you’re awaiting the final piece of what makes this news particularly fantastic, and you’re told “that’s it”. You might take a second to process this information, “huh” to yourself, and just carry on with your day, completely unfazed, despite the fact that moments ago you thought you were going to be blown away. Well, that’s Tron: a fantastic premise that kind of just does the bare minimum in order to be decent and not much else.
Kevin Flynn — a software engineer — gains access to the digital world and the extraordinary goings-on within it (light cycles and all). It’s an interesting dichotomy: an escape that is also condensed in the kinds of machines that were beginning to populate the ‘80s (arcade machines, computers, these kinds of revolutionary mechanisms). In a sense, Tron is an advanced take on the inner-workings of hacking (or at least of the motherboards and mainframes that run these everyday appliances). With the earliest forms of computer generated effects, Tron could bring these ideas to life. Now, the effects are mostly products of their time, but there’s an unintended side effect that time has granted us with them: an association with the uncanny creations that digital mediums once granted us. Even if you look at Tron: Legacy, effects are too strong now for this same effect; they’re much better now, but part of the original Tron’s charm is that its datedness actually works for it, not against it.
Tron’s age benefits the film in a way that many other works are usually penalized by.
Unfortunately, even with that accidental help, Tron narratively just floats by. Had there been worse — or less interesting — effects and world building, Tron would be entirely forgettable. Relabel the elements of its plot, and you have a standard film about integration, triumph and bonding. I can’t guarantee that anyone would watch this film strictly for its story. It just doesn’t seem possible. However, it certainly scratches an itch that many films can’t with its unmistakably ‘80s nature. It aimed to look ahead, but now we can look back. It’s a wonderful paradox. However, that doesn’t make for a great film, but instead a neat experience. When you’re dealing with another reality that is different from our own, a “neat experience” just isn’t enough. It can be something, but not enough. You want something more from it: gift shop purchases in the form of narrative substance, complexity, and exploration. For a one time watch just to see what it’s all about, I guess Tron is fine and worth a try. Unfortunately, I find the art of Tron far more fascinating than its lore.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.