Tron 2

To contact us Click HERE
I recentlysaw Tron 2 (i.e. Tron: The Legacy). It’s tempting for SF directors to make afilm that’s just a string of special effects. CGI set-pieces that lackcontinuity. That don’t add up to anything.
To itscredit, Tron 2 uses CGI to create a holistic, detailed alternate world. You’renot just seeing special effects tacked onto an otherwise ordinary world.Rather, you see everything within the simulated world. The viewer is completelyimmersed in the spacious, variegated, digital world of the story. That’sartistically satisfying. The film also has a good sound track.
Butbecause the film does some things so well, that draws attention to what it doespoorly. A magnificent framework without much filling. Why do SF directorsinvest so much in CGI, but so little in hiring a talented screenwriter?
In thefilm, Sam goes on the Grid to see if his father is still alive, and bring himback to the real world. That premise has a lot of dramatic potential–potentialthat’s largely squandered in the course of the story. And that’s because Sam isin a hurry to leave. He meets his dad early in the story. As soon as he meetshis dad, he wants to get back to the real world. So most of the film is abouttrying to get away. Getting off the Grid.
But whydoes the director invest so much effort in enabling the audience to visualizethe Grid, to be dazzled by what they see, if the rest of the film is aboutcharacters striving to put all that behind them as fast as they can? Why notlinger? Look around? Play the tourist? Savor the moment?
Watchingthe film, I think of ways to rewrite the script which would make it better. Itcould be a futuristic Odyssey. Instead of Sam discovering his father so soon,it would be best to postpone the reunion. Give Sam time to explore the Grid.Get to know more characters. Have some adventures.
Ofcourse, the premise of Sam searching for his father to bring him back homeraises a persistent, irritating question: to bring him back assumes thatKevin’s body is still alive somewhere, 20 years later. But that requires someexplanation. Theoretically, Kevin could arrange to have his body put in stasis,or kept on life support. Have robots care for his body while he’s on the Grid.That’s kind of clunky, but that would make more sense.
On arelated note, there’s the problem of how digital characters like Quorra areable to cross over to the physical world. How can she survive off the grid?What platform supports her personality? Where did she get a flesh-and-bloodbody?
A moreelegant solution would be for Sam to upload his consciousness into the program.That’s a popular SF device. That way, he could survive even if his body died.
Ofcourse, on that scenario, he could never go back. He has no body to return to.
But thathas dramatic potential. Instead of having Sam trying to talk his father intoleaving, you could have his father trying to persuade Sam to stay. Reverse it.It starts out one way, but flips around.
And Sammight be tempted to stay, not only to remain with his dad, but because he findsthe Grid more appealing than real life.
Thatwould also be a better way of handling the “portal.” On this version, thenarrowing window of opportunity would represent the body of the user. It canonly survive without water for a few days.
That wouldmake the choice more momentous. Once you cross that line, there’s no goingback. You can’t change your mind.
Also,because the sense of time’s passage is different on the Grid, Sam could spendweeks or months in virtual time exploring the Grid to find out if he wanted tostay there. And the audience could see it through his eyes.
We mightalso consider theological ways of developing the plot. Maybe Kevin originallyintended to go home every night to be with his family, after spending hours onthe Grid, but as a creator, he was seduced by his own creation. He becameincreasingly captivated by the world he made for himself on the Grid, where hewas his own little god.
Or maybehe lost track of time. Because time passes at a different rate on the Grid,perhaps he got so wrapped up in the virtual world that he inadvertently let theexit close (i.e. his body expired). Then he was trapped inside against hiswill.
Or wecould view it as a Faustian bargain. A choice between dying in this world, inthe hope of Christian immortality–or trading that for virtual immortality,where you upload your consciousness into the program. As long as the hardwaresurvives, you survive. 
Or youcould make Kevin a man who’s disillusioned with the real world, and tries tocreate a utopian alternative. Only he discovers that his alternative is noescape. Because he’s a sinner in the real world, his sin infects the virtualworld. The digital characters share his flaws. The Grid takes on a life of itsown, with “fallen” AI characters. They need a Savior, but Kevin can’t savethem, for he himself needs a Savior.