08 April, 2006

Tron

Several weeks ago I gave into the pressure of friends (both from college and local to my current locality) and bought a DVD ROM drive (actually a DVD Burner) and to celebrate my new purchase, a coworker loaned me Tron, a classic of computer SciFi from the 80s.

Tron (1982) is the first CG movie and thus holds a place in the hearts of all computer geeks (and movie geeks). The movie is corny in some places, but what do you expect a 24 year old movie about computers? Given the time frame the the plot and CG are actually quite impressive.


Image: The MCP digitizes Flynn.

Maybe my appreciation of computers and science fiction has biased me, but I enjoyed Tron. The movie starts out with an introduction to the world of programs, a dystopian world where everything is controlled by the MCP (Master Control Program). In the real world a computer programmer named Kevin Flynn is trying to find evidence that Ed Dillinger (Senior Executive Officer at ENCOM) stole several of his video games. Flynn's ex girlfriend (an ENCOM scientist working on a device that can “digitize” matter and store it on a computer), and her current boyfriend (an ENCOM programmer) decide to help Flynn find the evidence that he needs. While they are trying to get the evidence out of the computer system, the MCP digitizes Flynn. Soon he finds himself in the world of computers, where he has to play computer games to survive.

Image: The game of Lightcycle.

While playing “lightcycle,” Flynn escapes with allies Tron and Ram. The three then go on a quest to defeat the MCP and free the world of programs from its control.

Image: Tron, Yori, and Flynn escape from the bad guys.

It's hard to rate this movie because compared to current CG (2006) the CG doesn't look that great and the plot is kind of old (A human in the computer world? Been there done that!), however the movie was made 24 years ago. For 1982 the CG is really amazing and the plot fresh; I think it deserves 9 out of 10 bits.

I don't want to ruin the movie for you, so I wont tell you what happens to Flynn, the MCP, and Tron, watch the movie to find out!

Comments:
A programmer with a girlfriend? Only in the movies!
 
you didn't rate it by the approval pending scale!
 
a rough conversion from your 9 out of 10 bits rating yields an unstoppable rating. Does that sound right to you?
 
10 bits? 1 byte + 2 bits? What kind of computer system is this?
 
The word size is 10 bits.
 
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