CFE's 100 Science Fiction Film Countdown

[Fresh Prince]

Anybody liked Demolition Man?

 

[CFE]

#50

The Fifth Element (1997)

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Directed by … Luc Besson
Story by … Luc Besson
Screenplay by … Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen

Bruce Willis ... Korben Dallas
Gary Oldman ... Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
Ian Holm ... Father Vito Cornelius
Milla Jovovich ... Leeloo
Chris Tucker ... Ruby Rhod
Luke Perry ... Billy
Brion James ... General Munro
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister Jr. ... President Lindberg
Lee Evans ... Fog
Charlie Creed-Miles ... David
Tricky ... Right Arm
John Neville … General Staedert
John Bluthal ... Professor Pacoli
Mathieu Kassovitz ... Mugger
Christopher Fairbank ... Mactilburgh
Kim Chan ... Mr. Kim
Richard Leaf ... Neighbour
Julie T. Wallace ... Major Iceborg
Al Matthews ... General Tudor
Maïwenn Le Besco ... Diva Plavalaguna
John Bennett ... Priest
Ivan Heng ... Left Arm
Sonita Henry ... President's Aide
Tim McMullan ... Scientist's Aide
Hon Ping Tang ... Munro's Captain
George Khan ... Head Scientist
John Hughes ... Head of Military
Roberto Bryce ... Omar
Said Talidi ... Aziz

In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr Zorg at bay.

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Check you brain at the door and get ready for the ride of a life-time…three hundred years in the making…with 1997’s “The Fifth Element.”

Every 5000 years, in conjunction with a planetary arrangement, a 'Great Evil' appears whose purpose is to destroy life. In preparation for the next appearance in 2263, a group of aliens called the Mondoshawan arrive on Earth in 1914 to extract the only weapon capable of defeating the Great Evil, a collection of four stones representing the Classical Greek Elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water…and the eponymous ‘Fifth Element’ that conjugates the other four into organic life. When the Fifth Element is returned to the present, the ship is attacked and seemingly lost – but scientists are able to recreate the fifth element and are surprised to find it is a beautiful young woman, Leeloo (Milla Jovovich). When Leeloo escapes custody she is helped by ex-army turned New York taxi driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis). Korben takes her to the priest she names, but he finds that everyone wants her for one reason or another – then he finds that both the army and the priest need him to go on a mission to reclaim the missing four stones and save the Earth from evil.

In the wake of heavy and hard edged films like “Leon: The Professional” and “La Femme Nikita,” it seems a bit of an odd departure for French filmmaker Luc Besson to tackle a Saturday morning pulp comic strip sci-fi actioner.

But looking at his work to date…with such high-octane humor as the “Transporter” series, among others, (written by Besson, but not directed), it doesn't seem that out of place. He just must have decided to only direct his more serious fare and leave the fun stuff to others. However, “The Fifth Element” is by no means a slight film without a fan base. As far as sci-fi goes, this is a very capable installment. With its mythology, creatures, action, and special effects, the movie has everything going for it. The humor that's infused just makes it better, vaulting it through genres and making it accessible to almost everyone who gives it a try.

The film is a jolt to the senses; pure delight for the eye and the ear…if not necessarily the head…though I suppose one could construe that Leeloo represents ‘Hope,’ Dallas represents ‘The Human Will’ and the concept and journey of Good vs. Evil is always a worthwhile one to follow.

The plot, such as it is, comes across as being somewhat simplistic although it isn't helped by fast-moving action and dialogue. Chris Tucker is almost incomprehensible as the fast-talking, fast-loving, larger-than-life narrator Ruby Rhod. But you can, depending on your mood, forgive all just for the sheer splendor of the film.

The cast is a mish-mash…Bruce Willis quickly leaves behind his successful trip to harder edged roles such as “Twelve Monkeys” to play super cabbie Korben Dallas. Gun toting and with a quip at every turn, this is the Willis that the MTV generation loves and adores…traces of John McClane fully intact. He delivers the same, great mocking performance that he tried in “Hudson Hawk” but here he does it in a film that is better structured and less silly than that one and it works a lot better. Perhaps this is the kind of role Willis was born to play. Gary Oldman, for better or worse, portrays Zorg, giving a…well…at least a ‘memorable’ performance with a…oh my, is that a Southern American accent? But it's Milla Jovovich’s turn as Leeloo that the film gets its acting spurs. A pure revelation, it begs the question on why Jovovich has failed to progress in the acting world since? Turning down roles in “Resident – will work for food – Evil” films would probably be a good start I guess.

The rest of the players are fleshed out with performances ranging from the wonderful (Ian Holm) to the annoying (Chris Tucker) to the…unexpected? (Luke Perry)…but I suppose it helps to flavor the cast in an interesting way.

Hey…we even get a welcome appearance by “Aliens” hard ass Al Matthews. Man, I love that guy!!!

“The Fifth Element,” at its heart, is an experience…of visual and auditory stimulation.

The locales of future New York are wildly imaginative, doing their part to steal the show from the cast, and in a lot of ways they succeed. The film’s visual effects, art direction and production design coincide to create a stylish masterpiece. I mean film is first and foremost a visual medium, and it’s always a joy to see filmmakers cut loose and unhinge themselves from the parameters of the logical or real. From the bright color schemes of the cityscapes and vehicles to the constant use of shapes and angles…the imaginative special effects that, still being on the razor’s edge of the digital revolution, were a combination of CG and tangible techniques like matte painting and model building, still hold up today. “The Fifth Element” has to be one of the most visually arresting and captivating films in the genre and it's a film I could watch purely on an aesthetic level regardless of the story. I love the look of the film, the design of the spaceships & the outlandish costumes designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier in which Bruce Willis goes from his trademark white wifebeater from “Die Hard” to a bright orange vest-thing here which I thought was a nice little touch & maybe a nod to his earlier success. The aliens look pretty good to and, as a whole, the film just looks spectacular.

Combined with a bombastic score by Eric Serra (“Goldeneye,” “Messenger: The Story of Loan of Arc”), “The Fifth Element” just might be one of the strangest science fiction films around.

Surprisingly enough, even though “The Fifth Element” moves at a fast pace, there are only a few all-out action scenes. Aside from a flying car chase (which “Star Wars Episode II” obviously took inspiration from) and a big climactic gun battle, there's not a whole lot of physical violence going on here, at least not when compared to some of the other sci-fi action films released around the same time (“Star Trek: First Contact,” “Alien: Resurrection,” “Starship Troopers”).

What keeps the film going, however, is Besson’s slick and wry humor. He knows well enough not to take such a story overtly seriously, so don't be surprised by how much the movie acknowledges its own silliness.

Overall a dazzling, colorful and wonderful Sci-fi comedy action fantasy epic that has became a cult fave since it’s release, “The Fifth Element” is visually stunning piece that is packed with non-stop action, tremendous performances and a surprising sense of humor.

A must see if I ever saw one.

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[-Arya-]

The Fifth Element

 

[C. Lee]

The Fifth Element is one of my favorite movies. An underappreciated gem.

A few other great bits of casting is Tom "tiny" Lister as the President of the Universe, Lee Evans as the interstellar cuise spaceship's version of "Gopher", and Brion James as the General.

Fantastic fun.

 

[Fresh Prince]

Yeah Fifth Element was a great film....Gary Oldman played a great villian in the film and Bruce Willis was well Bruce Willis.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Fifth Element is really fun flick, but i always thought there was something missing about it. When I watched a second time I definitely started picking up on what stuff was, but I feel they could have gone a little more indepth with mr. Dark or whatever his name was. A certain level of mystery is cool and all but the nature of the black goo he caused is pissing me off.

 

[CFE]

#49

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

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Written and Directed by … Andy and Larry Wachowski
Based on characters created by … Andy and Larry Wachowski

Keanu Reeves … Neo
Laurence Fishburne … Morpheus
Carrie-Ann Moss … Trinity
Hugo Weaving … Agent Smith
Lambert Wilson … The Merovingian
Monica Bellucci … Persephone
Jada Pinkett Smith … Niobe
Harold Perrineau … Link
Anthony Wong … Ghost
Collin Chou … Seraph
Gloria Foster … The Oracle
Harry Lennix … Commander Lock
Neil Rayment … Twin #1
Adrian Rayment … Twin #2
Randall Duk Kim … The Keymaker
Helmut Bakaitis … The Architect
Nathaniel Lees … Captain Mifune
Anthony Zerbe … Councilor Hamann
Cornel West … Councilor West
Robyn Nevin … Councilor Dillard
Nona Gaye … Zee
Gina Torres … Cas
Clayton Watson … Kid
Ian Bliss … Bane
Steve Bastoni … Soren
Roy Jones Jr. … Ballard
David Roberts … Roland
David No … Cain
Shane C. Rodrigo … Ajax
Leigh Whannell … Axel
Steve Vella … Malachi
Robert Mammone … AK
Bernard White … Rama-Kandra
Essie Davis … Maggie
Terrell Dixon … Wurm
Pal Cotter … Corrupt
Daniel Bernhardt … Agent Johnson
David Kilde … Agent Jackson
Matt McColm … Agent Thompson
Josephine Byrnes … Zion Virtual Control Operator
Michael Budd … Zion Controller
David Franklin … Maitre D’
Tory Mussett … Beautiful Woman at Le Vrai

Six months after fully realizing his abilities as the One, Neo continues the struggle against the Machines by attempting to avert their plan to send a massive army of Sentinels to destroy Zion, the last free human city in the real world.

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The issue with sequels, more or less, is that the novelty is gone…the world has been established, the precipice has been set and, should the film be a hit, the standards can be incredibly intimidating.

In the case of 2003’s “The Matrix Reloaded,” the bar probably couldn’t have been placed much higher.

Truly, that year was the year of “Matrix” pandemonium as Neo and the gang made their triumphant return with gusto…including two back-to-back sequels, a series of anime shorts dubbed “The Animatrix” and the “Enter the Matrix” video game.

And while most of it is a bit overzealous on the part of the brothers Wachowski, “Reloaded” still kicks enough ass to be worthy of recognition…despite a few set backs.

Taking place six months after the first film, Neo (Keanu Reeves), the Messianic figure set apart to help overthrow the massive computer program that has taken over the world as the One, continues to come fully into his ability to bend and contort the rules of the Matrix…however he’s seeing visions; dreams of Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) and her death. In the midst of trying to understand what these flashes mean, the last remaining human city of Zion learns of a massive 250,000 count army of Sentinels that are digging through the surface of the Earth to launch an all out assault on Zion. As preparations are made for a counter attack to defend the city, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) pins his hopes on Neo and obeys orders to stay with broadcast range to allow Neo to meet with the Oracle (the late Gloria Foster). Neo meanwhile is plagued with dreams of Trinty's death in the matrix. When the Oracle does contact Neo, she tells him of The Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim), the man who can get him access to the very source of the matrix. A rescue mission is mounted which is complicated not only by the agents, but rogue programs (Lambert Wilson and Monica Bellucci) and the return of a `freed' Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) who has his own personal vendetta against Neo.

I know many people are torn over the film…but personally, I loved “Reloaded.” It gets my adrenaline pumping with enough ideas for my brain to chew on for quite awhile.

Now, I’m going to talk about the cast right up front. Because in the wake of the first film’s success, the cast of characters in this universe literally exploded exponentially. More in the case of “Reloaded” tons of new faces are introduced to us, so lets wade through them.

All of the essentials…Keanu, Carrie-Ann, Laurence, Hugo and Gloria…rock. Some (Fishburne and Weaving) more than others (Reeves and Moss) but you take what you get. Keanu has a lot more physical involvement in the saga now having fully come into his own and his martial arts discipline, as seen in the behind the scenes documentaries, is on full display…Neo’s best moments are when he’s engaged in combat. Now on the one hand that’s great, but obviously on the other it means that Keanu’s strongest when he’s NOT acting and just going through the motions. When steeped in dialogue, he can come off rather monotone…come to think of it everyone, with the exception of Hugo Weaving, comes off as such…as far as the regulars go.

Laurence Fishburne gives, in my opinion, his best performance in the trilogy, as he’s shown in a larger role as a motivator for Zion’s populace. His speech is terrific, I feel.

Carrie-Ann is fine, but of no consequence…and Hugo, dear and dastardly Hugo, you never get enough of his malicious sleaze…literally, he just keeps coming (HA you get it!?).

And of course the incredible Gloria Foster, who passed away prior to shooting her material for “Revolutions.” It’s not quite up to par with her performance in the original film but her wit and soul are still lovely…especially in a sea of one-note tough-guys wearing sunglasses.

Aside from the familiar territory, the new gang is an odd mix…a cameo from philosopher and speaker Cornel West is welcome. But overall, all of our brand new protagonists…from Jada-Pinkett Smith to Harold Perrineau…seem to fall flat. It just feels like they’re bending to the Wachowski will and portraying caricatures rather than characters.

Monica Bellucci’s turn as Persephone is decent enough…but it’s more or less an excuse to get her statuesque boy dipped into a barely-there latex dress. Not that I’m complaining.

And the Twins were pretty cool…but nothing more there.

The only exceptions in the cast come, funny enough, from our new adversaries. Helmut Bakaitis gives a dynamite performance as the Architect of the Matrix…which is saying a lot since he’s sitting in a chair the entire time. But truly, his moment with Neo (albeit all the ‘Vica Ve’s and ‘Concordantly’s) is one of the most suspenseful in the picture.

But no one, for me personally, tops the outlandishly eccentric performance of Lambert Wilson as the Merovingian. A graduate from the London drama center in 1977, Wilson relishes in the role with his overcooked French accent and wonderfully playful nature with the Wachowski’s dialogue. In one Act of the film (Act II to be precise) Wilson does what no one else in the entire film does…he creates a fully developed character that the audience is eager to see again in “Revolutions.”

As a saga, “The Matrix” is so wonderfully mythological. Instead of being ethnocentric it puts the light on eternal religious questions in such a universal way. At the same time it formulates the original reason, philosophical questions. It is about knowledge and faith…belief, truth and purpose. Control through both sense and sensibility. In the most blunt way, it’s clearly the conflict between Gnosticism and Judea-Christianity.

At the same time it is so biblical to a westerner like me. I won't bore you with all the name symbolism but with Neo himself. His actual name is Thomas Anderson and he is caught in the system (like everyone else in the years leading up to Y2K). In the bible Tomas is the disbeliever (“Let me out…I want out!&#8221, and Tomas also means twin (Neo and Smith). Anders means man, as in Andros- (android). He is the doubtful son of man who is like the rest of us…who then becomes Neo, the new ‘one.’

At the same time it mirrors the first of Christianity and how it focused on the individual. There is no need for priests or churches (system) for the individual to reach the transcendent, for man to reach God. (And our heroes are individuals in small groups that fight the system, like viruses in a computer (ever notice how the Nebuchadnezzar and the other ships of the Zion fleet look like bugs in the ‘system’ of reality…the more you know).

In the first film we see the creation of (the believing) man. The religious undertone is then abandoned to an extent…though it returns with a vengeance in “Revolutions.”

In the case of “Reloaded” however, religion takes a back seat to the conflict at hand…Free will vs. Determinism. It’s through this struggle that the existential perspectives which were planted in the first film can be developed. Here it is amusing to relate to the first existentialists that focused so much on free will and choice, Friedrich Nietsche and Soren Kirkegaard (one atheist and one Christian…not ironically, the first captain to enroll freely to aid the Nebuchadnezzar is named Soren).

Knowledge and faith remains in conflict in “Reloaded” as represented by the differing viewpoints of Lock and Morpheus. John Locke is called the father of The age of enlightenment which is the time of reason in our history. To me it looks like as if the Wachowski brothers are writing a mythological history of ideas for our time. Finally they might embrace even time after the postmodern. It’s a contemporary approach to philosophy and religion in the same way George Lucas contemporized mythology and fairy tales.

There’s an obvious hint of a cycle here. “The Matrix” is about birth, “Reloaded” is about life and “Revolutions” about death (rebirth). “The Matrix” is the becoming of man and “Reloaded” is man as a builder of theories and civilizations. Power and control is formed and developed. ‘The Merovingian’ are called the first kings of Europe and are known for their writing and the characters in their written language. (I am sure that you can find parallels to this "code" in the Matrix-code.)

Anyway the Merovingian is the one who holds the 'key maker' (the key of power and control? Definitely a possibility). The Middle Ages with its mystery and ghosts (lack of reason and empirical method) follow the character with the production design of the Chateau…complete with an arsenal and suits of armor.

Well aside from the obvious undertones throughout the film, why don’t we take a look at the film itself…a look at the movie, the spectacle.

“The Matrix Reloaded” is a film that, to me, defines the term ‘Summer Blockbuster.’

Without the ‘shot-in-the-dark’ appeal of the first film or the heavy-handedness of the third, (plus if you turn a blind eye to the philosophy for at least one viewing) it’s a film meant strictly for following the characters you know and love and watching them do their thing amidst glimmering katanas, a hail of machine gun fire and sunglasses galore.

Rip-roaring, kinetic, pulse pounding. The tone set within both the first and third films is lightened up here (an unusual departure given the “Empire Strikes Back” concept of a 2nd act being the darkest of an Opera).

Effects wise “Reloaded” is a feast. There is literally something to look at in every scene. The "real" world has been given a face lift to make it more interesting (more on that later). The real effects, however, take place inside the matrix and just like in the first film the effects are absolutely ground breaking. Rivaling the likes of, at the time, the “Star Wars” prequels and “Lord of the Rings” and that is saying something. The people who think the story is pretentious and the dialog stubby will undoubtedly get their adrenaline fix in the action scenes.

the action…holy S**T the action!

The action isn’t as refined and slick as the first film…but it’s bigger, bolder and more wild than the first.

Simply put…”Reloaded” is Fun with a capital F.

I mean you’ve got the huge dance within Zion’s catacombs (a perfect visual metaphor for the human condition and its unwillingness to go quietly…oh and nipples), Neo’s Teahouse confrontation with Seraph is awesome and

The Burly Brawl in which Neo is confronted by Smith for the first time since ‘destroying’ him is huge…hordes of Smiths cascading out of every nook and cranny, spilling into the park as Neo takes a steel bar-turned-bo staff to them is incredibly choreographed and easily one of the best fight sequences of American action films of the past ten years.

Working to top that within the same picture, you’ve also got the kick ass Chateau Fight…so now, instead of a gun-toting Neo, we get a Sai/Sword/Escrima wielding Neo. It fits well with the concept of the One becoming more eloquent in his combat given that bullets are no longer a bother.

“Okay you have some skill.”

But it’s all capped off by…you guessed it…the Highway Chase. Now THAT is action incarnate. A tremendous sequence that features Morpheus battling an Agent on a giant Semi and Trinity careening through traffic on a black motorcycle…SWEET!

The production and costume design of the film is terrificly inspired…Neo is given a sleeker less exaggerated approach…abandoning the gun straps and boots for a simple yet awesome flowing trench…which makes his ‘Flying’ sequence look incredible (c’mon…that shot of him hurdling through the city to catch Trinity...yeah that’s what I’m talking about). The costumes of Zion are also well conceived as is Zion herself. This massive locale is vibrant with the red rock, the metal hues of the living quarters and the APUs patrolling it all.

Within the matrix itself, we have wonderful designs such as the Merovingian’s Chateau (probably the most prominent one in the film, I’d say) and the hallway of infinite back doors…which is simple yet effective.
The soundtrack should also be commented on…a great album populated by tracks such as Rage Against the Machine’s “Calm like a Bomb” and a great Oakenfold remix of Dave Matthew’s Band’s “When the World Ends.” Awesome material.

Finally, the music of composer Don Davis is pretty good, but has a bit of a dilemma going against it. To be perfectly honest, Davis material for all three “Matrix” films rings echoes of Brad Fiedel’s “Terminator” scores and the work of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard on the Christopher Nolan directed “Batman” films…in that, aside from a small handful of prominent cues the music doesn’t change all that frequently…if you listen to one cue from a “Matrix” score, you’ve listened to them all.

Now bear with me…for those of you about to uproar…there are great moments in the “Reloaded” score. Cues like “Burly Brawl,” “Chateau” and, my personal favorite, “Mona Lisa Overdrive” for the Highway Chase. But for these cues, Davis is assisted by Juno Reactor, and their presence is what pumps up those cues big time. The latter is so kick ass…you know, the one with that little synth bit as Trinity and Morpheus take to the street? LOVE that one. (Side Note: I highly recommend Juno Reactor’s extended version of “Mona Lisa Overdrive” with the chorus…so awesome.).

Sometimes pretentious, sometimes heavy and always spectacular, there is a lot of controversy over the quality of “The Matrix Reloaded, “which is to be expected, since it is a movie that has garnered such a vast amount of attention, even if only because it is the follow-up to such a massively successful film. But I personally enjoyed “Reloaded.” Its messages are fully developed and its action is more than enough to satisfy if the philosophy isn’t your thing.

Take it in stride…and get ready for a kung fu, science fiction roller coaster ride!

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[CFE]

Wow...to be honest I expected feedback and backlash on this one lol

 

[The Navigator]

I always liked Reloaded, except for that lengthy speech about cause and effect.

 

[Sentinel X]

Love the fifth element

The Matrix Reloaded is a film I liked at first but when you watch it again it is a little weak in some parts. But I can certainly see how someone can like it. Its not as bad as people make it out to be but it is really disappointing compared to the first. I think one of the major things that I dislike in the matrix is the lack of human emotions. In the first one you kind of feel it....in the sequels it is completely obliterated and the main three characters feel a bit robotic during some of the most poignant scenes (Especially NEO and trinity.) Action scenes are incredible and the car chase STILL hasn't been beat to this day.

BTW CFE, are you ranking the animatrix on here as well, or does that not qualify as a 'film' to you?

 

[Ace of Knaves]

I love Reloaded. Sure it is a little stuffy and pretentious. But as you say CFE, the action MORE than makes up for it. The chase is just utterly ****ing insane.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Reloaded is an ok movie individually, but with its ending it puts far too much pressure on Revolutions and also tangles up Revolutions quality to directly effect it. Either way, i dont think its odd that Reloaded made a top 100 of scifi, but I am surprised it broke 50

 

[Fresh Prince]

I always wanted to know like what religious stuff in the Matrix was they even speaking of...to be more clear I wanted to know did science in Matrix universe create the world or their was a creator...I eventually found out my answer later on in the years.

 

[Dark Victory]

I didn't care for Reloaded at all. I remember loving it when I was nine, but it doesn't really appeal to me at all now.

 

[Motown Marvel]

as straight up sci-fi action movie, the matrix sequels are great. but, if you go into them looking for all that deep philosophical crap that was spawned from the first film, then you're watching the wrong movie for the wrong reasons. but as just sci-fi fun, they're fantastic.

 

[psychocheeseman]

Thanks for putting all that up CFE - i'm a massive sci fi nerd - always looking for the few good ones i haven't seen yet.

cheers.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

I didn't care for Reloaded at all. I remember loving it when I was nine, but it doesn't really appeal to me at all now.

That's coz you're an old geezer trapped in a teenagers body...

 

[CFE]

EDIT: Double Post

 

[CFE]

#48

TRON (1982)

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Directed by … Steven Lisberger
Written by … Bonnie MacBird and Steven Lisberger

Jeff Bridges ... Kevin Flynn / Clu
Bruce Boxleitner ... Alan Bradley / Tron
David Warner ... Ed Dillinger / Sark / Master Control Program
Cindy Morgan ... Lora / Yori
Barnard Hughes ... Dr. Walter Gibbs / Dumont
Dan Shor ... Ram / Popcorn Co-Worker
Peter Jurasik ... Crom
Tony Stephano ... Peter / Sark's Lieutenant
Craig Chudy ... Warrior #1
Vince Deadrick Jr. ... Warrior #2
Sam Schatz ... Expert Disc Warrior
Jackson Bostwick ... Head Guard
David S. Cass Sr. ... Factory Guard
Gerald Berns ... Guard #1
Bob Neill ... Guard #2
Ted White ... Guard #3
Mark Stewart ... Guard #4
Michael Sax ... Guard #5
Tony Brubaker ... Guard #6
Charles Picerni ... Tank Commander
Pierre Vuilleumier ... Tank Gunner #1
Erik Cord ... Tank Gunner #2
Loyd Catlett ... Conscript #1 / Video Game Cowboy
Michael Dudikoff II ... Conscript #2
Richard Bruce Friedman ... Video Game Player
Rick Feck ... Boy in Video Game Arcade
John Kenworthy ... Boy in Video Game Arcade

A hacker is literally abducted into the world of a computer and forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program.

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The 80s, to me, were an intriguing time in film…when a project, if done correctly, could be simultaneously steeped in the nostalgia of the decade while being ahead of its own time. Maybe this is why most of the films I identify with stem from the period of Ronald Reagan and the Rubix Cube.

And perhaps no film fits the description so neatly and awesomely as Steven Lisberger’s 1982 cult hit; “TRON.”

Certainly today, the idea of one entering a virtual or digital construct is fairly identifiable. From children’s shows like “VR Troopers” to animation (i.e. the “What is Reality?” episode of “Batman: The Animated Series”) and, probably most recently in the “Matrix” trilogy.

But in the 80s, when man had just begun to tap the vastness of the computer’s potential and the seeds of artificial intelligence were beginning to take more root in real science and technological advancement, the idea of gallivanting through a computer was groundbreaking…like the bottom of the ocean or outer space before it, cyberspace became a new realm where discovery and adventure could take place.

The film tells the story of Flynn (Jeff Bridges) a young computer programmer formally employed by ENCOM and current arcade owner who’s been swindled by Ed Dillinger (David Warner), a former colleague turned ENCOM CEO who stole several arcade game concepts from Flynn, making a fortune and earning a top spot on ENCOM’s board on FLYNN’s work. In an attempt to crack into Dillinger’s databanks, Flynn gets digitized and sucked INTO a computer, and must fight for his life playing life-or-death video games, run by the evil Master Control Program. With the aid of a good warrior program named Tron (Bruce Boxleitner), and Tron's significant-other Yori (Cindy Morgan), Flynn must put a stop to the MCP and set things right in the computer world once again before returning to his own world.

“TRON” deserves whatever plaudits it gets merely for the fact it was made in 1982. Its references through dialogue to computers and artificial intelligence is stunning given when it was made – one such character states that one day, 'computers will be able to think for themselves' and this is so true, not only in the world of film but also in real life: computers can beat us at Chess; most famously when Deep Blue beat Kasparov and computers in film were shown to think on a massive scale a mere two years later when “The Terminator” was made. Of course, HAL 9000 predates the MCP by twenty years anyway but “TRON” reinvents the evil, psychotic robot character in some style, updating it to the size of a table and giving it it's own kingdom of which to rule over in another world within the film – it's sort of an antagonist within a world within a world within a film and it's fascinating to watch.

The cast of the film is incredibly believable given that they’re floating around a cyber realm. The then-bankable Jeff Bridges owns the picture and it’s a wonderful precursor to an incredible career in film, . David Warner is right at home playing a sleazy tycoon…a role that would benefit his turns as the voice of Ras’ Al Ghul in “Batman: The Animated Series” and Billy Zane’s right hand enforcer in “Titanic.” Bruce Boxleitner of “Babylon 5” fame later on is very good as Tron. And Cindy Morgan plays the primary female lead. She’s probably best known as Judge Smails' sexy niece from "Caddyshack" and, while she’s great to look at, she still delivers as Yori for me personally.

Of course the film’s biggest strength and appeal come from its revolutionary special effects (“TRON” was the first motion picture to extensively utilize computer-based effects and animation to tell a story). There's a lot of contemporary criticism of the dated CGI by many people. This bothers me some. I mean honestly…one wonders what they were expecting from a film made in 1982. True they do appear dated today, but c’mon…THAT’s the appeal. It’s quaint but still holds up enough and, personally, I think “TRON”s effects still rock!

It nearly goes without saying that the visual highlight of the film is the famous ‘Light Cycle’ sequence…that bit is still as captivating today as ever. Man, I WISH I had a Light Cycle, those things kick ass!

What’s also interesting are the crazy costume designs of the light-uniforms worn within the computer mainframe. Those things look amazing and, obviously, a certain fan thinks so. Yes, the ‘Tron Guy’ had to be mentioned…having crafted his own uniform complete with blue LEDs and the trademark helmet. But hey, major props to that guy for doing what he loves…screw the haters! You do your thing, ‘Tron Guy!’

But back to the picture.

One of “TRON”s greatest strengths lies in its extensive use of parallelism. There is the world of the user (almost a god or demigod motif), contrasted with the world of the programs (very much a metaphor for our world). And, just to enhance this metaphor, Dillinger's helicopter is shown with neon-red lines, and the final fade to black is preceded with a time-lapse of the city – suggesting data running along traces.

In fact, what's most extraordinary about “TRON” is the consistency and creativity of the vision it establishes.

"How does a computer program see the world?" and "How will the world see us when computers become smarter than man?”

Humans are largely in denial about it, but that day IS coming... machine intelligence is a reality, and it's only a matter of time before the first fully developed electronic lifeforms are created.

In fact, who's to say this hasn't happened already - it's perhaps only due to our anthropomorphic definitions of life that we haven't recognized it in our own creations. Admittedly, in 1982 the prospect of artificial lifeforms looked even closer than it does now, after initially great successes in artificial intelligence creating machines capable of logical thought that way outstripped human ability. Unfortunately, that success brought about the realization that humans aren't actually much good at logical thought anyway, and it isn't that important a component of what we call intelligence. There's still some way to go before we can create programs that perceive the world and their own relationship to it in a similar way to us.

“TRON” is a landmark of its time…a cult phenomenon that, interestingly enough, seems to finally be getting its due with the announcement of a sequel 28 years in the making…2010’s “TRON: Legacy.”

Given the obvious advances in digital effects technology, “Legacy” will be an incredibly visual experience…

But it, and honestly every effects-heavy film of the past two decades, can thank the ground broken by “TRON.”

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[omid17]

i want to check this film out

 

[Obi-Ron]

A classic! Wow, I never realized Yori was Lacey Underall. Awesome.

 

[Obi-Ron]

double

 

[Dark Victory]

That's coz you're an old geezer trapped in a teenagers body...

Quoted for truth.

 

[DarKJediKnight]

as straight up sci-fi action movie, the matrix sequels are great. but, if you go into them looking for all that deep philosophical crap that was spawned from the first film, then you're watching the wrong movie for the wrong reasons. but as just sci-fi fun, they're fantastic.

Actually the philosophical stuff in the sequels is richer than in the first.

 

[Motown Marvel]

i know it was there, i didnt have much of a problem with the film. but i think people just expected to much from the film forgetting that it was first and foremost a sci-fi action film.