Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as C-3PO and R2-D2!

Make sure to go see Paul, opening this Friday!

Tron Betrayal Review

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now (I know, I know...). I was going to post it before the opening of Tron: Legacy, and since that was weeks and weeks ago, you can obviously figure out that events have gotten the best of my plans. This review is solely about the Tron: Betrayal graphic novel that fills in the gap between the original Tron and the new movie. Published by Disney Press, it's a 128 page paperback, and an atypical 6" by 9".

I did see Tron: Legacy opening week and I quite enjoyed it. The plot was a bit basic (but multi-layered), but the visuals and music more than made up for that. In fact, it was one of those rare movies where the soundtrack (by Daft Punk) actually made the movie better (see Star Wars). I am very hopeful for a sequel, and if reports are true we'll be getting one soon, in addition to the animated series in 2012.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The book gives us a quick recap of the original movie and then brings us into the life of Kevin Flynn post-destruction of the MCP, with him taking over the ENCOM corporation sometime during the late 80's. Quick plot summary: Flynn creates the Grid, Flynn creates CLU, Flynn's wife gets pregnant, the ISOs "emerge" from the Grid, the Grid gets unstable, Flynn invents the cell phone to talk to his pregnant wife, the Grid gets more unstable, Sam is born, Flynn's wife dies, the Grid gets even more unstable, CLU gets angry, CLU blames the ISOs for the grid getting unstable, CLU gets angrier, the Grid gets more unstable, Flynn resigns as CEO of ENCOM to spend time with Sam, CLU ensures no more ISOs are created, CLU takes over the Grid to create order, Tron is defeated and runs away, Flynn gets trapped in the Grid, the end.

The focus of the story is on Flynn desperately trying to lead a triple life, being the CEO of a major corporation, the creator and overseer of the Grid, and father to Sam. Can everything co-exist? Can you be father, creator and CEO? It is also centered on the evolution of CLU from helper and friend to Flynn to cyber-despot/Lucifer analogy. It also provides plenty of parallels to the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and examines in-depth what it is like to live in multiple realities of your own creation.

I liked how the book gave even more depth into CLU as a character than we saw in the movie. Flynn creates CLU to work with Tron (the security program) so he doesn't have to watch the Grid all the time and can spend time in his "real" life. Flynn charges him with creating the perfect system. Of course, with Flynn not being there all the time, and the Grid running on computer time, CLU grows impatient with Flynn.

His impatience grows into anger, arising from both his perceived ambivalence of Flynn and the conflicting nature of his orders. Flynn created CLU to create order, but Flynn also wants to let the natural order be spontaneous (that would confuse me too). This conflict eventually leads to CLU declaring that if the creator can't be here, and he is in the image of the creator, he must also be the creator - leading to him taking over the system. CLU thought he was doing what was best without the guidance of the Flynn. CLU believes that Flynn doesn't care about the world he created, so he will ensure its prosperity his way. CLUs drive to eliminate disorder leads him to wage a secret war against the ISOs and eventually "poison" the Sea of Simulation preventing the birth/emergence of any new ISOs.

For those keeping score at home the ISOs (what Quorra was in the film) are "isomorphic algorithms". Programs that emerged from the very nature of the Grid, they weren't created by anyone. They were born from the complexity of the Grid. In the movie there was only one left, but in the graphic novel they were a thriving separate civilization that embodied chaos to CLU. My guess is that the animated series will focus on the war between CLU and the ISOs.

A couple of questions weren't answered in either the graphic novel or the movie, like how Tron became Rinzler (he just drives off after being defeated in Betrayal) and how Flynn actually got trapped in the Grid. I guess on repeated viewings of the movie, I may discover some answers.

Overall it was an solid companion piece to the movie and if you are a fan of the Tron universe, I would definitely pick this up.