The Matrix vs Tron

[skyron]

:rolly2:

I was just mulling over the parallels between "The Matrix" tillogy and the old Dysney classic "Tron."

-Both are about evil computers.

-both have a hero(s) in the form of program code, running around inside an evil computer.

-All programs in the computer carry residual self immage of their programmers.

-There is a chase scene.

-There are programs out to get the heros that don't like viruses.

-both hero's ultilmate goal is to reach the Master Contol Program and free the system.

-Both heros use their human qualities to defeat the programs who are bound by the constraints of thier programers intent. Purpose vs. Chioce.

-Both have an actress's who become targets of sci-fi geeks' obsessive fan loyalty.

-Bad programs risk deletion.

-There are programs that want to help the human free the system.

-in both films, the hero, with the help of programs, make use of a "back door" level of the system

-supirior skill and understanding of the system enable the human programs to prevail over machine progrrams.

-Ok, the Matrix doesn't have a glowing frizbee game but i hear the third movie has Neo and Smith in a big paint ball fight.

Can you think of any other parallels?

------------------
it's like a splinter in your mind.

 

[cersei]

good thoughts Skyron :0

hehe nice parallel....of course while Tron is nice popcorn enjoyable movie (and loved it as a kid), The Matrix is a clever philosophical movie, albeit disguised as an action kung-fu movie

And the first film is PERFECT hehe

 

[Dave]

I only saw Tron very recently for the first time, and although I found it very dated those similarities with The Matrix struck me immediately. I agree that Tron was a huge influence of the Matrix even if it was done unwittingly.

Both Thomas Anderson [Neo] (a computer hacker and software programmer) and Kevin Flynn [Clu] (a gaming freak and software programmer) are relunctant heros who only originally get involved as a result of a woman (Trinity in Neo's case, and Lora in Flynn's case)

Did you know that there is a sequel of Tron currently being filmed:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0208650

 

[skyron]

"Tron: Reloaded"? i love it!

It wil be ineresting to see how the Matrix movies will have influenced the Tron sequel. And how it will apply new CG techiniques. You know, there was very little CGI used in tron. Most of it was just standard animation/Rotoscope and special photographic techniques. It's a Disny pic through and through but it's a good popcorn epic.

 

[Dave]

Apparently overheard in the cinema queue....

"Well it's just Tron in shades."

 

[pkgrl]

Great parallels, skyron! Hadn't thought about Tron in ages!

"Tron in shades!" Love it!

Keep talking, guys! This conversation's a hoot!

 

[Dave]

I found a website with some more comparisons to add to the discussion:

http://www.amazing-colossal.com/suspects11.html

HOW THE MATRIX RIPPED OFF TRON by Rich Richmond

Well, I thought long and hard before I decided to put these words to paper, but here it is in all its glory... Let the hate mail flow.

I did not like The Matrix. After you are done gasping that a self-proclaimed sci-fi movie fan was bold enough to make that statement, realize that this is the same site that allowed fellow Usual Suspect John Hoerr to call Braveheart a popcorn movie. Remember that these are just opinions and everyone has one. Just about everyone I know at least liked The Matrix, but some people close to me regard it with the same esteem as Star Wars (and in some cases even higher). It baffled me that a serious movie with Keanu Reeves could be such an epic, important, and, in some cases, a life-changing film. I watched the film with anticipation and was shocked to witness nothing more than a hi-tech remake of Disney’s 1982 release Tron. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie Tron, here is a general description: A computer guy believes that something is not right in the world around him, and the key may lie in a computer program. This man is eventually sucked into a computer-generated reality where a master CPU controls everything and the programs (humans) are slaves in this virtual world. There is a rebellion led by a chosen one, Tron. And he is joined by others who are aware of their virtual reality. Does any of this sound familiar?

The similarities between the two films are staggering. From the basic premise to some of the characters, The Matrix is Tron. Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges, is the template for Reeves’ Neo. Both are computer hackers who eventually get pulled into and become aware of the digital world after their curiosity into the things around them gets them too close to the truth. When he is in the digital world, Flynn quickly becomes associated with Tron (played by Bruce Boxleitner) and his band of rebels. These rebels are aware of the real world and are fighting to stop and expose the digital world - the exact plot of The Matrix.

Tron and the other programs are controlled and connected to users (their human counterparts in the real world). This is all parallel to the way the Matrix rebels move back and forth between the two worlds by phones and such. The world of Tron requires the programs to participate in games within the digital realm. These games are much cooler than the kung fu training/game that is in The Matrix.

The bike racers and the disc battles were translated into excellent games on the Intellivision video game console.

Of course, there is a love story between Tron, Flynn, and Yori, a sexy vixen in a skintight outfit and short hair. Trinity, anyone? There are plenty of almost invincible guards who all look alike and are total badasses, just like the agents, and there is even an old man oracle, just like the old lady in The Matrix. The climax of Tron involves a fight with the CPU that is easily won after our hero realizes his importance and that he is the chosen one. I believe The Matrix ends in a similar fashion.

If you don’t believe me, I challenge you to watch the movies back-to-back. I anticipate plenty of hate mail, but make sure you have at least seen both movies before you spout off about the greatness of The Matrix. I also realize that there are plenty of movies that borrow from others; it is hard to be totally original these days. My point is that The Matrix is not as good and innovative and cool as everyone says it is. With countless similarities to a Disney movie made over a decade earlier, The Matrix may seem a whole lot less revolutionary and important as you may have thought it was.

And Keanu Reeves can’t act.

And Gladiator is the same movie as Braveheart.

Personally, I think he heavily overstates the argument:

"A computer guy believes that something is not right in the world around him, and the key may lie in a computer program." -- that is a huge distortion of 'Tron' to fit the plot of 'The Matrix'.

"These games are much cooler than the kung fu training/game that is in the Matrix" -- Ah! The 'Frisbee' game -- that was so cool, NOT!

 

[pkgrl]

Before I read the rest of this article, here's what I remember of Tron and why it never entered my mind while I was watching The Matrix.

Regular people in a regular world (ours) have a problem with their boss and the computer program he's pushing as a sort of all-controlling OS. Bruce Boxleitner and his girl friend go to a computer genius (Jeff Bridges) to see if he can help and the security program digitizes him and brings him into it's computer world so that it can control (and destroy) him. There's a couple programs inside the system that are trying to help Flynn out (mostly, Tron, which is Bruce Boxleitner's character's security program) and who are all awed that Flynn is a programmer, not a program.

There are similarities, sure, but the story is so completely different that Tron never even entered my mind while I was being absorbed by The Matrix. The Matrix is more about human perception, the power of the soul, and the ability of humans to chose their destinies than it is about computers trying to take over. The machines have already taken over. It's up to the humans now to try and assert themselves over the contrived "world" that the machines set up for human minds.

Now, I'll watch Trin and Neo kick some butt, then read the rest of this imaginatively-limited person.

Edited to add: Okay, Neo and Trin are done... for now, so... I agree with you, Dave. This guy totally distorted things to fit his argument, which means he has no argument. The first post in this thread is a much better (and more fun) parallel between the two, but this guy just sounds bitter... mostly because he doesn't like Keanu Reeves.

I never followed Keanu's career... was never much of a fan... but Speed was fun and I even liked Chain Reaction.

The Wachowski brothers totally made going to the movies interesting again, though. The Matrix made me think and doubt my own perceptions. Regardless of Keanu's presence, The Matrix finally let me be surpirsed by movies again. (It didn't hurt that there were a few other films in 1999 that surprised me, too.)

Thanks for the article, Dave.

 

[cersei]

agreed

Agreed pkgrl and dave. while I did enjoy Tron in my youth, it is so far removed from Matrix except both being in "sci-fi" genre, I don't honestly considered it comparison.

Tron is an enjoyable popcorn movie

Matrix is a stimulating, philosophical, religious, kick-butt action sci-fi which is one in a million (and first movie is FLAWLESS ).