TRON: LEGACY (2010) Movie Review

Kevin Flynn’s lifelong pursuit is to change the world and reshape the human condition though technology. He creates a digital world where humans/users may dwell with programs. In doing so he finds revolutionary programs (Isomorphicalgorithms), the miracles that would change the course of science, medicine, religion, etc.

Before he is able to share these programs, his clone destroys them due to their imperfection. This clone, Clu, was programmed for one purpose, to create a perfect system. However, Flynn does not realize the destructive effect of that wish. For a system to become perfect, all of its imperfections must be destroyed.

“What is more imperfect than our world?” Kevin asks his son in Tron.

Not a person or thing is absolutely perfect. The human condition is severely flawed. As Flynn comes to realize perfection is unknowable and impossible. His attempt results in genocide, because that is what a perfect world takes. The destruction of the entire race. That is exactly what Clu has planned for the World, to create a perfect system by ridding it of everything that is imperfect.

Imperfection is part of the human condition, and the only way to exist is through acceptance. Flynn had been unable to accept it until it was too late. The only way to save the world from destruction is by destroying his perfection seeking program, Clu, and The Grid. In doing so, he sacrifices his life in order to save his son, his apprentice, and the World.

In the same way Christ sacrificed himself to bring salvation to our imperfect world. The truth is we can never accomplish perfection. We are a flawed race. The only way that we may dwell in the presence of a perfect God is through the Christ who died for our sins. Any attempt to achieve perfection is as futile and destructive as portrayed in Tron. We must accept others and ourselves as what we are, because God still loves us.