“The Grid.” The first words spoken in both Tron Legacy and now Tron Ares. The words that set our imagination into effect as we ready ourselves with the fantasy idea of what a digital world would look like if we could only walk around in it. With the original Tron release in 1982, we were given a fun, conceptual idea, made entertaining by the one and only Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges, and Bruce Boxleitner as both Alan Bradley and the Tron program. The fan base evolved for years as fans made their own desaturated versions of program cosplays at home. Then, almost 30 years later, we got Tron Legacy in 2010. A film filled with digital eye candy, action, and, of course, one of the best film soundtracks out there, perfected by Daft Punk. The anticipation was mounting, and after another 5 years, we almost got a third installment in the series. but the project was shelved for another ten years. Now, 43 years after Tron was first introduced to the world, we get the third installment with Tron: Ares.
Fun side note, I had been speaking with the production office of the untitled third Tron film in 2015 to work with the production office team on the film before it was shelved. Too bad they didn’t keep my number. It would have been a dream to work on this film.
With kids at home, it isn’t often that I make the effort to see films in the theatre, but this was one I wasn’t going to miss. So far this year, I have only been able to catch Tron: Ares and the 20th anniversary re-release of Revenge of the Sith. Some films you just need to make the time for. My one disappointment going into the film, though, was learning that Daft Punk wasn’t returning to score it. It wasn’t for lack of trying on Disney’s part, however. Daft Punk had previously announced their retirement in February 2021, when they released a video titled “Epilogue” featuring their iconic helmets. The specific reasons for the group’s split were not given by their publicist at the time. But later, one member, Thomas Bangalter, expressed concerns about the current rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential to blur the line between human and machine, which was central to the duo’s art. Another factor —and probably more importantly —was that they felt they had peaked and couldn’t top their final album, Random Access Memories. The band wanted to be remembered for their great work, not for becoming irrelevant, as so many bands do before ending their careers. When Disney asked them to come back for Tron 3, they politely declined. I cannot blame Daft Punk for turning down Tron 3, but my disappointment is no less burdensome for it. Just another missed opportunity caused by production being shelved in 2015.
What we did end up getting was a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross under their band name Nine Inch Nails. Upon hearing this, I was very skeptical, remembering this band as a dark rock style band. But there is something unique about Nine Inch Nails that would lend itself to a proper score for Tron: Ares. The band has been known for its unique blend of hard rock, electronic beats, and synthesized sounds, which has developed into what is called industrial rock. Such a sound can be very reminiscent of 80s and 90s sci-fi action films. Tron: Ares felt like an homage to the original 1982 Tron, and the music was the first step toward that. Their electric tones, mixed with rock, can almost be argued to be a darker version of Daft Punk’s style, which is really what Tron: Ares needed, considering one of the antagonists becomes a protagonist early in the film. With tones like those of the Blade Runner series, Nine Inch Nails brings us back to sci-fi in the 80s with a fun ear-candy beat and sound waves to go with the film’s visual eye candy. I only have two complaints about the score. The first is that, at times, it sounds more like an ’80s horror film than a cyberpunk sci-fi film, with the way they echo the electronic background instruments. The second was the mixing of the music. Several times throughout the film, the music blared and shook the theater, far louder than it should have been. It was so loud it was borderline painful, and it pulled me out of the film to swap comments about it with my wife. This ruined half the theater experience. I just hope they do a better job mixing when adapting the film for streaming. I imagine half the dialogue would be inaudible through a TV.
The film itself was full of fun and new experiences as we got to see programs enter the real world and interact with things outside of the digital world. Jared Leto did an excellent job playing the role of Ares, a program with a conscience. We saw this similarly before in Tron: Legacy when Jeff Bridges played his own program Clu, but Leto added an extra layer that gave us an image of the blank mind of a program built only in the appearance of what his programmer wanted him to be, then, as a learning AI, picking up curiosities and wants. It was also nice to see Leto playing a hero instead of a villain for once, though he has been an anti-hero before. Though the story was predictable, it was enjoyable nonetheless.
Another disappointment was the lack of Jeff Bridges. I would have liked to see him as either Kevin Flynn or Clu, knowing full well that both probably died at the end of Legacy. But Tron just isn’t the same without a big presence from Jeff Bridges. With that said, I am glad we got what little they did give us in Jeff Bridges’ short scene toward the end. I think I was hoping they’d find Flynn lost in the computer somewhere, and that the permanence code would bring him back to the real world again. On the other hand, it would have been nice to see a short physical cameo from Garrett Hedlund as Sam Flynn, even if it was only a moment.
The visuals of the digital world were as good as Legacy and very enjoyable, though I couldn’t tell what was happening with far too many lights and explosions during the chase scene. It would have been nice to see more of the inside of the computer, though. So much was in the real world, and what we all like to see is the exploration of this fantasy world. One of the things that made Tron: Legacy so great was when Sam went to the outskirts to find his father and show us the vastness of the grid, which extends beyond the mainframe. It would be like an ocean exploration film set mainly on the surface. It just felt incomplete. The references to the original 1982 film were throughout the film and made the film fun for long-time fans. Even the cut scene mid-credits was a kick back to one of the original villains, Sark.
Ultimately, we got something unique out of Tron: Ares and an enjoyable, probably, end to the series. While some things could have been better, Tron: Ares is the fun, visually and aurally pleasurable experience we’ve been seeking since 2010. I would be surprised if they decided to continue the Tron films, but I am sure we can expect other media, such as RPG video games. Maybe in this way we will be able to further explore the world of The Grid.
