TRON Rant (no spoilers)

Finally got around to watching TRON: Ares over the weekend and I got a lot of thoughts about it that I'm gonna spill out here so hope you enjoy the rant.

For some context, I was born in the early 2000s so much of my childhood was spent in the 2010s. This means I got the pleasure of growing up with great things like the Nintendo DS/3DS/Wii, early-day smartphones, early internet culture (Nyan Cat, Epic Face, Shoop-Da-Whoop), and many other great things. I was never into movies very much growing up, and I'm still not, but I saw a movie in theatres in 2010 that stuck with me to this day. That movie, of course, being TRON: Legacy.

It became a bit of an obsession, not gonna lie: I'd look for and play any TRON game I could find on ROBLOX, I'd ask for TRON toys for birthdays and Christmas for a while after seeing. Something about that movie is just so special and so unique that it's stayed with me 15 years later. It is legit a movie that I can put on at any time and be fully engaged with it from start to finish. When I'm doing some mindless chores or work around the house, I like to put Legacy on as background noise that I don't have to focus on because I've seen the movie several times; but every time I end up sitting on my butt and watching the whole thing through.

Point being: I love TRON Legacy, and have been waiting for additions to the franchise for years.

When they finally announced that a sequel was in the works (temporarily titled TR3N. or TRON 3) I was hyped. I was weary because, y'know, it's Disney in the state that Disney has been in for the last several years, but I was excited nonetheless. And as the details and trailers rolled out, I became both more excited and more weary. Excitement: the visuals looked stunning, it seemed like they were really looking to expand on how the Grid works and how it interacts with "our" world, NIN was a home-run choice for the OST, and more TRON. Weariness: Jared Leto, some of the trailers made it look very "Marvel movie"ish, and Jared Leto. The weariness was only reinforced as the early reviews started coming in. Reviewers were saying things like "it's basically a NIN show with nice visuals and nothing else", so I was a bit concerned to say the last. But, I was still happy to get a new TRON movie.

Finally, I go to watch it. Going in I wasn't expecting much, maybe a very lack-luster story and poor writing, but more TRON. By the end of it though, I'm fully convinced that these early reviewers had no idea what they were talking about, and that they were very likely NOT TRON fans to begin with. From the perspective of someone who is very interested in how the world of TRON works, who has played a lot of the games (even the newer ones), and is into technology in general, this movie was a solid entry in the franchise and really helped flesh out the world to set the stage for more to come.

Even all of that aside, the story wasn't bad, and the writing was pretty solid too. TRON movies have never been known for being masterpieces really, but this hit the "new TRON movie" spot that I was praying it would hit. I can genuinely say that, as an avid TRON fan who's been waiting 15 years for a new movie, it satisfied pretty darn well.

I mean I could go on and on about all the little references in Ares and how they were done really tastefully. Like, sometimes you watch a sequel or a reboot and see a reference to older entries in the franchise and it feels really outta place and forced, y'know? The references in TRON: Ares felt totally natural and as if they made perfect sense because of how that world works. I honestly believe that reviewers just didn't get that.

Now it ain't perfect, there's some seemingly weird plot holes that I have yet to fully figure out, but I think a lot of them can be answered down the line. Now I'm just eager to know what Sam and Quorra have been up to and how a living ISO has affected the world.

TL;DR: I really liked TRON: Ares and feel that it is a great addition to the franchise. If you're a TRON fan, go watch it. If you've already watched it, go watch it again. The franchise needs our support.