Will Tron: Ares Find a Place In This World
It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years since Director Joseph Kosinski reimagined what a modern Tron movie looks like. I was an instant fan of the film which seemed to get a lukewarm critical reception. It was a real vibe of a movie, and with Daft Punk doing the music, the soundtrack was a regular feature of my playlists for the years afterwards. Unfortunately it never made it’s money back in ticket sales, and the spinoff cartoon on Disney DX, despite being very well recieved never found it’s audience in the proto-streaming landscape of 2012. If it had come out a few years later it may have been a larger success.
This seems to be the story of Tron since it’s inception. It gains a cult following but never blows the rafters off. But it has a magnetism to it. Once you become a fan you become a fan for life. And then you wait and wait and hope you don’t die of old age before someone cracks the lid on the IP again.
But the lid has been opened and the long rumoured Tron: Ares is here. Director Kosinski has moved on to quietly revolutionising cinema both tonally and technically with Top Gun: Maverick and now F1. Both these films are blazing a trail in how to make cockpit based drama exciting, finding brand new ways to film in Jets and Formula 1 Cars. Cinematography on Tron: Legacy was also a masterpiece, every frame a painting. The reigns have been left to Disney stalwart Joachim Rønning best known for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (that’s the fifth one) and Maleficent. He too wants to carry on this legacy (ha) of pushing the boundaries, especially for action taking place on the Grid where they use motion-controlled camera movements. “The concept was that a program is filming a program,” he explains. “So it’s shot by a robot.” he told Empire.
The film revolves around a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, played by Leto, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. Gives off “Terminator for the thinking man” vibes. So expect less time on The Grid and more time with 3D printed anthropomorphic programs running around the city cutting police cars and jets in half with their hard-light trails. All of it is set to the thumping electric crunchiness reimagined by Nine Inch Nails. The first track “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” is already out there in the wild and it’s fantastic. It’s the first new material NIN has put out in half a decade.
I never understood the hype around Jared Leto, people always got excited saying his name like it meant anything in the movie world. Sure he could do music but standing around in front of a camera is a different thing altogether. Any movie he’s been in has thrived in spite of not because of his presence, but he’s been lobbying for a role in this franchise for years, so he’s all wrapped in it one way or the other now.
Jeff Bridges also makes a return as the heart and soul of the franchise, becoming slightly more of a godlike figure every time smiling down on the series.
Steven Lisberger the original writer and director of the first film returns in a producer role on this film. He reflected with Empire on the weird space Tron has always inhabited.. “Something comes out, and it’s too avant-garde at the time. And then the real world catches up with it”.
I really hope the world is ready this time.