Tron Goes Into Hibernation
In the last issue of the mag I hand-wrung over the difficulty Tron has always had as a concept. It has never been appreciated in the time it comes out in and Tron: Ares is no different. Tron is anathema to critics who spend too much time reflecting on the décor of their colon. But we have to admit Writer Jesse Wigutow and Director Joachim Rønning gave themselves an uphill battle in almost all regards with this film. On top of setting Jared Leto as a lead, It has a massive budget it’s had difficulty clawing back at the box office.
Then they painted themselves into a corner setting most of the film in the real world, which surprisingly works well from an action perspective, if there’s one thing you can’t deny, the action was great. Seeing Hardlight cut a jet up and causing mayhem on the roads was awesome. But a lot of people want to see the Tron world more, we see real life all the time. Also they left some of their best cards on the table by not including fan favourite Olivia Wilde and her story. They say that the script we ended up with is a hybrid of what was originally going to be the continuation of her story, with Ares playing a minor villain chasing her down. Instead with Leto’s guiding hand his character became much more central to the story.
Despite all this I loved it, I saw it in 3D and it delivered everything I want from a Tron film as did the rest of the audience who gave it an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics gave it 53%.
Asked about it by Entertainment Weekly Jeff Bridges suggested it might just take time. “It’s interesting, though, how movies are received at opening weekend. I remember Heaven’s Gate was considered, you know, very disappointing or a flop, but nowadays it’s considered kind of a masterpiece.”
“Even as an individual, often, I have not liked a movie. And then a couple weeks or months later, I’ll see it again. I’ll say, “What was I thinking?” [Laughs] As the Dude would say, ‘That’s just like your opinion, man’.”
Tron is a beautiful gem of a niche IP. I will defend it to my dying breath, warts and all. In 20 years when a fresh faced Disney exec greenlights the next film based on his nostalgia for Legacy and Ares and articles start coming out wondering where the support was for these ugly ducklings back in the day my conscience will be clean.