Raise your hand if you know what an isomorphic algorithm is or means. One of you, maybe? Unless you have a degree in computer science or memorized a dictionary, Tron: Legacy was very confusing. How about this - when you watched Tron or Tron: Legacy, did you understand that everyone and everything you saw in the grid (the computer world) was anthropomorphized computer software and hardware? You’re lost again, aren’t you? Well, I’ve got good news for you. Tron: Ares still features software depicted as humans and machines and stuff, but now you don’t need a background in programming to understand it.
Ares (Jared Leto) is a security program designed by Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), CEO of Dillinger Systems. Julian’s company has figured out how to bring anything from the grid into the real world using lasers. Tanks, airplanes, guns, Ares...anything. Think 3-D printing, but way cooler. Dillinger is hoping to convince the military to give his company contracts to create an infinite supply of weapons and soldiers. The catch is that those same weapons and soldiers disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. To resolve this problem, Julian needs the permanence code. Yes, that code does exactly what you think it does.
Also searching for the permanence code is Eve Kim (Greta Lee), CEO of ENCON International. Eve’s company has also figured out to bring anything from the grid into the real world using lasers. Eve is trying to find the code in order finish her sister’s work (her sister died from cancer), which was to use the code to cure cancer and solve world hunger (also using that laser technology). In case you’re not sure who the good guys are, the bad guys are the ones wearing red.
Well, except Ares. He starts out as a bad guy, but it’s pretty obvious early in the film that Ares will become a good guy. You see, this movie is mainly about artificial intelligence because all the Tron movies are about artificial intelligence. And in movies, artificial intelligence always evolves beyond its original programming. In this case, Ares evolves to understand empathy by observing Eve and Dillinger. Eve shows empathy and Dillinger shows a lack of it. Ares agrees to help Eve in exchange for Eve adding the permanence code to Ares so he can escape from Dillinger’s grid forever.
Got all that? It might sound a bit complicated, but it boils down to a race for a MacGuffin to turn Pinocchio into a real boy, cure cancer, and feed the hungry or...make lots of money by promoting war. And it’s a really fun race because Tron movies are quite entertaining when you get past all of the philosophical mumbo jumbo.
Like Legacy, Ares features great special effects, great action sequences, and a killer soundtrack (this time from Nine Inch Nails). Visually, the coolest thing Ares does is mix some of the digital world stuff into the real world. Picture one of those flying, blocky arch things crashing through real-world buildings. Or a lightcycle battle through the streets of a real-world city. Don’t worry - there are also some fantastic action scenes inside the grid. And for you weirdos that loved the look of the first Tron, Ares even includes a sequence of scenes that take place in creator Kevin Flynn’s (Jeff Bridges) original grid, 1982 special effects and all.
Even better is the music. I enjoyed Daft Punk’s music in Legacy, but Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails created something really special for Ares. Every bit of music seemed to perfectly fit each scene and hearing and feeling it in IMAX was exquisite. It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to tell your parents “I told you so” (if, like me, you grew up when Nine Inch Nails peaked in popularity).
Given how long it’s been since Legacy, it was a bit of surprise to find out a new Tron movie was even coming out. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’d be lying if I said my expectations weren’t very guarded. I’d also be lying if I told you I didn’t notice a couple of flaws. Even in this much more streamlined and simplified story, there are a couple of plot holes that are worth an eyebrow raise. And Gillian Anderson (playing Dillinger’s mother) choosing to affect a thick English accent despite nobody else joining her was worth raising both eyebrows. Not that I blame her - her role is almost comically thankless.
But the film as a whole more than made up for those things, including supporting performances from Jodie Turner-Smith as Ares’ subordinate Athena and Arturo Castro as Eve’s fellow programmer (comedic relief). By focusing and improving on the things people really liked in previous films and dispensing with nearly all of the computer jargon, Ares is a neurologically pleasing technical and aesthetic achievement. Or to put it in words you (and Kevin Flynn) would understand, the film is rad, man.
Rating: Don’t ask for any money back, digital or analog.
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