TRON

I was eight years old when I saw the first TRON movie in the theaters. The concept of the computer world fascinated me.  I fancied myself to be like Kevin Flynn: master of video games and designer of the most popular games in the arcades.  So, a couple of decades later, when I saw TRON 2.0 sitting on a game store's shelf, I bought it, played it, loved it, and wanted more.  But more was not to be had.  So I found the TRON 2.0 mod community at (now gone) www.boxhat.com message boards.  The people there helped me find the tools needed to mod the game.  I made a couple of multiplayer maps and tested the boundaries of what the Jupiter engine allowed. I even went on to write a single-player expansion for the game. I called it User Error. I even went so far as to write a Movie Script for it as well.

Then in 2010, TRON: Legacy was released in theaters. It did well, but was not the runaway hit I hoped it would be. It was a true sequel to the first TRON movie, but it ignored the story of the TRON 2.0 game entirely. Oh well. Them's the breaks. There were a few computer and console games published around this time related to Legacy and they were fine. Disney aired an animated series, TRON: Uprising, which was breathtakingly awesome! It was not renewed for a second season. But TRON was not to be denied! 

The franchise is incredibly popular and influential as a cultural reference if nothing else. Styles and references from TRON show up in all kinds of media, primarily other video games with downloadable cosmetics. Many indie games borrow the light-suit aesthetic for their characters' costumes, especially if they are beings from another plane of existence.  Other stories, particularly anime Isekai stories of the alternate world being digital, are heavily influenced by the groundwork laid by the TRON franchise.

Currently, TRON: Ares is playing in the movie theaters. I saw it yesterday and greatly enjoyed it. It was immediately obvious that the movie was made by a true TRON fan (Jared Leto). It had great references, callbacks, fan service, and soundtrack. The movie is so true to its roots that I immediately saw that it will do about as well as the other TRON movies on its own. Unfortunately, just before the movie's release, Jared Leto was reported to have been accused of inappropriate behavior, which affected box-office sales. Whether or not the accusations are true (because it doesn't affect whether I enjoy the movie or not), I still consider TRON: Ares as an excellent entry to the TRON franchise and encourage anyone who likes TRON to go see it. 

-10/12/2025-