Before I was even fully aware that this film was being released there were already people that were tearing it apart. I think that a lot of this might come from general hatred towards Disney that has been going on because of various semi-political reasons, and also because Disney pissed off basically all Star Wars fans and continues to do so.
Because it was such a huge-budget production, quite a ballsy one at that, I was always going to watch it anyway though and I am glad I did.
I wouldn't say that plot understanding is really all that necessary to enjoy Tron films but in a shell there are two existences, the real human world, and the digital world. The digital world is filled with a bunch of things that aren't possible in the real world, but two competing companies have figured out how to transfer the things from the digital world and 3D print them in the real world. There is just one very big problem and that is that everything that they print can only exist in the real world for 29 minutes.
There are two competing companies, ENCOM and Dillinger Systems. The former is more interested in printing out things that can benefit humanity such as food, energy, and medicine, whereas the latter wants to print unstoppable weapons of war for profit.
I think it is pretty easy to determine which one of these companies is considered the evil one and therefore the ones that will end up glowing red, just like in the original 80s film.
The story is kind of stupid to be honest with you and not just because since it is a Disney film you automatically know before the movie even tells you the details which side is going to win. It's just kind of a nonsensical plot and of course it is absolutely addled with ongoing plotholes that only get larger the longer the film goes on. But still, you can enjoy it simply because it is a visual marvel and it also has some fan-service with some throwbacks to the original film. I know that made me happy when I saw it.
Jared Leto is getting a lot of flack for his involvement in this film and I think much of this is because of his role in Morbius which is a film that the internet and meme community was able to trick the distributors into believing there was enough interest in the film to re-release it and they did so only to have no one go see it an 4-chan and Reddit were just laughing their asses off.
Leto actually does a decent job in this movie as he plays a program in the digital world. He is a Master Control Program and is a leader of the evil red team. He is called "Ares" and he doesn't actually know that he is on the evil side. He figures this out after visiting the human real world a couple of times (for 29 minutes each time) and starts to understand the concept of empathy and "feelings." This results in an overall momentum shift for the two warring companies and while many critics thought this shift was hokey, I kind of enjoyed it.
Ares is emotionless and exacting as well as quite robotic in his movements... you know, similar to Keanu Reeves in every single role that he plays.
His role is rather critical as he is the only member of the digital world that develops an almost human-like consciousness whereas all the other individuals (who are actually programs) remain restricted by their programming and can't disregard orders even if it to their own detriment.
I thought they did a good job at hinting at the dangers of introducing too much computer-controlled aspects into human life as things quickly get out of hand as it is showcased how much more powerful the digital versions of things are compared to the real-life counterparts. I suppose this was a nod of sorts towards AI taking over the world, but in a subtle way. Mostly it's just raw, loud, and sometimes kind of stupid entertainment.
Even if you aren't all that familiar with Tron at all, you probably recognize this silly thing. It is a vehicle that has appeared in all the Tron movies and it is called a "Recognizer." I thought is was an absurd vehicle but I'll tell you want, they made it extremely bad-ass in Ares although they still make no attempt to explain how its shape is at all beneficial.
The real star of this film is not the plot or the actors, but the CGI and well, this was always going to end up being the case. They spent a fortune on making this film and it wasn't just money getting paid to Jared Leto and Jeff Bridges.
The man-on-man fights are unfortunately kind of lame but there are some decent effects in them. In my mind the choreography was pretty toned down and maybe because it is Disney or maybe for the sake of scoring a kid-friendly rating, nobody really dies in this either, which in my mind is kind of lame but understandable from a sales perspective.
The soundtrack includes songs from Nine Inch Nails and for the youngsters of today, maybe you don't even know what that is. It was really popular when I was in college and it was nice to hear them on the scene again. They fit right in with the cyberpunk soundtrack and the music and sound is another high point of this film.
Should I watch it?
Well, despite the fact that I say almost entirely positive things above I know that this is because I am a die-hard sci-fi fan and have been my entire life. I realize that not everyone is like that and for many, especially if they are not sci-fi fans, might end up thinking not only is this not entertaining, but aside from the visual spectacle on a big screen, they may actually find it boring.
The story is nothing special and some of the actors are actually, dare i say, annoying. I thoroughly enjoyed it and don't really understand all the hate it is getting or how it ended up with a 54% rating on RT and a bit higher on IMDB. But again, I am a sci-fi nerd and that is probably affecting my objectivity.
If you are a fan of sci-fi or if you just have a really great home theater, I think this being the visual spectacle that it is will be enough.
This movie is slated to lose Disney over $130 million and I don't really understand why. Maybe the days of making $200 million films are coming to a close.
The only way you can legally watch this film at the moment is in cinemas. Once it goes to streaming it will likely be available to rent and buy on most platforms and as far as free streaming is concerned that will definitely be on Disney+
