REVIEW COLLECTION: “TRON” Series (Second Edition)

(Source: Hyperpix) 

WRITERS NOTE: The following reviews were originally posted on September 26, 2025 (Tron); October 3, 2025 (Tron: Legacy); and October 17, 2025 (Tron: Ares). 

TRON (1982) 

Visual effects have reached many milestones throughout the history of cinema, dazzling moviegoers for more than a century. One of the most significant steps came in 1982, during a time when computers weren’t a general household item, while many animators feared they would lose their jobs because of it, and only a few artists and technicians saw the potential for how they could be used in filmmaking and in service to the stories they could/would tell. Writer, director, and animator Steven Lisberger developed and eventually presented the idea of a hacker, video game developer and arcade owner, who gets zapped into a computer and must escape to stop the head of a technological corporation. That became the premise of the 1982 live-action feature, TRON, a film that is dated by today’s standards but was incredibly groundbreaking at the time—while also being ahead of its time. 

After he and two former employees break into their company to shut down the program that has taken over, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges, in one of his earliest and most well-known roles) is forced to compete in gladiatorial matches of his own video games. Bruce Boxlietner co-stars as Alan Bradley, as well as his “security program” known as the heroic Tron (hence, the film's title). Cindy Morgan plays Lora and her “program” Yuri (completing something of a love triangle), while veteran stage and screen actor David Warner plays both the greedy company CEO Ed Dillinger and his “program” Sark. 

As one of the first feature-length films that made extensive use of computer graphics, TRON was a milestone in visual effects. It's like going into a virtual Oz, if you will, with Flynn representing something of an outsider looking in. (Likewise, characters in the computer world of this story reflect characters in the real world, as The Wizard of Oz did before it. Bridges also plays Flynn's "program" Clu.) It may also be considered by some as a more digital Star Wars. But TRON is distinctly its own thing, with original worldbuilding and mythology, echoing elements of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey, other spiritual/religious imagery, and themes of self-sacrifice and restoration. The results are nothing short of dazzling. "On the other side of the screen," Flynn tells us, "It all looks so easy." 

While there are reportedly only 20 minutes or so of actual computer animation (consisting of the aforementioned digital world, as well as tanks, ships, and other vehicles), the radical combination of backlighting, rotoscoping, and flashing neon lights (not recommended for more photosensitive viewers) makes it look otherwise. (So, red means corrupt, while blue means heroic?) But if there's one scene this movie is most remembered for, it’s the light cycle sequence. Supervised by futurist artist Syd Mead, this score-less moment is filled with speed, energy, color, sound, and suspense. Ironically, the Academy Awards disqualified TRON from being nominated in the visual effects category, as they then believed that filmmakers who used computer animation were “cheating.” Nevertheless, the film looks great in its restored picture quality and crisp resolution. The score was composed by Wendy Carlos (who had worked with Stanley Kubrick prior to this), while American rock band Journey contributed two original songs to the film’s soundtrack. 

Like other genre tentpoles released the same year (including Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, John Carpenter’s The Thing, and Don Bluth’s The Secret of NIMH), this game-changing sci-fi adventure was not a box-office success during its initial release. To be sure, TRON has a convoluted plot, despite some thought-provoking questions about computers "thinking," as well as subtle reflections of real-life figures who helped build successful computer companies. Not to mention some technological jargon that may fly over the heads of the uninitiated (i.e., "Master Control Program," "users"). Ditto some suggestive elements/references, and intense moments where characters “de-resolute” (in other words, disintegrate). But this 1982 flick is more about its worldbuilding, themes, and its radical cinematic experience. In subsequent years, it developed a cult following and is now rightfully regarded as a classic. It’s also one of the reasons that Pixar Animation Studios exists to this day. Furthermore, it represented the next generation of passionate artists who carried on what Walt Disney and his team did before them: daring risks that would break through new technologies, and stories that would engage and excite the general public. In other words, TRON was far from "end of line." 

Tron: Legacy (2010) 

Visual effects have certainly come a long way in the three decades that followed the release of Steven Lisberger’s groundbreaking and daring live-action feature about a computer world. It’s interesting that, one year after James Cameron’s game-changing blockbuster Avatar took a quantum leap in photorealistic CGI and risky filmmaking, a long-awaited sequel to TRON also justified that leap into the, quote-on-quote, “digital frontier.” 

Opening in the late-80s, game designer and computer company CEO Kevin Flynn goes missing, leaving his only son Sam without a father. Years later, when a now-20-something Sam (Garrett Hedlund) has become disillusioned with running his dad’s company, a signal comes from Flynn’s old and abandoned arcade. Echoing its predecessor, Sam gets zapped into the same world (known as the Grid) that his father disappeared into—now a much more expansive, complex, and dangerous universe—and must get to a portal to get them both back home. 

Led by first-time director (and former architect) Joseph Kosinski, Tron: Legacy is visually spectacular. Its color scheme consists of bright, chrome neon lights, from blue disks to red ships and yellow light jets. Not to mention bigger arenas, high-speed action, and more detailed “de-resolutions,” including the gladiatorial games that pit various programs in do-or-die battles. The set design of Flynn’s arcade in the real world is like a retro relic of the past, while his warehouse “off the Grid” recalls 2001: A Space Odyssey. And wait until you see the upgraded light cycles, complete with an incredible sound design. Select scenes in IMAX (which can be viewed on home video releases as well) makes the action and spectacle both dazzling and jaw-dropping, balancing (at best) practicality and computer data. 

Bruce Boxleitner returns as Alan Bradley and his titular program Tron. An uncredited Cillian Murphy makes an appearance as the son of Ed Dillinger (the antagonist of the first film), while Olivia Wilde also stands out as sentient program Quorra. As American rock band Journey contributed to the first film’s soundtrack, it makes sense (both nostalgically and thematically) that their famous song, “Worlds Apart (Separate Ways),” appears in one scene of Tron: Legacy. Speaking of music, one of the film’s real highlights is the awesome score by French electronic duo Daft Punk. (They are reportedly huge fans of the original film and even make cameos as DJs; ditto Lisberger as a bartender.) 

One thing that hasn’t aged well is the de-aging technology on lead actor Jeff Bridges, who plays both the older and grizzled Flynn, as well as his rogue and corrupting program known as Clu. (Bridges himself wasn’t happy about the uncanny results in retrospect.) The story itself feels like a bit of a retcon and polarization of the mythology and world-building established in 1982. For the uninitiated, the story may feel like a slog, despite some thought-provoking themes related to science, religion, philosophy, socialism, and self-sacrifice; especially complicated dynamics between creator and created, parents and their children, perfection and imperfection. (There’s an interesting fact in the trivia section of this film’s IMDb page, mentioning how this secular tentpole echoes Biblical parallels.) Like Avatar, Tron: Legacy is more style over substance, lacking much character development and a strong or coherent story. But what an otherwise visual experience it is. “End of line?” Not yet. 

Tron: Ares (2025) 

Talk of a third entry in the TRON film series had been circling since the release of the second installment back in 2010. But nothing official was greenlit over the years, and the closest thing that fans ever got to a follow-up was an animated TV series on Disney XD, titled Tron: Uprising, and some video game spinoffs. (For the former, Bruce Boxleitner reprised his role as the titular computer program, as did Olivia Wilde as Quorra from Tron: Legacy.) Fast forward to 2025, and it was official that Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Rønning would be helming a third theatrical release with actor-musician Jared Leto in the title role. 

Tron: Ares may be the first standalone entry in the franchise, despite several nostalgic throwbacks and references to the previous films (particularly the landmark 1982 flick that started it all). It’s also the first to receive a PG-13 rating, mainly for its intense action and violence. Leto plays a super-soldier computer program who, along with the digital Grid itself, is zapped into the real world (a concept that was implied in the last movie), develops a conscience, and questions his purpose, conflicted between programming and free will. (Sound familiar?) Some references to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (of which new film adaptations from Guillermo Del Toro and Maggie Gyllenhaal, respectively, will be released within the next six months) set up subtle conflicts between creator and creation, before becoming a chase picture. 

The supporting cast includes Greta Lee (as businesswoman Eve Kim, who is determined to carry on her late sister’s legacy for the better), Gillian Anderson and Evan Peters (as the daughter and grandson of former business CEO Ed Dillinger from the original movie, with the latter’s body covered in code tattoos), and, of course, Jeff Bridges (irreplaceable as Kevin Flynn). The narrative suggests there are limits and flaws in this cyber system, as said elements can last no more than twenty-nine minutes in the real world, before disintegrating and resurrecting in the Grid. A subplot follows characters and rival companies in search of a device called the “Permanence Code,” which suggests prolonged life. 

The motif of red neon lights and larger-than-life action and visuals are dazzling and jaw-dropping (especially in IMAX). Ditto the booming and awesome sound design, and equally booming retro music by rock band Nine Inch Nails (whose members Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, both frequent collaborators of director David Fincher, serve as co-executive producers of the film). Unlike its predecessors, Tron: Ares presents a more grounded approach, taking place in the real world more than the digital one. A balance of CGI and practicality gives the film a lot of credibility. This includes the use of analogue equipment from the 1980s, such as older computer boxes with floppy disc compartments, and original arcade systems. And wait until you see the newly designed light cycles and discs. You’re in for some mind-blowing rides. Not to mention some impressive fight choreography. 

I’ll admit, I was skeptical how the rest of the film would turn out, as the human elements haven’t been as strong by comparison in previous installments. Like the visual look throughout Ares, this aspect (despite a few ridiculous moments) comes across as sincere and credible, with Leto (despite some current personal controversies) giving easily one of his better roles in recent years. It’s a shame that this genre tentpole hasn’t been doing well in theatres, because it’s a beamingly awesome time at the movies. It represents the current generation of artists, technicians, and storytellers carrying on where the last generation left off. I found it narratively and thematically strong, in terms of what it means to be human and to live, with dashes of humor. Don’t believe everything you read or hear about it. Remember, the original Tron was initially a box-office flop before becoming a classic over time. Let’s wait and see about Tron: Ares.