Tron: Ares' release date is fast approaching, and while Walt Disney World gears up to promote the movie by re-coloring its Lightcycle ride, the director of the upcoming sci-fi movie took a shot at the first two movies in the franchise. Granted, it's more of a criticism, but a rather biting one that now that I think about it, I can't really deny.
Director Joachim Rønning spoke to SFX Magazine on CinemaBlend about the upcoming Jared Leto-led epic, which is finally coming out after plans for a sequel to Tron: Legacy were scrapped. The director explained his approach to making the upcoming movie, and gave a take on the previous films that he sought out to change with his adventure:
For me as a filmmaker, it's not enough just to have action; I need to connect with the characters, I need to connect with the emotional core of the movie. If I should say any critique of the previous movies, it’s that I feel they lacked a little bit of heart, and I don't want to watch a movie without heart. That was very important for me to get that into the story and into the movie.
I wanted to argue this point, I really did. Then I sat and thought about the things I remember most about Tron: Legacy, and I'm thinking about the fight with CLU and the big lightcycle battle. I also remember Daft Punk in that cool club scene, but beyond that, the actual emotion and heart of the story is a distant memory.
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Tron: Legacy was a lot of visual eye-candy with a cool soundtrack from a legendary EDM group, but I haven't heard many people praise the plot over the years when talking about it. Perhaps that will change with Tron: Ares, as Joachim Rønning did all of the previous things (including enlisting Nine Inch Nails for the soundtrack) that Legacy did, and presumably also found ways to make an audience connect with the characters and the story.
The footage released so far from Tron: Ares is fantastic, though it remains to be seen if audiences will connect with Jared Leto's Ares, or any of the other new characters in the Disney movie. One thing that can't be denied is that Leto is a card-carrying Tron superfan, as I personally witnessed him geeking out at San Diego Comic-Con over all the cool things that attendees will eventually see in the movie.
One major plot point of Tron: Ares will see the programs come into the real world, which is an interesting concept to tackle in 2025. The real world is riddled with questions about emerging artificial intelligence technology and the role it should have in our lives. I'm not sure if we're going to be more in favor of it or less in favor at the end of this movie, but I'm eager to see what message, if any, it may have about AI.
Be on the lookout for Tron: Ares on the upcoming 2025 movie calendar, as it's due out in theaters on October 10th. I'm hoping it's a smash hit, because I would love for this to become a film franchise with more than just a movie every several years.
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