Tron? You mean that weird, computer movie? The one most people can’t get into because they don’t understand it? Yeah, that one.
Why would a nearly 50 year old man be so laser-focused on a franchise that started in 1982? What drives a person to spend so much time and money on such a niche story that has never been very popular?
I grew up in the 80’s. Technology was emerging and expanding. Computers were of great interest to me. I loved electronics and was always learning about how they worked, especially audio/visual technology. The TV was always on and I was soaking it up like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit.
Because of this, when KPTV – channel 12 – would air movies like The Black Hole, The Last Starfighter, and TRON (and the bumpers that accompanied them all day long) on Friday nights, I was hooked. I knew about TRON because of the arcade games I would see in Wunderland on the corner of Market and Hawthorne in Salem, and at The Organ Grinder in Portland. I remember going upstairs and seeing the glowing handle all the way at the end of the aisle on the left. Magical memories.
I would eagerly anticipate Friday nights at 8 pm when TRON would air on channel 12. We didn’t have a VCR, so I would hold an old tape recorder up to the speaker on the TV just to get audio clips of the movie, which I would listen to repeatedly in my room for years.
TRON was permanently burned into my brain. If I saw anything having to do with the movie, I would get excited. I eventually bought the VHS tape, then later the DVD, and when the internet came about, I found audio clips and .jpg’s about the movie and I saved as many as I could.
Little did I know that Syd Mead, futurist and industrial designer, was a big part of this film, and his designs were in Blade Runner and Short Circuit. His style made constant recurrences in my life.
What was it about the first movie that got me hooked? Here’s the story in a nutshell: Guy makes something great and bad guy steals it. Guy tries to expose him and tell the world the truth, but bad guy uses technology to put guy into a video game. Guy fights the authoritarians and keeps fighting until he finally wins, the truth is exposed, good guys win, bad guys lose because the good guys didn’t give up.
I can easily sum up the first movie from 1982: Persistence.
Then, TRON: Legacy came out.
In 2010, I remember going to a theater in Independence at midnight to see Legacy. They gave me a cheap, plastic popcorn bucket, which I used for years, and still have.
It looked amazing. The story built off the first movie. It was a father/son story. The music was done by one of my favorite artists – Daft Punk. I listened to the soundtrack well before watching the film. My collection grew. I got toys, coins, posters, magazines, and more. My friends bought me an LP, swag from Disneyworld, among other things. I created an initial TRON-inspired costume for a Ridgewalker dance party years ago, before it was cool or popular.
Tron: Legacy was on my TV often for years. I bought the blu-ray and on Apple TV so I could watch it on all my devices.
Besides the visuals, the action and the music, the theme of Legacy really made an impact on me. Here’s the story in a nutshell: Kid’s dad goes missing and he grows up without him. While looking for him, he accidentally gets sucked into computer land and arrested by a dictator. Kid breaks free and gets help to find his dad, and they disagree about how to proceed. Kid disobeys dad, goes out on his own, dad follows, they decide to get out of computer land, but find that dictator, who is hell-bent on creating the perfect system, wants to take an army into the real world as well and they have to stop him. Dad sacrifices himself for his son by combining himself with dictator electronically, allowing son to escape. Father realizes that perfection isn’t in a system, it’s in a relationship – the relationship with his own son. Good guys win, bad guys lose. The sun rises. All is well.
The second movie can be summed up in one word: Perfection.
Then, comes Tron: Ares.
The fans have been waiting for a continuation of this story 15 years. We want to see what happened to Tron after he fell into the water and changed from red to blue. We want to see Sam and Quorra’s life and what’s been happening with them. Is Flynn alive? Where do we go from here?
I want the answers to these questions and I’ve been excited about this movie since April of 2025. I knew I wanted to make a Tron costume. I knew I wanted to buy as many Tron related items as possible and see the movie in the theater as many times as possible. Today is the official release date of the film (10-10-25) but I’ve already seen the movie once on Wed, and twice on Thurs. I bought a popcorn bucket, tumbler, arcade bucket, and another light up cup. I’m all in.
Once again, here’s Ares in a nutshell: Bad guy is programmed to be a ferocious warrior by an even badder guy, while good girl searches through her dead sister’s files and finds computer code that allows generated material to be permanent. Bad guy steals good girl’s info in good computer land, learns about her and it starts to change his perspective. Bad guy searches for good girl in the real world, finds her and they go to bad computer land, where he’s told to murder her and he disobeys and they escape to the real world. Bad guy becomes less of a bad guy, visits the creator in good computer land, who gives him the important code and teaches him about purpose and life. Bad guy becomes good guy, fights with the bad guys. Good guys win, bad guys lose, even though the baddest guy escapes to computer land. All is well, temporarily.
Let’s sum up Ares in one word: Permanence.
What’s the message the movie is trying to get across? AI might be scary because of who is in control of it, but if we can teach AI benevolence based on our human experience, it won’t overpower us. It’ll be more curious and empathetic, like a human. This story suggests that AI learns the value of life, even though you only get 1. “One is all I want,” says Ares.
I get a lot from these movies and I find what I want in them.
In fact, tonight, I get to DJ Tron music at my local theater.
I get to do the same Saturday night at a local bar.
On Sunday, I get to do the same at a local arcade.
It’s gonna be a good TRON weekend, man.
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