When I first encountered the world of "Tron" on screen long ago, the most powerful impression left on me was, without a doubt, the motorcycle that raced while drawing a trail of light—the "Light Cycle." The unique laws of physics, where all movement was confined to straight lines and right angles, were a fresh shock. The way it accelerated only in a straight line and turned exclusively at sharp right angles, completely ignoring real-world physics and especially the concept of centrifugal force, was a device that visually and clearly stamped "Tron's" world as a digitally constructed virtual space. Along with these original visuals, the premise itself of a human entering the virtual world inside a computer seemed to represent the pinnacle of imagination at the time. After its first appearance in 1982 and going through "Tron: Legacy" in 2010, now, after a long 15-year wait, the franchise has made a magnificent return under the new name, "Tron: Ares."
The most essential charm of "Tron" lies in the unique laws of physics mentioned earlier. In the real world, it is natural for all objects to rotate in a curved path due to inertia and centrifugal force. We witness the principles of circular motion when a car turns a corner or when a planet orbits the sun. However, these laws do not exist in the world of "Tron." Everything moves only in straight lines across a defined Grid, much like programmed data. This is more than just a visual quirk; it symbolizes the fundamental identity of this space as a digital world composed of 0s and 1s. The movement of the Light Cycle, which defies centrifugal force, constantly reminds the audience that this is a space of a completely different dimension, where the physical laws we know do not apply.
In the past, when such sci-fi films appeared on screen, we tended to dismiss their stories as vague fantasies that might happen in the very distant future. Flying cars, robots that communicate with humans, and life in virtual reality were nothing more than interesting spectacles. As time passed and technology developed, we came to realize that, contrary to expectations, many of the scenes depicted in old sci-fi films could not be easily implemented in reality. Of course, some technologies like smartphones and AI speakers have been realized and have become deeply integrated into our daily lives, but it is true that there is still a considerable distance from the innovative future that the movies showed.
Among the many sci-fi imaginations, the field that was considered the most difficult to realize was undoubtedly the "humanoid." A robot that could think naturally like a human, interact emotionally, communicate, and even display physical abilities surpassing humans was thought to be close to impossible, not just technically but conceptually. However, in recent years, the explosive development of artificial intelligence technology has completely changed this perception. The stiff and unnatural movements shown by robots of the past are now hard to find. Through machine learning and reinforcement learning, robots are increasingly implementing soft and organic movements that are close to human, and this is no longer an experiment at the laboratory level but is becoming a reality.
At a time when related technology demonstration videos are pouring out through the media every day, the speed of AI development is so fast it's hard to keep up. Technology from a few months ago feels like a relic of a bygone era, as artificial intelligence is surpassing human abilities in almost every field, including language, imagery, and autonomous driving. It is within this contemporary context that I encountered "Tron: Ares," and the story in the movie no longer felt like a far-fetched science fiction tale as it might have in the past. Of course, it is nearly impossible for a program to materialize with a physical body in the real world as depicted in the film. However, the premonition that the day is not far off when an AI humanoid, almost indistinguishable from a human, will appear in our society felt frighteningly realistic.
The core premise of the film begins right at this point. "Ares" (played by Jared Leto), a program from the virtual world called "The Grid," is transmitted to the real world, but the time allowed for him is only 29 minutes. The central narrative of the film is driven by the quest to find the technology to overcome this limitation and gain permanence in the real world. This is a fundamentally different concept from simply uploading data to a robot's CPU and booting it up. The setting, where a pure digital being composed of 0s and 1s acquires a physical form in the real world made of atoms, delves one step deeper into the theme of "digital life forms" that many sci-fi films have explored.
Interestingly, the clue to the core technology that will grant Ares permanence is hidden on a "floppy disk," an object that one might only expect to see in a museum now. The sight of Eve Kim (played by Greta Lee) trying to find a clue from this old storage medium left by her brother evokes a certain sense of nostalgia in the audience. For the generation that once enjoyed fitting an entire game onto a single floppy disk, the fact that this item, which can barely hold a single song today, appears as an important "MacGuffin" in the film is a welcome experience in itself. The ironic setup, where a technology that was once a world-changing marvel becomes a relic of memory and then again the key to a cutting-edge future technology, adds another layer of fun to the film.
Eve Kim's mega-corporation, "ENCOM," is not the only one after this technology. Julian (played by Evan Peters), the head of the rival company "Dillinger," also harbors ambitions to seize this technology and rule the world. Julian successfully presents Ares to investors but cleverly conceals the fatal 29-minute time limit. Jared Leto, who plays the protagonist Ares, went beyond being just an actor and participated directly in the production, showing a deep affection for this project. The anecdote that he covered the budget shortfall with his own money shows just how serious he was about the world of "Tron."
While carrying out Julian's orders to track down the permanence technology, Ares begins to undergo an inexplicable transformation. "Emotion," something that should not exist for a program, begins to sprout within him. Eventually, he even refuses the order to eliminate himself, which leads to a sharp conflict with his fellow program and second-in-command, Athena (played by Jodie Turner-Smith). At this point, the film poses a philosophical question to the audience. It raises doubts about how beings that are purely programs can agonize, hesitate, and express emotions like humans. The sight of Ares showing a moment's hesitation before performing an action suggests that he is evolving not just as a collection of algorithms, but as a new form of intelligence.
To be honest, I didn't have very high expectations for "Tron: Ares" at first. I had a preconceived notion that it would be just another reboot relying on the glory of the past. However, the film provided a much more interesting story and spectacle than expected. In particular, the VFX effects realized with the latest technology depicted the scenes crossing between the virtual and real worlds in a splendid and convincing manner, which was more than enough to please the audience's eyes. One interesting change is that in this work, the Light Cycle, the very symbol of "Tron," no longer moves only at right angles. This may be a disappointing point for fans who miss the nostalgia of the original, but it seems to be the intention of the production team to reinterpret the series to fit modern sensibilities.
In conclusion, "Tron: Ares" is a work that successfully inherits the legacy of the past while cleverly weaving in the modern discourse of the AI era. The film goes beyond simply boasting splendid visual effects to pose philosophical questions about the future that the development of artificial intelligence will bring. The story of a program having emotions and a digital being knocking on the door of the real world may no longer be a story of the distant future. The post-credit scene at the end, which hints at a sequel, leaves a deep resonance with the audience as they leave the theater, suggesting that the world of "Tron" that will unfold will contain an even grander and more profound story.
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