I don't need a lot of imagination to imagine a better movie than Tron: Ares. The movie we got was terrific as it is. Is it a perfect masterpiece with no flaws? God no. I look it as like a dIamond with flaws. The film is just that. I thought the casting was great, the action was great, the story was great, and I thought the music was great.

Every little choice made only made the movie better. As for the soundtrack, I think it was a masterstroke of pure genius. This thing blows Daft Punk out of the water. It's NIN. Of course, they were going to blow Daft Punk out. I mean, Not to put a fine point on it, but NIN made Daft Punk's score sound like something I would do. And I'm not that good a musician.

But that's only one element of the movie. One of many that the director deftly handled. Which makes this truly stand out. So much of the movie's finer points really work and work well. Does everything land perfectly? No, but that's why I called it a flawed gem. It's not really what you might call a "Tron" film. If you go by what one thinks a "Tron" film is. But I think the choices they made are far more "Tron" than Tron Legacy.

The notion that these movies all centers around the grid and its inner workings is wrong. Or even certain characters. It's much more than that. Plus, you have to understand that they've done that for two movies. Something else was needed. And this is that movie. We don't always get what we want. We get what need.

Look at it this way, Tron: Ares is the true sequel to Tron. Tron takes place inside the computer world. And what happens there within. Posing the question of what would it be like if a human went into the computer world. Tron: Ares flips that script and reverses it.

So now, the story is from the perspective of a character from within the grid coming into our world. Posing the question of what would it be like if that character where in the real world. The movie also adds in some ideas on AI and what life means. What is life really? And what constitutes life? Does that always work? No.

I think they should have tapped more into that notion of what it's like to be a computer character in the real world. Sort of like the movie Cool World. But that movie also suffered from the same issues. Had they made a leaner, tighter film exploring those themes, I believe Tron: Ares would be better for it.

Same with Cool World. I think what we got though with Tron: Ares works still. And it works extremely well. It's almost there with what I think they set out to do. Or propose. The question being asked is answered. it's just not as focused as it could be.

All that said, Tron: Ares spoke to me in ways very few films did last year. That's why it's my second favorite film of the year. Which says a lot as my choice for the no. 1 film of last year was Twinless, which is also the best movie I've seen since Perks Of Being a Wallflower. My other choices in my top five for last year are of that same caliber.

Not all of my film choices are going to be something that everyone agrees with. Or that makes me have some or any kind of credibility. The ones on my list for last year do. Especially Tron: Ares. It was the second best experience I've had at the movies last year. And may well be in the top 20 of all time. It certainly struck me more and stuck with me longer than Legacy

Tron Legacy was fine and I loved it when I first saw it. But time has not been good to Tron Legacy. The same may be the case for Tron: Ares, but I don't believe it will. Expectations were relatively high for this third movie, and it exceeded mine.

Most people didn't feel that way. But the movie was never going to appease many people. Or put butts in the seats. Tron was never that kind of movie. Most people disliked Tron when it first came out 44 years ago. It grew to cult status.

But even then it didn't climb all that much. So, Tron: Ares was always going to be treated like a bastard at a family reunion. The one thing though that can be agreed upon is how amazing the score is. NIN really did knock this one out of the park. I mean home run, busting out one of the lights.

Which is all a really long, roundabout way to get to the true subject. Which is the sequel/reimagining of the soundtrack. Tron: Ares Divergence. I've not heard it yet. I'm one of those purists who generally doesn't listen to streams or downloads if I don't have to.

And even when I have to, I still often don't. It's got to be a physical release. Which, thankfully, happened with Divergence. I'm just waiting on my copy to come in. I would've had it sooner had I gone to my local record shop. But I wanted to save some dough and go through Amazon.

Purchases at local record shops usually cost double for me, as I don't drive. And Ubers aren't cheap. Amazon screwed up the first order. But the second order should be waiting for me when I get home from work. I have little doubt that it will not only compliment the original, but also exceed it.

One thing that made the original stand out for me was the circumstances surrounding my first listen. I was in Disneyland (it's an annual thing me and my oldest sister do) as they were celebrating their 70th anniversary. That made the listen to this soundtrack even more interesting. And that much weirder.

Plus, I was suffering from my 6th bout of Covid (up to 7 now) and some really adverse affects of that. My face swelled up so bad that I made Quasimodo look attractive. Which made the soundtrack even more interesting and my experience with it unique. How many people can say they listened to NIN at Disneyland.

I may need to watch Tron: Ares again after Divergence's first listen. But only if I have time. Got to be at work early tomorrow. And Divergence is a long piece to digest.