I was there in 1982. I remember sitting in the Odeon in Kingston. It was me, my sister, and my father. It wasn’t my dad’s thing. I was gobsmacked by the idea of being able to go inside a computer, and live in this new world of video games, which, at the time, were just really blossoming into the social consciousness.

I would imagine that my bicycle was a lightcycle, and that with a press of a button I could leave walls trailing from the back wheel. Everyone I know I had a frisbee, and we used them as our identity discs. Tron resonated with me. I still have my The Story of Tron LP from 1982 – and it still sounds great!

And Jeff Bridges was just cool as some back room cowboy, who was intent on getting the rights for his games back.

Tron: Legacy came out in 2010. Twenty-eight years after the first film. Bridges was now a computer version of The Dude, and the marriage of high-end visuals with a score by Daft Punk guaranteed that I saw this one in the theater no less than five times. And in every format I could find. 2D, 3D, Imax, Imax in 3D…

When it seemed that the story wouldn’t be continued, I was happy to let it go, and revel in the nostalgia.

Then the rumors began of a new film. I was intrigued. Then I was let down.

One of the first things they did was announce that Jared Leto would be starring. Sorry, not a fan. All of a sudden it felt like Disney really didn’t want me to see this movie.

I heard Leto was a huge fan of the first two films, but just because we shared that did that mean I would be able to handle seeing him in the lead in an IP that I enjoyed?

Then there were things that began to bring me around. Nine Inch Nails delivered a kick-ass soundtrack which went into high rotation on my Spotify playlist. The film would have Gillian Anderson in a supporting role.

It would also be shot predominantly in Vancouver, so there was a great chance of some serious CanCon being included (and sadly wasted).

So I went in, not completely skeptical, but with my hopes set at what I felt was an appropriate level.

To be clear, this is a film that MUST be seen in IMAX. It is experiential. And the volume has to be turned up to 11.

It’s like stepping into Flynn’s Arcade on a busy Friday night. You know, if arcades were still a thing. It’s loud, bright, and a little silly.

Sure there are some plot holes, but we’re talking about a series where people can go inside a computer and interact with the programs as if they were people.

The film is filled with Easter Eggs. There are name checks. Dumont from the first film gets name-checked a couple of times. There are musical cues from the first film that show up as ringtones, there are posters, and line lifts (though no one says “that is a really big door.” There are some beautiful callbacks to the first film and that sequence is among my favorites.

Visually this is a sumptuous movie. It’s visually vibrant. In effect it’s a music video game.

Dillinger (Evan Peters) is the grandson of David Warner’s Dillinger from the first film. Warner’s baddie ran Encom until Flynn (Bridges) with the help of program Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) ousted him.

In the second film, Flynn’s son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund) gets involved with Encom, and the search for his missing father.

This film follows Dillinger’s plans to bridge the gap between the worlds by bringing programs into our world. Using AI and lasers to create whatever he can imagine. His Master Control Program, Ares (Leto), is developing a little bit of empathy, and that could be a problem.

The other problem is that nothing from the computer world can last more than 29 minutes in our world. The hunt is on for a code, a Permanence Code, that can allow programs to survive indefinitely.

There are riffs on Frankenstein, set against the vibrant Dillinger red, and the Users white. It also lays the groundwork for further entries. So if you want more Tron stories, get out there and support this film.

It’s fun. I didn’t love Leto, and I think Arturo Castro’s Seth was in a completely different movie, and it was a bad one. Greta Lee is front and center as the face of Encom, Eve Lee, and I dig her. But amongst her coterie is Sarah Desjardins, who has been killing it in Yellowjackets, and she is given nothing to do.

That can be said of a lot of the supporting cast.

But the visuals. The music. That’s why you’re really coming to a Tron movie (well, maybe not music for the first movie, though it does have it’s charm). You want to see lightcycles, disc wars, recognizers… and this delivers that, loudly and colorfully.

Sure, I’m still not a fan of Leto. But damn, if this isn’t a fun ride. It’s a live action video game. Peters makes a great baddie, and Jodie Turner-Smith is suitable kickass as a seemingly unstoppable villainess.

Lightcycles tearing up the streets of Vancouver was not on my bingo card, but it’s an amazing ride, and that’s the thing. The movie is filled with tons of little moments that remind you what you love about this world. Sure, the story is a little light, but so was the story in the first film – don’t kid yourselves – and this one also tries to struggle with AI, its place in our world, and ours in its.

There’s some religious stuff at work as well between programs and users. There’s a whole undercurrent of religion and philosophy that could be explored by the series.

And maybe that’s what is waiting for us, if we get to go back to the grid again.

Tron: Ares opens in theaters on Friday October 10. See it IMAX!