Directed by Joachim Rønning, Tron: Ares takes place 15 years after the events of Tron: Legacy and follows the story of a highly sophisticated program, named Ares (Jared Leto), who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings and blurring the lines between both worlds forever.
Out of all of the major franchises Disney has spawned over the years none of them has ever been as unique the Tron series, which has survived in pop culture for decades despite having very few films to its name, with very mixed critical reception. The series has attained cult status over time having been frequently cited for their innovative achievements in distinct visual effects, practical effects, sound design, and iconic electronic music, as well as complex but interesting stories that have sometimes been considered to be way ahead of their time. While I am not a super fan of the series as a whole I have always had an appreciation for it growing up, having thought it was such a cool universe ripe for exploring and expanding further, but never got many chances to do so aside from one animated television series that ran from 2012 to 2013.
But here we are 15 years later with a brand new cinematic installment of the Tron series known simply as Tron: Ares. Now I will admit that despite my fondness for the Tron series I wasn’t going to go see this film in theaters, mainly due to the casting of Jared Leto as the leading character. His awful track record in recent films and some disturbing allegations made against him recently put me off from seeing the film entirely, but after some convincing by friends and followers I decided to go see the film on the biggest screen possible (IMAX) to give an honest and fair take on the newest addition to the Tron series.
Somehow against all the odds and my bias against the lead casting choice, Tron: Ares proved itself to be a surprisingly interesting return to the world of Tron through a standalone story that was fun, visually stunning, and audibly addictive. While not as emotionally strong and narratively streamlined as the previous two films, this third installment felt like a thrilling ride and a worthy addition to the series that plays with the expansive sandbox of its roots as well as the advancements in filmmaking technology since Tron: Legacy.
The Tron series has always had an array of interesting characters in each installment and this film definitely has its own set of interesting characters, even if not all of them are the best. By far the most compelling character in the film to my surprise was the titular character Ares himself. As much as I have no love for Jared Leto he delivers a solid performance as this stoic weaponized program that was created to be the ultimate soldier on the grid and in the real world but ends up having internal confusion, a desire for permanence, and begins to display human qualities.
We have seen many stories about AI wanting to become human in other forms of media but it was fascinating to see Tron’s take on it with an AI that isn’t just trying to be human but is just wanting to live after being used as an expendable weapon that gets painfully killed and revived numerous times in service of his creator. Even when the character doesn’t know how to properly display any kind of proper emotions I still felt invested in him and his journey throughout the entire film, making for one of the most interesting program characters we have had in the series since Clu in Tron: Legacy.
Paired alongside Ares is Eve Kim, played awesomely by Greta Lee, who is a decent character on her own as well as a fearless badass, but definitely could have been better. Eve had the potential to be the supporting heart of the story, given the sympathetic backstory we are given for her, but it doesn’t get fleshed out enough as it could have been. This is what causes the film to not feel as emotionally impactful compared to Tron: Legacy, which had the benefit of the father-son duo driving the narrative and managing to hit hard in the right ways.
Evan Peters takes on the role of the film’s human villain Julian Dillinger, the CEO of Dillinger Systems and grandson of Ed Dillinger from the first film, giving us an ambitious and sociopathic bad guy that incorporates some of the sadistic traits of the programs Sark and the MCP from the first film but in human form. You can always count on Evan Peters to deliver a fun performance no matter what the role is and he absolutely commits to being such a love-to-hate character and a great foil for Ares. I was concerned he was going to be a typical corporate bad guy but he turned out to be much more than that as he was a man trying to play god in his quest to dominate the realm of AI technology.
The AI villain of this film who acts as the muscle on behalf of Julian Dillinger is Athena, played by the amazingly talented and beautiful Jodie Turner-Smith. Jodie absolutely owns the role of Athena, giving us a ruthless warrior from the grid who, unlike Ares, doesn’t develop the same feelings or emotions as he does but instead follows her directives no matter what it takes. Seeing her go from a second-in-command to Ares to becoming a legitimate and terrifying physical threat to him was such an interesting turn that made her a fearsome and entertaining foe that added some solid stakes.
The supporting cast was alright but definitely not as great as the supporting cast of the previous films, with certain characters feeling pointless like Seth, played by Arturo Castro, who was definitely inserted to be comedic relief but didn’t work much for me throughout the film, aside from a few good jokes. The one supporting cast member that did stand out the most was a face of the past, Kevin Flynn, reprised by the iconic Jeff Bridges. Most people were confused by the trailers as to how Flynn could have possibly returned after sacrificing himself in Tron: Legacy but there is actually a legitimate explanation to this return that doesn’t ruin the emotional impact of the previous film and stays within the boundaries of the series lore. Kevin Flynn is not truly alive or resurrected in this film; instead, he appears as a digital reflection or echo of himself that is brought into being by the presence of Ares when he ends up finding himself in the original, older “Grid” from the first film. The character’s appearance may be short and is mostly used to advance the plot but it was honestly so good to see Jeff Bridges be able to reprise the role again after so many years and do such a good job being the wise yet still charming Flynn for what could be the last time, given the uncertainty of the actor’s health and the franchise’s future going forward.
When it comes to the film’s story I think it was overall a really fun and thrilling experience that I enjoyed from start to end but I feel there could have been a little more meat on its bones, especially when it only partially utilizes the potential of its premise. You could definitely feel there were a lot of ideas being put together in one big thread and while most of them work out on delivering some solid themes and insane action sequences there were other potential ideas and themes tossed aside, never to be focused on. The previous films had narratives that had themes and commentary that were way ahead of their time and this film could have had the opportunity to tackle its own themes in the present time, especially given the current state of AI in our world today that the other films predicted but it doesn’t fully explore that.
We do get a lot of great themes with the journey of Ares with his desire to live and to break away from being an expendable weapon, which can be considered a parallel to the treatment of real soldiers by various governments in our world, but I feel like there was a lot more than just that to be explored that was sitting right there in front of the filmmakers faces but they didn’t go for it, opting for a more safer route. With the first two films I felt they at least committed to all of their ambitious ideas, never leaving anything behind, while this one only partially follows through with its ideas. A little more narrative streamlining and improvement upon various characters would have definitely made this a better story, even though it does still succeed in delivering popcorn flick entertainment that isn’t entirely mindless.
Of course with any installment of Tron the most anticipated part of it is always going to be the technical aspects, mainly the visual effects, and holy cow does this film deliver beautifully on that front. For years I’ve always considered Tron: Legacy to be one of the most visually perfect films ever made that has held up incredibly (minus one obvious effect) but Tron: Ares has managed to top it thanks to the major advancements in practical and digital effects, making this one of the most aesthetically pleasing and stunning films made in recent years.
Everything from the grid looks and feels more alive than it ever has before and with it we get some of the most incredible action, cinematography and visuals that all look perfect on the big screen, especially in IMAX. Everything from light disc battles to tron cycle chase sequences are all here and accounted for, looking absolutely spectacular, but there are also completely new action sequences and tools put to use, making you feel like you are part of a grand visual feast of the eyes. I was even surprised by the inclusion of older effects and visuals from the 80s being featured in a modern film with the return of the older “Grid”.
Also in tradition with previous Tron films, all these beautiful visuals are paired with an amazing score, composed this time around by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross aka Nine Inch Nails. Daft Punk did phenomenal work with their music in Tron: Legacy and Nine Inch Nails follows this up with their own phenomenal music that absolutely rocks and feels so addictive to listen to as it uplifts everything in the film hugely. Every track in this film is perfect but there’s definitely no denying that the best tracks of the film are Init, New Directive, Echoes, and Nine Inch Nails new single “As Alive as You Need Me to Be.”
Despite my initial refusal to see this film for certain reasons I am glad that I ended up going to see it in theaters because I honestly really liked it, despite the issues it has. It was a unique standalone sequel that proves there is still limitless potential for the Tron series that has yet to be explored, and that there are many more stories to be told. The ending of this film sets up some very interesting threads for the series to follow and continue on, but as of writing this review the film is unfortunately doing poorly at the box office and the future of Tron now remains uncertain. Personally I hope that the Tron series can be able to continue on in some way in the future because it’s a franchise that deserves far more attention by Disney compared to others they have created that they have overdone to death. I’m going to give Tron: Ares a B = 86.
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