“Give me something to believe in.” It’s an oft-repeated refrain in Trent Reznor’s score for ”‹ Tron: Ares , but little onscreen inspires that confidence. Ares is the third film in the Tron franchise, and like ”‹ Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker , the story has deviated a bit from the original material. Gone are the characters and beats from Tron: Legacy . And with them, most audience interest. There’s no human connection present. Tron: Ares is a visual spectacle—something Disney is always capable of—but the film is destined to be quickly forgotten.”‹ ”‹We live in a time where people are more distrustful of artificial intelligence than ever”‹, yet Tron: Ares says remarkably little about the issue, even as programs from The Grid take over our world.
Further diminishing hope is the lead, Jared Leto . ”‹Leto plays Ares, an AI program designed to wage endless wars. Live. Die. Repeat. Unfortunately, Leto has all the charisma and verve of an automated response system.”‹ The only real personality trait he’s given is a love of Depeche Mode. All of that could be overlooked with a strong script and dynamic world-building, but the script by Jesse Wigutow is set mainly in the real world. Making similar mistakes to Jurassic World: Dominion , Wigutow shifts the focus from a worldwide existential threat to a single city and corporate espionage. The resulting stakes feel smaller than what we see on the daily news.”‹
Tron: Ares retcons away Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and Quorra (Olivia Wilde) with a prologue explaining the last 15 years. Now the attention turns to Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), CEO of the company named after his grandfather, rival to Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), the creator of TRON. Peters is suitably smarmy as a tech billionaire with little grip on reality. His crowning achievement is taking programs like perma-soldier Ares (Leto) and 3D printing them into the real world. Flying tanks, lightjets, and other digital war machines soon follow. It’s obvious just how rapidly this can and will go wrong, but all Dillinger can see is profit margins. The biggest cheer the film gets is when he’s slapped by his mother, played by Gillian Anderson.
Humanity’s saving grace is that the digital entities only survive for less than an hour. Unfortunately, Encom’s new CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) discovers a code to make their presence in our realm permanent. Even more unfortunately, Eve keeps the code on her person in the form of a flimsy flash drive. Dillinger sics Ares on her to make his never-ending war machine a reality. Ares, like every independent creation before him, has other ideas. Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith) is Ares’ lieutenant, a warrior who obeys all commands.
If you’re hoping to hear more about Jeff Bridges’ Flynn, don’t get your hopes up. Despite being the connective tissue of all previous films, his presence here is a glorified cameo. Nothing more. Watching Leto’s Ares and Bridges’ Flynn strange interaction is a reminder that a different choice of lead could’ve delivered something far more interesting. Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith”‹ provide supporting depth, but aren’t asked to do much besides stare up at danger in the sky. Leto’s performance choices are decidedly off-putting, and given his recent string of bombs, a very odd choice to lead a Disney film.
Director Joachim Rønning knows the nostalgic thrill of watching lightcycles”‹ tear through city streets is fun. So he delivers a fast-paced adventure, moving from one chase to another so fast that you don’t question why any of its happening. The result is plenty of visual appeal. Jeff Cronenweth’s lensing is a delight to watch paired with returning production designer Darren Gilford ( Tron: Legacy ). The flying craft from The Grid also adds a new element to a film lacking in ideas. I didn’t see this in IMAX, but it may be worth the upgrade.
Disney keeps reviving Tron every few decades. Legacy didn’t earn enough money to be a success, so they’ve retooled it again. Remembering that Daft Punk’s contributions in the last film made a lasting impression, the studio has recruited Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. As a delivery system for new Nine Inch Nails music, the film is a success. But it’s an odd sequel to a franchise that never quite knows what it wants to be. I can’t help but wonder if Tron: Ares would be more successful as a visual accompaniment to the NIN soundtrack. Maybe we’ll see it at The Sphere in a few years. Right after Disney tries to reboot this again.
