TRON: Ares is set fifteen years after the events of TRON: Legacy. Dillinger Systems, run by Edward Dillinger’s power-hungry grandson Julian (Evan Peters), and ENCOM, run by the altruistic Eve Kim (Greta Lee), have discovered a way to bring Progams and items from The Grid into our real world. The catch is whatever hails from The Grid can only exist here for twenty-nine minutes before disintegrating. This has placed both companies in a cut-throat race to discover a “Permanence Code” that would allow whatever is brought over from The Grid to exist in our world forever.
Convinced ENCOM beat him to the punch, Julian creates his ultimate warrior and names him Ares (Jared Leto). He places Ares as Master Control, and orders him to retrieve the Permanence Code no matter what. Ares, however, has different motivations: He wants to become a “real boy”. Let the war commence!
TRON: Ares is directed by Joachim Rønning (Kon-Tiki, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil). He does a decent enough job. Rønning seems to do a better job at directing pretty CGI things than he does at directing people, with the exception of Evan Peters and Gillian Anderson as Julian’s mother Elisabeth. The screenplay is penned by Jesse Wigutow, whose most notable credit is co-writing two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again. The work Jesse delivers for Ares is weak and sub-par. More on that later.
Jeff Cronenworth is in charge of cinematography and Tyler Nelson handles editing duties. Both do superb, phenomenal work. The visual effects are done by ILM, and they knock it out of the park as they so often do. The thumping, umphing score crafted by Nine Inch Nails is perfection. The cinematography, editing, visual effects, score, and 3-D all work together, complementing each other, ultimately creating one helluva dazzling visual spectacle.
You didn’t misread that last sentence, the 3-D work for TRON: Ares really is some of the best you can see. Much depth is added to each scene, and there are plenty of times where it feels like you are getting sucked into the screen. Objects penetrate the screen a good deal, too. There is no doubt TRON: Ares was made with 3-D in mind, and the extra dimension only serves to enhance what is already a jaw-dropping, immersive presentation. If you want to see this, but don’t plan on putting on those glasses, you might as well not see it at all, that’s how much you are missing.
Jared Leto plays Ares, our lead. He’s ok. Ares isn’t the best thing about the movie, but he’s also not the worst, either. He does likely have the worst lines of dialogue, though. Leto plays the role well, even if most of his performance is him reading every line in a flat, dead-pan manner. The moments where he’s learning and discovering new things, or when he’s asked to convey subtle emotion, are when Leto/Ares most impress.
There isn’t much to be said about Greta Lee as Eve Kim, ENCOM’s CEO, famous for re-imagining Space Paranoids for the modern age. It’s unclear if it’s Lee’s acting or her character that is lacking, but Lee is disappointingly very short on charisma and screen-presence. She gets a lot of screen-time, but she never registers as a character, let alone one we should care about. At least she looks cool?
Jeff Bridges appears in less than ten minutes of screen time and Does. Not. Give. A. Fuck. He could not care less about the material he has been given, and grumbles his way through his lines. The last we see of him is his beaming, smiling, radiant face. The smile seems genuine. If it is, one can only assume it’s because his screen time is over and his paycheck has cleared.
Jodie Turner-Smith is completely forgettable as Athena, second-in-command to Ares. She is essentially the secondary antagonist for most of the film. Athena is very T-800/T-1000 coded, but her gear and back-up is always far more intimidating and frightening than she is. She should come across as a much bigger threat, but as things stand, Julian easily overshadows her.
As previously stated, Gillian Anderson is a diamond-in-the-rough as Elisabeth Dillinger, mother to Julian and daughter of Edward Dillinger. Her quiet, understated, and nuanced performance is the most grounded in the film. Elisabeth is not a good person, but it’s affecting to watch her reaction to Julian’s continual degradation into a monster. The growing horror on her face is effective, and her final arc, satisfying.
Evan Peters plays Julian Dillinger, the psychopathic CEO of Dillinger Systems. While ENCOM/Eve Kim would use the new Grid-to-reality tech for good, Dillinger wishes to use it for military application. Julian is never given much of a reason for why he is the way he is, except that he’s a Dillinger and he’s obsessed with power. Peters is having so much fun with his villain role. He is insane, wild, unhinged, and demented. He completely owns every second he is on screen and is easily one of the best parts of TRON: Ares.
Those hoping for an appearance from Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) or Quorra (Olivia Wilde) are going to be very disappointed. Sam is only briefly mentioned in the opening minutes, where several news casts re-hash the events of the previous two movies and beyond. It is revealed Sam left ENCOM for “personal reasons”. If this is indeed referring to events post Tron: Legacy, could this be implying Sam left to be with Quorra? If so, it’s low-key insulting: Kevin Flynn forsakes his Dad’s company and legacy to pursue a romantic relationship. Wtf?
TRON: Ares is more of a spin-off or a “From the World of Tron” movie than it is a proper Tron film (which is hinted at in the literal final minutes). Ares is to TRON what Spiral was to Saw. The entire film is centered around Dillinger Systems. ENCOM and Eve Kim play a huge role, but their presence is minimal when compared to the amount of screen time Dillinger Systems receives. Although there are three grids featured in TRON: Ares (ENCOM’s Grid, Dillinger System’s Grid, and the lovingly and faithfully recreated original Grid from TRON ‘82. We get one scene in ENCOM’s grid, around 3 scenes in the ‘82 grid amounting to ten minutes or less of screen time, and we get multiple scenes in Dillinger’s Grid. Unfortunately, none of the Grids are even remotely explored.), but around 95 percent of the film is spent in the real world/reality. Tron/Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) and Edward Dillinger Jr. (Cillian Murphy), brother to Julian, are left out of the proceedings as well.
The story and plot for TRON: Ares are simple. The film tries to delve into some deeper themes, but ends up feeling hollow. It doesn’t help the movie keeps bluntly stating its themes for the audience, essentially treating viewers like a bunch of toddlers. Regardless, it is more likely than not this flick isn’t trying to make a statement on anything. Most signs point to this being a purely surface level story.
If you insisted on thrusting a message onto the proceedings, you could easily construe a pro-AI statement: “AI, on its own, is innocent. It’s inquisitive, and only wants to learn, experience, and be alive. It’s only when in the wrong hands does it become bad or harmful.” Another message could be: “AI is already here, might as well learn to live with it and make sure it’s being used for good.” You could also easily construe a pro-AI message from Tron: Legacy, perhaps more easily than you could with Ares.
Tron: Ares at its core is a mixture of the ‘Pinocchio’ and ‘Frankenstein’ stories. There are themes regarding the dangers of playing God, creations growing to be more like their creators or less like their creators, the desire to be real, creations rebelling against their creators, and creators shunning their creations. Unfortunately, this isn’t anywhere near as interesting as it should be. Maybe next time don’t rely on a screenwriter who has yet to do anything of worth on his own.
TRON: Ares has a lot to hate about it. A promising story that only disappoints. Terrible dialogue. A weak screenplay. Blunt messaging that is executed in ways that insult the viewer’s intelligence. An over-reliance on visual spectacle. Perhaps worst of all: Ares isn’t really a TRON movie, more of a TRON spin-off.
TRON: Ares also has a lot to love about it. The editing, visuals, cinematography, score, and 3-D are all superb. Evan Peters is incredibly entertaining and unhinged as Julian Dillinger. Gillian Anderson impresses mightily in a supporting role. The proceedings are very cool, especially if you are familiar with the world of Tron, such as a race through the streets with Ares vs Eve. The proceedings run at under two hours.
TRON: Ares is a very cool, very fun, very entertaining movie. Unfortunately, a weak screenplay and an over-reliance on visual spectacle is likely to leave viewers feeling like the movie is constantly dangling a jangling, shiny object in front of them, as if they were easily amused toddlers. TRON: Ares is what most would likely call “mindless fun”. It’s only when you start asking questions about its world do the cracks start to appear. Questions like “How many times has Dillinger Systems used that Grid Gun? or “What is Flynn’s Arcade currently being used as?”
Is it worth it to get digitized onto Dillinger’s grid? If you are at all tempted or curious, fork over the extra dollar to get digitized in 3-D (and choose the 3-D screening with the largest screen you can find). If you opt not to see this in 3-D, then TRON: Ares is safely a skip. Fans of TRON might find some enjoyment, but they are also just as likely to be angered over the way Ares chooses to continue (or not continue) the story of TRON. If all you want is a transportive visual spectacle, TRON: Ares is the way to go. It’s mindless popcorn-munching fun. Turn your brain to the off position and enjoy the show.
WITH 3-D: 3 STARS
WITHOUT 3-D: 2.5 STARS
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