If you know anything about “Tron: Ares,” it’s probably either that A) Jared Leto is the lead, B) Nine Inch Nails did the soundtrack or C) it absolutely bombed out the gate. Reviews have varied in shockingly drastic degrees: some criticized the movie as an otherwise pointless “Nine Inch Nails extended music video,” others called it exactly in line with the franchise and a third group just thinks Evan Peter’s Julian Dillinger is hot.
I disagree with all of these takes. While I suppose taste in men is a subjective take that I can’t argue with, the other two points I can.
If you have had the opportunity to speak to me at all, I’ve probably brought up my love for “Tron: Legacy,” the second film in the Tron Franchise, at least once, if not around 50 times. I have spent a good amount of time analyzing the world “Legacy” presents and its discussions on religion, technology and family.
So, when I heard a new Tron movie was coming out, I was ecstatic. Well, until Jared Leto showed his face. There are a lot of criticisms to be made about Leto both as an actor (yes, he was the Morbius guy) and as a person (he has several sexual misconduct allegations against him). That alone was enough to justify my concern for the release. However, I was appeased by teases of what appeared to be time spent in multiple different settings established in prior movies, as well as the confirmed appearance of Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn, who was a major character in both “Tron” (commonly referred to as “82,” as that was the year it came out) and “Tron: Legacy.” I was almost optimistic, despite Leto’s casting as the lead.
I watched the movie Saturday Oct. 11, the day after opening, and… I wasn’t exactly ecstatic walking out.
There’s a lot to be appreciated about this film. Nine Inch Nails did a predictably stellar job with the score. I would not personally rate it above Daft Punk’s work in “Legacy,” since I tend not to prefer the industrial side of EDM, but the “Ares” soundtrack is a wonderful blend of industrial and symphonic.
The visuals were stellar as well, on par with “82” and “Legacy.” Tron is, by far, a franchise about pushing the limits of technology in film. “82” was among the first movies to ever use computers to animate. “Legacy” stands out as one of greats of CGI scenery (although, granted, the deepfake technology wasn’t quite there yet). “Ares” managed to make a vibrant visual landscape that did not hold its punches.
I do also appreciate how much love “Ares” shows for “82.” The replica of the old setting first presented in the original Tron is made with distinct passion, and there was a decent attention to detail, including the return of “Bit,” a character from “82” that only spoke in binary.
However, the writing falls flat otherwise. “Legacy” was all but ignored, with the main characters of Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and Quorra (Olivia Wilde) both being strangely erased with a handwavey explanation that goes against everything we know about them both. Admittedly, this would be a nonissue, if not for the fact that “Legacy” details directly tie into the main conflict of this film. As for Tron (Bruce Boxleitner), the Tron who this franchise was named for? Not even mentioned. “Legacy” also fell short in this aspect, but Tron was still there for parts of the film. In “Ares,” he was just gone.
These are not even the major issues with this film. The acting is best defined as rather varied across the board. While Leto’s stereotypical, flat acting tended to do a fine enough job for the character of Ares, Greta Lee’s work as Eve Kim felt a little underdeveloped at times, which led to some rather boring scenes when the two were pitted against each other. Peter’s Dillinger was solid, but often outshined by Gillian Anderson’s phenomenal work as Elisabeth Dillinger. Jodie Turner Smith’s Athena was also rather stellar, but Bridges felt as if he was only putting half his heart into his short appearance.
The pacing was rough at best, with some moments completely taking me out of the story. The end especially was hard to get through, with the main conflict simultaneously feeling rushed and ending much too soon. The script fell into a trap of having too many main characters. Despite the major conflict surrounding the race between Julian Dillinger and Kim to obtain a specific piece of technology that would revolutionize the world, the focus was heavily put on AI Ares and his struggles to “live” in a very Frankenstein-esque fashion, leaving Kim’s arc not especially fleshed out.
I say AI very carefully, because this is something that stands out about “Tron: Ares.” For the prior two films, the emphasis was on the race of anthropomorphized computer programs who behaved both very humanly and distinctly as beings made from lines of code. In comparison, Ares is distinctly marketed and confirmed to be an AI searching for humanity rather than the standard dynamics of programs and humans, lacking the exploration of the similarities between them.
I’ve debated trying to decipher exactly what this movie’s stance on AI is, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it follows the “Tron” standard of accepting the progression of technology as morally neutral and entirely dependent on the people wielding it. Dillinger, the primary antagonist, uses AI and technology to advance his own goals of company growth and militarization. Kim, however focuses on honoring her deceased sister and advancing society. I think this is a bit of an easy position to take, but it’s not an inherently flawed one and not one I see deserving of criticism compared to the other issues that stand out about “Ares.”
I will, however, criticize heavily the implications of Athena. I do not believe that this was a conscious choice, but the fact of the matter is that Athena is a Black, butch woman, and her character spends the entire movie directly under the control of the white, male CEO Dillinger, who, as a result, ends up going on a violent warpath because of his orders. Even before this, she’s often portrayed as rather aggressive and unempathetic. Yes, these are all traits that make sense for the story and nature of her being an AI, but I wish there was more consciousness when casting this role.
Another major criticism I have is that this movie was partially marketed as a sequel to “Legacy,” when it very distinctly is not. It’s a sequel in the way “The Force Awakens” was a sequel to “Return of the Jedi;” same universe, some actors reprising roles, but the events of the prior film do not concretely lead into the events of the newer. While the return of Sam Flynn and Quorra were teased for a fourth movie, with how poorly “Ares” has performed out of the box office, I doubt we will be seeing that future anytime soon.
I think, all in all, this is an alright movie on its own. Viewers unfamiliar with the series will certainly be able to have a fun enough time. As a sequel, though, I find it a rather disappointing continuation of a series I hold dear to my heart. It’s alright, though. I can always just watch “Tron: Legacy” another fifty times.
