Growing up I was never a TRON guy. I knew it had a cult following, but it just didn’t hit with me. Then TRON: Legacy breathed stunningly fresh air into the franchise with eye-popping visuals and one of the single greatest films scores of all time from Daft Punk. The writing was a glaring weakness that prevented blockbuster greatness, but the spectacle was undeniable, proven to be even timeless when rewatching 15 years later in 4K at home. Now enter TRON: Ares, the third installment in the franchise led by the mercurial Jared Leto, who is currently smack in the middle of an era of box office flops and sour public image from his offscreen wack-a-doodle aura. The dude is just a ding dong.
Coming into Ares, my expectations were low given the lack of demand for this sequel and Leto’s involvement (not a fan). Those expectations were almost exactly correct, however: some really nice visuals/set pieces and solid score by Nine Inch Nails, but utterly bogged down by a script and acting that are both simply bad.
I know a film’s writing and acting are bad when my bewilderment and/or disdain manifests itself physically. Throughout Ares, I would frequently find my mouth agape, looking around for validation from my fellow audience members by the absurdity and damn near cringe nature of the storytelling and corresponding performances from the cast of, actually really good actors. Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, Hasan Minhaj were all we given really stupid words to say that they did their best to portray convincingly, but failed.
The visual effects, cinematography, and production design all yielded a thrilling feast for the eyes and were head and shoulders above other effects-heavy blockbusters from this year. Nine Inch Nails also produced a very engaging electornica score that had my toes tapping beneath my seat, per usual. But the there was incompatibility between the digital world aesthetic (pristine, bright, striking) and real world aesthetic (gritty, unremarkable). That contrast may have been by design, but it wasn’t nearly as immersive as Legacy, which primarily featured the digital world. Similarly, while the NIN score was a banger by itself, something that I will surely listen to while working out, the sonic soundscapes often didn’t match the tone of the scene on screen, and just felt like great music that was applied to a movie after the fact.
Thematically, Tron: Ares attempts to address relevant technological, ethical and economic ideas like AI, 3D printing, and corporate capitalism. But it doesn’t really have anything interesting to say about them. No profound insights conveyed or expectations subverted, except of course for the ridiculous notion that a billionaire tech mogul (Greta Lee) would somehow still have a heart of gold and would pursue her endeavors with ethical and moral fervor. Sorry, in 2025 that rings so hollow it’s almost comical.
Tron: Ares sounds and looks great, but it really doesn’t offer anything else of value.
