‘Tron Ares’: Too much reality, not enough fun

[Rating: Minor Rock Fist Down]

Does anyone really even understand this property anymore? I’m pretty sure Disney does not. I thought I did, but maybe I don’t. Either way, someone needs to sit down and figure out the “rules” of Tron, because I’m pretty sure somewhere inside Tron: Ares is the potential for a mind-bending sci-fi epic sequel — light cycles, disc wars, the whole retro-futurist digital playground set to a rocking synthesized soundtrack — actually I’m pretty sure a fine and dandy sequel was set up at the end of Tron Legacy that would have featured Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and Quorra (Olivia Wilde) being digitally hunted by Cillian Murphy (anyone remember he was in a Tron flick??). But no….

Instead of diving into that world and everything that was set up perfectly, Disney gives us a joyless, confusing slog that spends half its runtime trying to escape from the very thing that makes Tron special.

Also….where is Tron? More on that later.

Unfortunately, we have Jared Leto to thank and to blame. Without him, the movie doesn’t get made, apparently. Why Leto has the power at Disney, or in Hollywood he seems to wield is…confusing to say the least. As the titular Ares, Leto once again proves his uncanny ability to take an interesting premise and suck all the energy out of it. He’s a vacuum of charisma, mumbling through scenes with the emotional range of a dead battery. For a guy who’s built a career on method-acting mythology — sending rats to co-stars, growing cult-leader hair — he can’t seem to locate a single interesting human instinct here. Although I will say, this is the most tolerable I’ve ever found him to be in a movie.

Directed by Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Me Tell No Tales),Tron: Ares wants to be about artificial intelligence crossing into the real world, but it never stops to decide what that actually means. Here we have Jullian Dillinger (Evan Peters), the grandson of Ed Dillinger (the bad guy in the OG 1982 Tron, played by David Warner), now running Dillinger Systems and working to create what he calls the “perfect soldier” a digital bad ass…Ares (Leto), complete with his long hair and beard because Jared Leto is sooooo method he just can’t even get a hair cut and shave for a role. So young Dillinger wants to sell soldiers to the military and he’ll throw in light cycles and recognizers (the Tron-world ships)….the only problem is because they are digital creations, they can’t maintain a physical presence in the real world.

So, why are we even doing this? Instead of exploring the possibilities of a fantastical and creative world like “The Grid”, it drags us into endless boardrooms and dark warehouses in the real world as everyone tries to figure out how to bring these digital soldiers into the real world. The filmmakers apparently forgot that audiences come to Tron to escape reality and watch the games, the light cycles, the identity discs and all that fun stuff — not to watch Jared Leto.

The rest of the cast doesn’t fare any better, though mostly because they’re stranded in a script that has no idea what to do with them. Gillian Anderson, Greta Lee, Arturo Castro, Evan Peters, and Cameron Monaghan (very, very, very briefly) all show up, all try, and all disappear under layers of clunky exposition and CGI glow. There’s zero chemistry between anyone, and every emotional beat feels imported from a corporate memo from Disney suits: “Insert Human Moment Here” — not even an appearance from the Dude himself, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), can save the flick. Although, that is the best part of the movie. Won’t spoil it. It’s pretty cool.

Visually, it’s amazing, taking a cue from Tron: Legacy and leaning more into the blacks and reds. The neon aesthetic still pops, the Daft Punk-inspired score from Nine Inch Nails still slaps — although it still pails in comparison to Daft Punk’s epic score from Legacy. Every now and then there’s a shot that almost captures that 1982 magic or even the 2010 sequel. But without a compelling story or a single character worth caring about, it’s like watching a screensaver.

And honestly, can we talk about the title? Another Tron movie… without Tron. Do the people at Disney—or anyone, for that matter — remember that Tron is an actual character? So weird.

In the end, Tron: Ares is a misfire of light and sound over-designed, underwritten, and led by a star who can’t seem to find the on-switch.

Tagged as: 2025, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, Greta Lee, Jared Leto, jeff bridges, Joachim Rønning, Movie Review, Tron