REVIEW: TRON: ARES

Hello and Welcome to the All ‘80s Movies Reviews. Movie reviews where we discuss sequels and reboots generated from one of the freshest decades for movies… the 1980’s.

QUOTE: “My world is coming to destroy yours. You're running out of time. But I can help.” – Ares (Jared Leto)

That’s right readers, I am discussing with spoilers aplenty the sequel ‘Tron: Ares’ It was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Sean Bailey Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The movie stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters and Jodie Turner-Smith. This movie was written by Jesse Wigutow and directed by Joachim Rønning. It is rated PG-13 with a running time of 1 hour and 59 minutes. It is based on the characters created by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird.

“What’s on the box?”
So, what is this movie about? If you grew up in the 1980’s and had went to your local video store to rent this movie, you would probably find this description on the back of the VHS box.

“Tron: Ares” follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.

Initial Thoughts:
When I first heard a sequel to ‘Tron: Legacy’ was in the works, I was genuinely excited. While the story in Legacy was decent at best, the visuals and Daft Punk’s soundtrack were phenomenal. But after watching the first trailer for ‘Tron: Ares’ and learning that the story was headed in a very different direction, I started to have my doubts. My excitement gave way to pessimism, and I had to adjusted my expectations.
The film introduces a new cast of characters, each with ties to the previous Tron movies. Once again, the story is relatively simple, but it’s elevated by striking visuals and a powerful soundtrack which is composed by Nine Inch Nails.
Here's the story: It’s been 15 years since Sam Flynn ventured into the Grid to rescue his father. In the present day, ENCOM and its rival, Dillinger Systems, now led by Julian Dillinger, the ambitious grandson of former ENCOM executive Ed Dillinger, are locked in a high-stakes race. Their goal: to bring digital constructs into the real world. The key lies in discovering the elusive “permanence code,” a breakthrough that would shatter the current 29-minute limit keeping these constructs from fully crossing over.
Jared Leto stars as Ares, a security program created by Julian Dillinger. Ares’ directive is to track down ENCOM CEO Eve Kim, who may have uncovered a lead on the elusive “permanence code” which is hidden within Kevin Flynn’s old files.
While the film doesn't break any new ground in the overall Tron universe, it more than makes up for it with visually stunning representations of the Grids. The design is sleek, immersive, and often breathtaking. Longtime fans will also appreciate the numerous callbacks to the original film, which help ties this new story into the franchise’s legacy.
Jared Leto is solid in Tron: Ares. He brings a calm, focused energy to the character that fits the tone of the movie. It’s not showy, but it’s effective. He gives Ares just enough depth to keep you invested. He does a good job grounding the story, especially with everything wild going on visually. It’s a performance that I was surprised by.
Greta Lee brings a strong presence to the role of Eve Kim. She really sells the intensity of the situation. However, the character often feels a bit overwhelmed by the stakes, and that emotional intensity doesn’t leave much room for nuance. It’s not so much a knock on Lee’s performance as I think she does a solid job with what she’s given, but the writing keeps her character in a constant state of urgency. A few quieter or more grounded moments could’ve added depth and made her arc more impactful. Still, Lee made the most of what she was given and I look forward to seeing her in future roles.

Favorite Scenes or Moments:
-ENCOM CEO Eve Kim is brought into the grid of Dillinger Systems and must escape as she is marked for death by Julian. The visuals in the scene are amazing.
-It was great to see Jeff Bridges appear as Kevin Flynn. Even though his role is brief, it was effective and fun.

Swiss Cheese & Complaint Department:
A set of Light Cycles are driving through the streets of the city but strangely, pedestrians and drivers barely react. Even more noticeable is the absence of law enforcement. Aside from a single police car that gets dramatically sliced in half early in the scene.

“Hey, it’s that actor!” Here we spotlight a character actor you have seen in many other films, an actor making their big screen debut or an actor that makes an uncredited cameo.
 
Actor Cameron Monaghan who played Caius was born on August 16, 1993, in Santa Monica, California. Monaghan was an only child and not long after his birth, was moved to Boca Raton, Florida. From an early age, it was clear he had a big personality, so much so that his mother began sending his photos to modeling agencies when he was just three years old. By five, he had landed his first catalog cover, and by seven, he was already appearing in regional commercials.
Monaghan is best known for his breakout role as Ian Gallagher on the long-running Showtime comedy-drama “Shameless.” He also gained acclaim for his chilling dual performance as twins Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska which were early incarnations of the Joker on the DC Comics-inspired series “Gotham.” Beyond television, Monaghan stepped into the Star Wars universe as Cal Kestis, the lead character in the action-adventure video games Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Some notable movie roles include ‘Click’ (2006), ‘The Giver’ (2014) and ‘Amityville: The Awakening’ (2017). 

Facts and Trivia:
Here are some callbacks to the original movie:
- Dumont Recycling is a reference to the tower guardian from the grid in the original movie.
- During the light cycle chase through the city, a bus has the location "Mead-Moebius" on its display, after the two artists who helped design the look of TRON's original Grid, Syd Mead and Moebius.
- Oranges and the orange tree are used for testing the ability to synthesize objects from the digital world. In Tron (1982) the very first item digitized was an orange.
In 2020, shortly after completing work on the film ‘Soul,’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were approached by Tom MacDougall, president of Walt Disney Music, to work on ‘Tron: Ares.’ The use of the band's name was at Disney's request; the last score released under the Nine Inch Nails moniker was the 1996 videogame Quake.
For the first time in the franchise, real, drivable Light Cycles were built for live-action filming. Unlike in ‘Tron’ and ‘Tron: Legacy,’ where the bikes existed only as CGI creations, ‘Tron: Ares’ features practical Light Cycle rigs which were constructed on Harley-Davidson chassis.

Reviews:
Rotten Tomatoes currently gives it a Tomatometer score of 55% with a Popcornmeter Score of 87%. Its IMDB Rating currently stands at 6.7.

Additional Thoughts and Questions:
As a huge Nine Inch Nails fan, I really appreciated what they brought to the ‘Tron: Ares’ soundtrack. The score has that signature industrial edge. But even I’ll admit, it’s a tough act to follow Daft Punk’s iconic work on ‘Tron: Legacy.’ Not that Nine Inch Nails was necessarily trying to top it, but that comparison is inevitable. They took the music in a different direction, and while it might not hit the same emotional highs, it still complements the movie well.
Will this be the final movie? Is there an audience for this franchise or will we be waiting another 15 for the next installment?

Rating:   
On a scale of one to five Identity Discs, what do I give ‘Tron: Ares?’
3.5 Identity Discs

If you're a fan of the original ‘Tron’ or ‘Tron: Legacy,’ this film is worth checking out. Visually, it's stunning, staying true to the franchise’s sleek, digital aesthetic. The soundtrack, crafted by Nine Inch Nails perfectly complements the world on screen. The story keeps things simple, much like its predecessors, but it’s consistently entertaining and stays true to the spirit of the series.

I think that about wraps it up for this review. Thank you so much for reading. You can listen to our discussion of ‘Tron’ (1982) from Season 3 right here: https://www.all80smoviespodcast.com/tron-1982/ Please take the time to follow our podcast on your preferred streaming platform, give us a review, and rate us.

Have an excellent rest of your day!

CAST:
Jared Leto as Ares
Greta Lee as Eve Kim
Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger
Jodie Turner-Smith as Athena
Hasan Minhaj as Ajay Singh
Arturo Castro as Seth Flores
Gillian Anderson as Elisabeth Dillinger
Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn