TRON: ARES -- All Style, No Substance

Review by Adam Donato

Word recently got out that Disney is focused on how to win back Gen Z men. With franchises like Marvel and Star Wars losing value and trust from fans, what other franchises do they have to turn to? The original TRON movie has a solid cult following and these days, TRON: Legacy has been reclaimed. This could be attributed to director Joseph Kosinski’s recent success with Top Gun: Maverick and F1. The man knows how to make a slick looking movie. Another attraction to the franchise is the music as Daft Punk did the soundtrack for TRON: Legacy. These seem to be the pillars of the franchise: cool special effects and a techno soundtrack. Not too long ago, Disney World added a TRON ride to Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom. This always seemed like an odd choice as TRON: Legacy came out over a decade prior and didn’t seem to have a large cultural footprint. Maybe this new reboot, TRON: Ares, will reupload the franchise?

The movie looks amazing. The scale is huge and seeing everything in IMAX was breathtaking. It’s not as cool seeing the TRON characters and vehicles in the real world, but most of the scenes take place at night so the contrast of the dark environments with the vibrant color still pop. Seeing TRON in the daylight could’ve gotten very cheesy very quickly, but this was avoided. Also, the retro version of TRON looks distinct and the attention to detail is interesting. The action set pieces themselves aren’t all that impressive, but they’re executed very well from a technical perspective. It’s a visually pleasing movie to look at as expected. 
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The music is awesome. Nine Inch Nails did the soundtrack for the film and it’s almost sad how far above something like this they are. The actual songs themselves are great, but what’s even more impressive is the score. They manage to make mundane moments in this film feel intense and epic. It’s clear they were invested in the film as both Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are both executive producers for the film as well. The soundtrack is the crowning achievement of the film and honestly could be in the mix for an Oscar nomination. Seeing as the duo didn’t get nominated for Challengers, it’s hard to see the Academy lowering themselves to something like this.

Everything else in the film does not work. The story feels like a bad Terminator 2 sequel. The characters are bland and awkward. The humor in the film is forced, unfunny, and doesn’t fit with the overall tone of the franchise. The themes are spoon fed for children only. This is the definition of a turn your brain off film. As long as you can see the special effects and hear the music, that’s all you need. The special elements of the film make all the mid aspects feel bad, like a wasted opportunity. It’s crazy that so much money and talent can go into a film that ends up just feeling grey. 

Jared Leto is a rusty anchor dragging this film down. It’s clear that he was passionate about the film as he was also a producer for the film. On the outside looking in, it’s crazy that Leto continues to find major mainstream work. The man has a bad reputation within the industry and a toxic reputation to cinephiles. It’s at least interesting when he takes a major swing in a performance and then it doesn’t go well, like in Suicide Squad. That’s not what’s happening here. His performance is so boring, which is detrimental because his character is the crux of the film. The weight of the story relies on the audience finding Ares’ red pill journey compelling and it’s just flatly not.its hard to say the movie would be improved with a different actor in the role, but the movie certainly would’ve had more good will. 

The rest of the performances were less offensive. Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith are the standouts if there are any. Lee is the only emotional pull that the audience has to hold onto and Turner-Smith is a much more imposing villain threat than anyone else in the film. Evan Peters is over the top evil, but without adding any fun to it. His relationship with his mother, played by Gillian Anderson, is supposed to humanize him, but this is ineffective. Jeff Bridges is asleep during his one scene. Nice paycheck. 

One should’ve seen this drop in quality coming from a mile away. Joachim Ronning is a middling director for hire in Disney’s back pocket. Nobody can deny how impressive the effects and soundtrack of the movie are, but everything else here is disposable. The more Disney blockbusters that underperform this year, the more pressure there will be on Avatar: Fire and Ash to knock it out of the park. Maybe it’s time to return TRON to the grid indefinitely. 

TRON: Ares is in theaters on October 10. 

Rating: 2/5