It’s been a decade and a half since audiences have visited the Grid. That all changes Friday, when Tron: Ares hits theaters. The movie stars Jared Leto as a Program named Ares who is sent on a mission into the real world that ends up changing his programming, the fabric of the digital realm and the future of humanity.
It’s a sonic boom of a sci-fi movie; an audio-visual spectacle worth seeing on the biggest screen possible. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that Tron: Ares is pretty much the best Tron movie. With style and story notes reminiscent of The Matrix, Blade Runner and The Terminator, Tron: Ares doesn’t reinvent the wheel one bit. It doesn’t really have to.
The last time we entered Kevin Flynn’s (Jeff Bridges) digital world was in 2010’s Tron: Legacy. That sequel came 28 years after the original Tron movie revolutionized the use of special effects in cinema. However, the neon-splashed return to the Tron universe, while expanding on some key details within the story canon, fell flat with audiences, and the planned sequel never saw the light of day.
What a difference 15 years can make.
Jared Leto and Jeff Bridges star in Tron: Ares.
As Ares, Leto gets the job done. As do Evan Peters and Jeff Bridges, who once again makes a cameo in this sequel as Flynn. Each of them, though, embodies a character that lacks depth. Bridges can get away with that — Flynn is a legend in the Tron canon and, after four decades, I can forgive him showing up in a robe and doing his best elder Jedi schtick.
Ares and Dillinger feel like characters who were specifically designed to move the story forward. Each lacks the real depth that would make a viewer fully latch on or care about what they’re doing. Without Lee and Turner-Smith to play opposite, Leto’s performance would probably fall flat.
All this may be a deal-breaker to other moviegoers, but thanks to the special effects and penetrating soundscape provided by Nine Inch Nails, Tron: Ares never felt like it lost a step with me. Yes, I am speaking as a middle-aged man — which is important to note, as there were many times through my viewing of the film that I felt a nostalgic pang of jealousy for all the kids who will get to enjoy the toys that will most certainly be released as tie-ins to the movie.
Greta Lee stars in Tron: Ares.
If the movie’s end is any signifier, perhaps this is by design. Maybe Tron: Ares is Disney’s attempt to reboot this iconic franchise. Ideas are introduced and the film closes on a two-fold cliffhanger that, if the box office justifies it, may lead to more Tron. Here’s hoping that the next one, if we get a next one, won’t shy away from going deeper.
This is the most enjoyable Tron movie of the bunch, a kinetic extravaganza of light and sound. It satiated my inner child and made me excited about Tron again. It may just be the blockbuster Disney needs right now. It’s what I needed, so I have no complaints.
