On October 11th, the next chapter of the Tron franchise was officially released after being absent for 15 years with Tron: Ares. With director Joachim Rønning at the helm, he aimed at pivoting the Tron franchise into a new direction by bringing the Tron world into our world, forcing the people to fight back against them. So, did the latest Tron film manage to impress the fans, or has this franchise run out of steam?

Charlie’s Review:

Disclaimer: Some Spoilers Ahead

So what did I think about Tron: Ares? Keep in mind that I haven’t seen any of the other Tron movies so this film is my only experience with the franchise, and overall, it was better than I thought it would be. 

Firstly, let me get to the parts that I liked, one thing I really liked was the visuals. The looks of the Tron world were absolutely stunning with the black and red colors and cool looking vehicles. I know the Tron movies have been praised with their unique visuals across all entries of the franchise, and this film definitely continues that winning streak. 

Another thing that was really good about the film was the music. After the previous film Tron: Legacy featured popular music duo Daft Punk to do the musical score, people wondered if this new film would do the same thing, and it did, featuring another music group called Nine Inch Nails. Their score was very great throughout the movie with fun tech beats to elevate many action sequences. 

Another highlight was the performances as none of them were particularly bad, however there wasn’t a specific performance that stood out to me. Jared Leto was okay playing the main AI that breaks his code to seek a life in the real world. Evan Peters, playing Julian Dillinger, was an entertaining character, a billionaire who had control over the Tron world, acting as their creator. Greta Lee, who discovered a new way to bring things from the Tron world into the new world was okay as well. 

The main problem that this movie has was that the plot itself is simple. It’s a story we have seen before of an AI breaking its code, forcing it to fight back against its creators and live as a human, similar to the likes of Terminator. The plot wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t unique. If this film didn’t have it’s unique visuals and cool music, it would be thought of as mid. Thankfully those aspects elevated the film from being mid to pretty good. Overall it was a cool experience, and I would rate it a straight 7/10.

Max's Review:

Putting aside my lack of Tron-knowledge, the film surpassed my expectations. The movie certainly falls short of all it could be, and the pseudo-cerebral film critic part of my brain knows a lot of it is just dumb fun. But, it also seems to have a solid sense of itself, and doesn't try too hard to be anything it isn’t. Tron: Ares manages to deliver on “more Tron,” but anything more than that and you’re asking too much of the $220 million production.

Starting with the most creatively bankrupt part of the movie, the plot. It's not just that the plot is not unique (an AI designed for war becomes conscious and eventually human), but that it's been done significantly better by other movies. Charlie and I agreed that there were many points when the film felt like a lesser incarnation of the Terminator franchise, or Blade Runner. Instead of making meaningful connections between AI today and in AI in the film, Tron: Ares mostly leeches off the current AI-hypetrain without adding much of anything of substance. 

The movie also makes the mistake of confusing drama with plot. There are plenty of dramatic moments, but without a weighty story or plot to back them, they feel undeserved. For example, in one of the very climactic final scenes, Ares (Jared Leto) obtains the ‘permanence code’ and becomes human. There’s a soaring soundtrack, lasers, everything one would need for a potent and dramatic scene—except the proper buildup. I simply never cared for the characters or their big moments. Some of that was due to the acting, some of that was due to the script, and some of that was just the generally lacking storyline. 

That said, Jared Leto easily gives the best performance in the film. He can unsurprisingly pull off a cold calculating robot well, but there are still many instances where the script just doesn’t do him justice. It's also worth noting, you have a problem if the literal robot gives a stronger performance with more depth than your human characters. Other moments like the death of Dillinger’s mother or Eve’s sister’s death also felt undeserved. The character and relationships just weren’t there. 

Now, onto the positives. The film may only have a skeleton, a plot and characters, and may not be particularly inventive, but it's a good skeleton and it reuses a good plot. The problem of AI is of course timely and exciting. But by far the thing that takes this from an okay movie to a good movie is the visuals and the soundtrack. Tron: Ares keeps with a storied Tron tradition of strong and unique special effects. Unlike some Marvel movies today, Tron: Ares’ use of CGI does not feel excessive, although abundant, it fits perfectly into Tron’s retro-tech future. Combined with Nine Inch Nail’s practically nonstop soundtrack, the action scenes make up the movie’s best moments. Visuals were vibrant, inventive and unique to Tron. They don’t cause the movie to feel plastic or generic. They do the opposite, and give a distinctive look to an otherwise generic movie. The whole premise of AI and the cyberworld coming into our own is used to great effect in creating innovative action sequences. Whereas the story and plot may have been creatively bankrupt, everything about the music and look of the film is inventive and gives it much needed identity. 

All in all, Tron: Ares is a solid movie and is worth a Saturday in the theater. It may fall short of everything it could have been, but it manages to be a good yarn. If for nothing else, go to see its brilliant visuals on the big screen. Despite having a less than unique story, it is cohesive and well-paced, enough to keep you entertained and set up the great chases and fights that follow. I’d give Tron: Ares a 7/10.