The Mosley Review: Tron: Ares

With all the fun and new possibilities that were presented in Tron: Legacy left on the table, I was patiently waiting for the next adventure in this world. Whether it was in our world or on the vast digital world of the Grid, I was ready. After all that happened since then, I was cautiously optimistic about this new entry and I was right to be. I couldn’t help but sink into a vast amount of disappointment as the film began to roll out its idea of a story. Not only does this film almost completely ignore and decanonize certain characters and events that would've been perfect spring boards, but it felt like it was actively trying to cut itself off completely from the franchises identity. Tron as franchise has always been about futurism and evolution through exploration of the digital frontier and how it possibly could advance our world. This film has those elements, but it just gets jumbled in the mess of a plot that lacked focus in favor of retreading territory that has been done better in the past.

Jared Leto leads the film as the new advanced program, Ares and he was good. Jared delivers the non-human aspect of the character expertly and I did enjoy his rapid evolution as he discovers the definition of "life". Jodie Turner-Smith was menacing and intense as his second in command program, Athena. Her dedication to carrying out directives was kinda scary and I liked the sense of jealousy and contempt for Ares as he would go against orders and act on feeling. Greta Lee was good as the new CEO of Encom, Eve Kim. Her motivation is pretty clear throughout, but there wasn't much time to get to know her through character interaction instead of her digital footprint. Arturo Castro was good as her light hearted and plucky friend, Seth Flores. He was mostly the comic relief, but I did love that he was equally technologically intellegant as Eve. They worked together so well and had a good chemistry. Once Ares meets them, there is a bit of a time limit on how long their together, but it is used fairly well. Although a bit rushed, I liked the friendship that was built between Ares and Eve. Evan Peters delivers a good and somewhat stereotypical performance as the new young CEO of Dillinger Systems, Julian Dillinger. He pretty much is a better version of what Jessie Eisenberg's Lex Luthor was trying to be. He was eccentric, brilliant and blood thirsty. Gillian Anderson was good as his concerned mother of Julian, Elisabeth Dillinger. She does the best with what she has, but the character is honestly just there to be a mild moral compass for Julian. She tries to check his ego, but you know how that story usually goes. Jeff Bridges returns as Kevin Flynn and he was as fun as you'd expect. He was a copy of Kevin's personality that lives in the Grid and he acts as the all wise and still creative cyber guru.

The iconic band Nine Inch Nails take over the scoring duties and they do a wonderful job. Daft Punk set a new bar with their still iconic Tron: Legacy score and NIN reached it, but I have to say that it wasn't as memorable. For instance, I could identify and hum the themes of Legacy more than Ares. Its great with the visuals and feels right at home with the darker tone of the film, but sometimes it over powers the dialogue. Visually, this film was stunning as it gives you an almost dystopian look at the Dillinger version of the Grid. The light cycle chase through our world's streets was the best part of the film. There are alot of problems in the story, but what I hated the most is the lack of connectivity. Yes, there are obvious nods to the past two films, but this film wants to be a reboot or stand on its own so bad that it felt disrespectful. You had platforms to explore with Sam Flynn, Quorra, the ISO's or maybe even explore Cillian Murphy's Edward Dillinger Jr. as a rival for Sam and what remains of the original Grid. All of that was nullified by this unnecessary entry that focuses noise and nostalgia by the end. This film is watchable, but I hate it for what it has done to the franchise. If you want to watch cool visuals for two hours with a great soundtrack, then turn your brain off and enjoy. Otherwise, I highly recommend you watch Tron: The Next Day on youtube and the amazing Tron: Uprising on Disney+ as the true sequels instead of this garbage. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!