Tron Ares Movie Review: Visually Dazzling but Narratively Glitched
Eve Kim (Greta Lee) serves as the film's ethical center, a scientist grappling with the aftermath of something she created.
Disney's Tron franchise has always been among the most varied intellectual properties the studio has created. Tron (1982) and the visually stunning but emotionally dull sequel Tron: Legacy (2010) were the first two entries in what would be a long franchise, and Tron: Ares, directed by Joachim Rønning, attempts to reinvigorate the franchise for a new generation. While the new film restricts the visual space of all sci-fi films again, balancing spectacle and narrative appears difficult again this time.
Plot: Tron: Ares investigates the delicate delineation between digital and real. Jared Leto stars as Ares, a sentient program that connects the digital and real. Humans and artificial intelligence exist together in the new world, and the film highlights their respective obstacles. Eve Kim (Greta Lee) serves as the film's ethical center, a scientist grappling with the aftermath of something she created. Eve Kim (Greta Lee) is the character in the story that serves as the moral compass, as a scientist suffering the effects of her creation. The film is timely, as it wrestles with the implications of AI consciousness digitally and the moral implications of digital conscientiousness. While it would make for a compelling interest in its own right, the film often opts for a surface level discussion rather than a much deeper exploration into compelling ideas.
Pros: One thing is for sure: Tron: Ares is a high visual spectacle; the neon-based visuals, breeziness of the camera, and tangible digital design conceived each frame as art. Director Joachim Rønning promotes a distinct style of storytelling; sleek, sharp, and atmospheric. The action, choreographed to be seamless, combined with an exhilarating Nine Inch Nails score and improbable sound design made each experience so immersive at times it became a hypnotic experience. Greta Lee gave a grounded performance that offered warmth and humanity to an otherwise mechanical narrative.
Cons: Where Tron: Ares lacks is with the writing. The script feels unthought-of since it is littered with predictable plot points and flattened character arcs. Jared Leto's Ares is an interesting presence, however his character is very under developed - more of a concept than a character. The emotional stakes are almost never felt, and there is a disconnect between the film's family approach to storytelling and dark and ominous visuals.
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Overall: Tron: Ares is visual spectacle that absolutely shines with its eye-candy but fails to touch the heart. It is an all visual and sonic success wrapped around a hollow core — a digital dream that looks fantastic but feels incomplete. Fans of the Tron aesthetic will be impressed, but hard-core drama/viewers interested in narrative depth will find only static.
