TRON: Ares - Third Times The Boring Same

It may feature an excellent Nine Inch Nails score, but TRON: Ares struggles in the same ways as its predecessors, and here's why it ends up being a forgettable borefest.

Theatrical release poster for TRON: Ares. Photo: Walt Disney Pictures

To be blunt, TRON has seemingly never worked in the medium of film, which is incredibly disappointing. TRON itself has an intriguing premise and setting, taking place within a series of digital virtual realities where computer programs exist as sentient entities. Yet, across the now three films, the execution has been very lacking. The original TRON from 1982 is visually innovative for its time and features a distinctive yet unusual score, but ultimately proves to be a dull and meandering experience. TRON: Legacy from 2010 may have some impressive visuals and quite possibly one of the greatest musical scores ever put to film, courtesy of Daft Punk, but it also suffers the same fate of being largely uninteresting and painfully boring. Even the one piece of media that managed to explore the world of the digital 'Grid' successfully, the animated series TRON: Uprising, was cancelled after only one season.

Enter TRON: Ares. A film that feels generic in every sense of the word, down to the bland exposition dialogue, to characters telling me the film’s themes every chance they get, and a film that sadly makes capable actors seem bored and lifeless. A film that once again features some nifty visuals and a fun musical score, but is ultimately weighed down, much like its predecessors, by how boring an experience it is. A film that dares to ask the question that no one wants to say yes to, "Do you really want to see a big blockbuster film led by Jared Leto in the year 2025?".

For the first time in the series, TRON: Ares is predominantly set more in the real world, specifically in the city of Vancouver, than in the virtual wonders of its digital 'Grid'. A move that, while leading to small, flashy moments of chaos in the climax, courtesy of digital world machinery being transported to the real world, largely overlooks the whole sense of wonder that this series has had in the past. It's inherently more interesting to see digital world shenanigans take place in said digital world, rather than in the real world. Unsurprisingly, the film's best setpieces take place in the Grid, namely a 'water' chase sequence and a sequence where Ares visits the original Grid from the 1982 original. The latter sequence is honestly quite charming, due in part to the dated (complimentary) effects ripped straight from the first film that still possess their own unique charm. It would have been more enjoyable had it not been mainly centred around its titular character and the actor playing him.

Disregarding the accusations of sexual misconduct that he currently faces, Jared Leto is a polarising actor. His tendency for method acting in his various roles across the years is either commendable or irritating, and his choice of films in recent years, ranging from his 'deranged' take on Joker in Suicide Squad to his awful attempt at an Italian accent in House of Gucci to being the 'star' of the 'classic' film Morbius, do not paint a pretty picture for the one-time Oscar winner. His Ares is flat out dull as a character, and Leto's performance and little quirks do not help him in the slightest. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he speaks about his love for Depeche Mode, but all it really does is serve as a pale imitation of that iconic scene in American Psycho where Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman talks about his love for Huey Lewis and the News, before murdering Jared Leto's character with an axe.

None of the other characters fare any better. The likes of Gillian Anderson, Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith have to make do with playing lifeless characters despite the trio's acting abilities deserving a far greater script than this film had, and Jeff Bridges only serves little more than a leaden legacy cameo. Evan Peters' cartoonishly evil CEO probably fares best with how much Peters seems to be enjoying himself, but his chewing the scenery act is basically just a Poundland version of Michael Sheen's character from TRON: Legacy, where his Frank-N-Furter meets David Bowie character was less chewing the scenery, and more devouring it.

The one main saving grace of TRON: Ares is its score, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross under the Nine Inch Nails name. For whatever reason, it is clearly decided before production even starts on these films that the score/soundtrack must be the best part about each TRON film. Pioneer electronic musician Wendy Carlos's work on the original TRON results in a quirky score fitting for such a strange world. As previously mentioned, Daft Punk's work on TRON: Legacy is so incredible and so far apart from the film it's used in quality-wise that it's fascinating. Nine Inch Nails' work on TRON: Ares is no exception. It's gritty, unpleasant and such a far cry from the orchestral work done by Daft Punk on TRON: Legacy that it works wonders for the film. It is no surprise that the one universal constant for TRON: Ares in reviews is that NiN's work is generally considered to be the film's standout aspect, and for good reason; it's delightful to listen to.

Unfortunately, no amount of Nine Inch Nails wizardry and neat visuals can save TRON: Ares from suffering the same critical fate as its predecessors: disappointing boredom. It is largely forgettable futuristic fluff, and unless it gains a cult following after its release like TRON and TRON: Legacy did, it will likely remain forgettable futuristic fluff.