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The Tron movies have always been like a representation of the technological advancements that happened in the eras in which they were released. The 1982 film had superimposed 3D characters into the 2D world of the games of that era. By the time Tron: Legacy came out in 2010, the gaming industry had gone through a significant shift, and that change was visible in the film, in terms of production quality. When it comes to the new movie Tron: Ares, the concept is feeling less and less unreal for us, as almost everyone is experiencing the potential of AI on a daily basis. While the other films mainly focused on events unfolding inside the Grid, Ares takes the programs into the real world. Even though the abundance of callback elements and the construction of some of the events in the penultimate moment are on the generic side, I found this Story slightly superior to the Joseph Kosinski-directed Tron: Legacy.
So, 15 years after the events in Tron Legacy, we are shown that Kevin Flynn’s son, Sam Flynn, has left the company for personal reasons, and Encom was run by Eve Kim. In the meantime, the Dillinger family has built their own cybersecurity company under the leadership of Julian Dillinger, the grandson of Ed Dillinger. Now both these companies are in search of a permanence code that would help them build the digital frontier Kevin Flynn has always imagined. What we see here is the technology war between these two companies to get that code.
While the second movie totally disregarded the Dillinger antagonist track and made the Story Flynn versus Clu, Ares is going back to the classic rivalry. Directed by Joachim Rønning, the movie tries to be a fan service with many callbacks to the previous films. The security guard’s cup falling down, the dialogue, “it’s all in the wrist”, the way Eve jumps her bike, and how they sort of placed the Ducati at the end, etc., are some of the Easter Eggs they have placed for the fans of this franchise. There is actually a small portion in the film where you see Ares against the backdrop of the 1982 Grid. While you can understand that all these have been done to make the movie feel like a part of the franchise since there are very few returning cast members in this movie, it does not end up like a forceful callback, and there is purpose to all these inclusions.
They are not trying to do a different iteration of the same Story with a superior tech. This time, the transfer is happening from the Grid to the real world, and unlike the last two times, the Story is not from the POV of a user; it is from the POV of a program that is empathetic. While the AI learning and incorporation of “feeling” sounds interesting as an idea, the fact that Ares shows signs of empathy from the moment we see him, despite having a man-child-like master, felt a bit odd. The conceptual juggling of themes in this screenplay was a sign that this wasn’t a lame attempt to capitalize on the IP. The way Jesse Wigutow places these ideas is impressive. When I saw the transportation sequence and its limitations, it reminded me of Edge of Tomorrow, and I felt the movie could use something of that sort to make things thrilling. However, the screenplay takes a more philosophical approach and goes back to its roots for recall value.
The cinematography of the film is done by David Fincher’s frequent collaborator, Jeff Cronenweth. Tron: Legacy had a significantly superior visual style, and in the case of Ares, the locations are real, and the neon-light-heavy visual style blends nicely with the real world. Joachim Rønning loves the use of soundtracks that are in sync with the tech-heavy moments in this movie. The movie has many elements that are futuristic, ranging from various types of Grids, different vehicles, a bigger and sophisticated Recognizer, etc., and the sound design of all these elements was really good, and it transports you into that space.
Jared Leto, who has co-produced this film, has played the role of the rogue program Ares. He is playing a program, and hence the emotional range is pretty limited. And like I said, the script’s efforts are to make that character empathetic, and Leto, with those expressive eyes of his, manages to strike a fairly neat balance. Greta Lee is the one who has played the part of Eve Kim. In the larger, flashy scale of things, the performance felt like a physically demanding one. Evan Peters as Julian Dillinger is given this self-obsessed, man-child kind of character who gets whacked by his own mother, played by Gillian Anderson. Even though this character is being made, the Grid version of his grandfather, Julian, looked funny rather than intimidating. Jodie Turner-Smith’s Athena sort of gets lost in the crowd. Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn. Hasan Minhaj seems like the next “Indian” guy of Hollywood, and Ajay for everyone in the movie is A-jay.
Tron: Ares is a visually stunning film that is definitely taking the concept forward, and looking at the way things have ended, there is a possibility that they are trying to take the franchise back to the Tron versus Dillinger space. If the final act of the movie had a bit more intensity in the way it constructs the antagonist’s sides and its retaliation, Tron: Ares would have generated more excitement.
Review By: Digitpatrox