‘Tron: Ares’: A Digital Spectacle Powered by Its Neon Effects and Immersive Nine Inch Nails Score

Alci Rengifo

In a movie like “Tron: Ares” the sound, music and lights make the ride. Watch this mega Disney production in 3D on an IMAX screen and it’s an immersive popcorn entertainment. Watch it on a regular screen, or soon enough, a TV or tablet, and the holes in the plot begin to show. The challenge for this franchise, ever since the original and groundbreaking 1982 “Tron,” is how to make something as cold as the interior of a computer have human warmth. This is not a blockbuster without though but take away the blistering Nine Inch Nails score and the impressive CGI work threatens to overtake any human presence on frame.

In a brisk update before the main story kicks in, we learn that the ENCOM Corporation created by Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is now run by Eve Kim (Greta Lee), who saved the company by updating its popular line of games. Meanwhile, there is a rival corporation run by Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), the grandson of CEO Ed Dillinger (David Warner) the villain from the first “Tron.” Dillinger has converted his company into a virtual arms dealer, designing weapons and fighters to offer to the highest bidder. Chief among these creations is Ares (Jared Leto), designed as a neon assassin who can traverse between the Grid and our world and Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith), Ares’ right arm. One glitch Dillinger has not been able to fix is that Ares can only survive in our world for about 59 minutes before falling apart into a pile of pixels. To correct this, Dillinger sends Ares after Eve, who has the Permanence Code, which she hopes to use for good, such as producing food in the Grid that can be transferred safely into our realm. 

Logic has never been the strongest element or even the main point of a “Tron” movie. The original film was notable at the time for pioneering the use of backlit animation combined with fully CGI backgrounds, while also catering to the video game arcade crowds of the decade. In a sense this franchise returns with each new major phase in digital filmmaking. 2010’s “Tron: Legacy,” arguably the most elegant of the series, updated the premise for an era where effects have become even more flawless. You are meant to cast aside funny questions about how flesh and blood individuals are suddenly pulled into the Grid or why we should care about whether it is ruled by despotic warlords (can’t someone in the real world just pull the plug or do some kind of intricate reboot?). As a result, the writing of these films can suffer and be reduced to odd attempts at love stories and family sagas. “Ares” openly borrows from “Frankenstein” with the idea that Dillinger has created a monster he cannot control once Ares somehow becomes independent in thought, desiring to absorb information about the real world. There’s a nice use of a quote from the Mary Shelley novel when Ares recites, “I am fearless, therefore I am powerful.” His spending time with Eve threatens to turn the assassin into a compassionate being. “Ares” thus becomes the “Tron” entry designed for the era where the emergence of AI dominates all our tech conversations. 

If only the acting could outdo the machines. Jared Leto looks fantastic in the lead role, which he proceeds to perform by taking the computer part too seriously. He’s deadpan for nearly the entire thing, only subtly hinting at his change in mood. It doesn’t help that the writing straddles him with cornball jokes, like a car chase where he instantly downloads all information on Depeche Mode when the band comes on the radio. Gillian Anderson delivers the best performance in this film as Dillinger’s domineering mother, who icily commands her spawn, disposes of threats and perfecting their digital super soldier formula. Greta Lee, so good in “Past Lives,” is a convincing thriller lead even if most of the role requires her to look stunned, worried or in shock for most of the movie’s 2 hours. The frenetic pacing makes any room for major character developments mute anyway. 

Where “Ares” does excel is as a cinematic spectacle. This is one of the best theatrical 3D experiences since “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Director Joachim Rønning crafts the film as a nonstop ride that begins the moment the Disney logo appears as a crimson digital grid. In 3D you literally feel sucked into the environment of the film and its slick surfaces, neon glow and dreamlike vistas of the computer world Ares inhabits. The format doesn’t feel gimmicky. Items are not just thrown at the viewer. There is instead the genuine sensation of inhabiting the texture of the movie. Extremely important for the effect is the score by Nine Inch Nails. Trent Reznor’s sonic landscapes are a propulsive experience on their own, continuing a tradition of the “Tron” films bringing in a unique electronic artist for the music. 1982’s “Tron” featured electronic pioneer Wendy Carlos and “Tron: Legacy” had a soundtrack of near legendary dimensions by Daft Punk. For “Ares” NIN’s music is the exhilarating fuel that makes the action scenes feel nearly awe-inspiring, from a riveting motorcycle chase in the real world to an almost hypnotic pursuit across a digital lake in the Grid. If there was any justification for Academy Award nominations for this film, they are certainly in the effects and music categories. 

“Tron: Ares” is without a doubt an entertaining time for viewers wanting a popcorn spectacle that is both modern but attuned to an old-fashioned experience. There is little overexplaining and the premise is simple enough in its message. As technology advances, corporations will manipulate it for profit, even if that means creating more machines of death and destruction. Those who try to do good, like Eve, will become instant targets. It could have expanded more richly on these themes, but that is not the assignment. Even the last few minutes feel more like a motorcycle advertisement starring Jared Leto as he rides off into the distance lit like a fashion model. The rest is all about taking in the digital sights and sounds the way you would at an amusement park ride. It is fine as a textbook example of what is possible now with the best in visual effects and technical craft. After the end credits, you might find yourself more compelled to revisit the soundtrack.

“Tron: Ares” releases Oct. 10 in theaters nationwide.