Tron: Ares

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jared Leto stars as Ares in Tron: Ares

When it comes to box office returns, Tron: Ares, the third installment in the Disney Tron series, is the theatrical equivalent of the dreaded "blue screen of death." (For the benefit of Gen Z and Alpha, this is a dated reference to the catastrophic failure of Microsoft's Windows operating system.)

The film's budget estimates range wildly from $172 million to $327 million. Its worldwide box office, as of this review, is a measly $105 million. No matter how you calculate the numbers, Disney stands to lose a lot of money.

But box office receipts rarely drive my decision to see a film, and they certainly never dictate where I see it. When a movie is released, the questions I want answered are: (1) Will I enjoy it? and (2) Is it worth the cost and hassle of seeing it on the big screen?

For Tron: Ares, the answer to both is a definitive yes.

Over 40 years ago, the studio released the original Tron, starring Jeff Bridges as hacker and creator of the Grid, Kevin Flynn. (Bridges returns in both later sequels.) Flynn is pulled into the digital world to stop his business partner, personified as Sark, from stealing his code. Released in 1982, the film pushed the art of visual effects. While considered a box office failure at the time, it garnered a cult following, largely due to the success of its accompanying console and arcade games.

Tron: Legacy, a box office success, continued the storyline with Flynn’s son, Sam, entering the digital world to find and save his father. Sam teams up with Quorra (played by Olivia Wilde), an entity who spontaneously evolved within the Grid and eventually escapes into the real world in corporeal form, temporarily.

Tron: Ares expands on the digital becoming corporeal by introducing the Grid’s Holy Grail: the Permanence Code. Encom (headed by Greta Lee’s Eve Kim) and Dillinger Systems (headed by mother-and-son executives Gillian Anderson and Evan Peters’ Elisabeth and Julian Dillinger, respectively) are in an arms race to find the Permanence Code.

Jared Leto stars as Ares, the new MCP (Master Control Program) and ultimate expendable warrior until he develops self-awareness and empathy. Jodie Turner-Smith’s Athena replaces the too-sensitive Ares as MCP.

But the plot (more developed than the characters, and truly "Holy") isn't the point. This is a cinematic visual feast, beautifully rendered and directed by Joachim Rønning.

At only 119 minutes, no pixel was left unrendered in fantastic digital detail, and the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack made every second zoom by like a Light Cycle.

When Matt and I put on the 3D glasses to watch the latest Avatar trailer (the source code for 3D), we commented on how difficult it was to follow the action scenes, leading us to worry that the same issue would plague Tron: Ares. There was no need for the worry: the 3D effects were flawless, brilliant, and never distracted from our enjoyment of the movie.

It was a great ride, and it's only in theaters that I’d give it the deserved four out of five stars. I suspect if I had seen it at home, it would have only managed three.

Four out of five stars. I’d suggest you see Tron: Ares, but see it in the theatres and see it in 3D.