The Tron franchise has always been released at the dawn of a new technological age. The first film came out five years into the lifespan of the first mainstream video game console. Tron: Legacy (2010) was released after the dawn of social media and retro video game nostalgia. The latest installment fifteen years later tries to tackle artificial intelligence. All three films attempt to push the boundaries of film technology; the original with early CG animation, Legacy with digital de-aging, and Ares with your attention span. Yes, unfortunately, the latest installment is lackluster and enough so that one wonders if AI really could have made it better. And to screenwriter Jesse Wigutow’s credit, that might be the point.
Tron: Ares posits the idea that androids really do dream of electric sheep and that it gives them existential anxiety. Luckily for us, they can get just enough fear of death to save us all from their power. The tradition of humanizing AI, with the most egregious example thus far being The Creator (2021), needs to end. It plays into the narrative that AI is just like us and denying that is some sort of discrimination (again The Creator).
The protagonist is the titular Ares (Jared Leto), an AI program designed to be physically reproduced as an army of super-soldiers. Leto ably plays a robot replete with unblinking eyes and Drax-level ability to duck his head under a joke. He is neither bad nor memorable. I would take Morbius over this character. What drives the plot forward is Ares’ increasing ambivalence towards his subservience and expendability as a program directed by conniving tech CEO with mommy issues Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters).
Julian, the grandson of the original film’s antagonist Ed Dillinger (David Warner), represents the way technology can be abused. His company Dillinger is rivals with ENCOM, the former company of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges). It is now run by Eve Kim (Greta Lee) who wants to use tech for the benefit of humanity. Kim is the film’s secondary protagonist and Lee gives one of the worst blockbuster performances of all time. Her line reads are so deadpan and phoned-in that she makes Leto look like more of a human. I don’t know how this happened as Lee was phenomenal in Past Lives (2023). She seems completely incapable of emotion or reaction to any dramatic event.
A clear theme is the capacity for technology to be used for great evil and great good as symbolized by Dillinger and Kim. As alluded to before, though, the solution given here is more about the possibility of AI redeeming itself rather than the possibility of us making the right decisions. The robots have to humanize the humans. There is an argument to be made that the prevalence of AI is forcing us to positively reckon with our distinct human nature. Tron: Ares is unfortunately not that smart.
Despite some scathing comments above, there are things to like. First of all, the previous films, especially the original, are given a good tribute. The nostalgia-baiting could have easily been forced as in Solo: A Star Wars Story or uncomfortable like in Alien: Romulus. One of the film’s highlights is a well-executed, extended callback to the first film. Dedicated Tron fans, who have probably already seen Ares, will find a few things to chew on.
Nine Inch Nails also carries forward the franchise tradition of great scores. While it never reaches the masterful work of Daft Punk in Legacy, duo Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross bring a needed energy to every moment, especially in the action sequences. Reznor & Ross deserve an Academy Award, although this specific score ranks lower on their oeuvre (see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem or Challengers).
Those setpieces where the cast mercifully stays quiet and covered in CGI are fun. A sequence set in the virtual world of the Grid and a light cycle chase in the streets of Vancouver are particularly thrilling. The VFX is expectedly polished. I saw the film in 3D, which added depth to the digital texture.
Tron: Ares is now playing exclusively in theaters.
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Good review. I have never really been into the Tron movies. In fact, I first saw them just recently because of my friend. In light of your statement that films humanizing AI need to end, what do you think about Blade Runner and other similar films?