Fifteen years since the last “Tron: Legacy” sequel, The Grid gets rebooted by director Joachim Rønning on Oct. 10 with “Tron: Ares.” When the expendable soldier, Ares, played by Jared Leto, gets sent to hunt down the key that can bridge the digital and real worlds, he comes to realize there is more to life than following one’s programming. “Ares” excels at being a cinematic, visual and audible feast, it’s “end of line” when it comes to capturing what made “Tron” and “Tron: Legacy” instant cult classics.
The most impressive feat of “Ares” is how it manages to make the expense of premium viewing formats worth the price of admission. After taxes and Fandango’s online convenience fee’s, my singular ticket for a 3D showing at a Dine-In AMC fit with a Dolby sound system, ran me $32.69 – and I didn’t even get popcorn. Admittedly, this is a high price tag, but it made the movie-going experience the best I’ve had since watching “Oppenheimer” in 35mm IMAX.
When it comes to 3D camera technology, the game has changed. Light cycle trails erupt out of the screen and make you feel a part of the danger. Identity disks go flying every which way to bring viewers closer to The Grid’s unique style of combat than ever before. And the powerful Dolby sound system adds to this immersive atmosphere – my ears are still ringing.
When compared to the more utopian Grid of “Legacy,” the digital world in “Ares” is drenched in a more domineering, fascist aesthetic – and the sound design drives that home with a nine-inch nail. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score booms from the speakers with all the veracity of pit seats at one of their concerts. Seats quake as digital matter is being forged into existence by laser fire and “Forked Reality” electrifies the air of the theater. Recognizers thunder onto the screen, accompanied by “New Directive” as the sound of their jet engines travels around the entire cinema. The high-octane Nine Inch Nails score and formidable sound design all work to immerse the viewer in this new, militaristic Grid and without the visceral nature of a Dolby sound system, this narrative thread of the film is lost.
Another amazing set of inclusions are the well-done moments of fan service. While only one end of line was said in the film and not to a program, there is a treasure trove of easter eggs to the original 1982 film. Familiar sounds such as the start-up theme from the Bally Midway arcade cabinet and Wendy Carlos’s ethereal score from “Tron” are sprinkled throughout “Ares” in subtle ways that reward die-hard users. Even when “Ares” does go into more overt references, they are still a joy to watch while not feeling forced. But even though the kickoff to the series gets a lot of love, the world explored in “Legacy” is almost completely derezzed.
“Ares” introduces the idea of “Permanence,” a piece of code that will allow programs to exist in the real world indefinitely, as opposed to 30 minutes at a time. However, this creates a massive problem for fans of “Legacy” because the stakes of that film revolved around ensuring CLU could not escape the digital realm to wage war on humanity. Likewise, the film ends with the computer-generated ISO, Quorra, played by Olivia Wilde, escaping into the real world. Does this mean the events of “Legacy” don’t matter because CLU’s army would have been derezzed in half an hour? Did Quorra die after experiencing her first sunrise? While these are definitely nitpicks, “Tron” films are so rare that having one essentially be considered moot is a bit of a slap in the face.
Another, and admittedly more egregious, slap in the face is the lack of what audiences came to see – The Grid. “Tron” is a franchise of aesthetics about visualizing clusters of information as they move through the computer. Due to the plot of “Ares” revolving around programs coming to the human world, theater goers hardly spend any time in the virtual space. While there is one fantastic set piece early on in the runtime, the rest of the movie is just people in light-up suits running around Vancouver.
In both previous entries, The Grid is a neon-soaked and rainstorm-ridden desert filled with motorcycles that race on ribbons of lights, seedy nightclubs and disk wars. These aesthetic elements are what have made this franchise a cult classic for the past over 40 years. So, for our first return to The Grid in 15 years to lack these immense visual sensations and instead be replaced by two people in a glowy suit, a few light cycles and one recognizer, “Ares” comes off as underwhelming in that regard.
Even though “Tron: Ares” might not live up to the previous films, outside of some well-executed and smart references, it is an immaculate visual and auditory theatrical experience that hardly reads end of line for this beloved franchise.
4/5
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Feature Image via ©Disney