You have to feel sorry for poor old Tron. In the original 1982 movie, the computer-world warrior was in fact the second player, behind the digitised human hero Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges). When Tron: Legacy finally downloaded 28 years later, he was relegated further to the role of faceless goon (even though Bruce Boxleitner, who originally played him, popped up in a grey-haired cameo).
Now, with Tron: Ares, a sequel that’s arrived at dial-up speed, he’s out entirely, with the focus toggling to the name after the colon: a troublesome super-program in the slick-bearded form of Jared Leto.
Ares ditches Tron: Legacy’s main characters, too, with a new plot that pits evil corporation Dillinger (run by tech-bro-brat Evan Peters and his icy mommy Gillian Anderson) against goodie firm ENCOM (where Greta Lee’s Eve Kim has taken over from Flynn), who just wanna make the world a better place. And also video games.
The improbable tech McGuffin they’re fighting over is a ‘permanence code’ which allows people, vehicles and weapons from neon-drenched virtual realm The Grid to physically manifest for longer than 29 minutes in meatspace via a process that resembles digital printing, except with magic lasers.
Ares is Dillinger’s ruthless digital general in this conflict, which weaves between Tron-world and our own, where light cycles and Space Invader-ish ‘Recognizers’ storm the streets and skies via some expectedly impressive VFX. Though, being an uber-smart AI with impeccable grooming and good music taste (he’s a fan of Depeche Mode), Ares might not be quite so blindly loyal as Dillinger hopes. Who’d have guessed?
Despite grasping for topicality, it doesn’t have anything new to say
Despite grasping for topicality and insight into human nature, Tron: Ares doesn’t have anything new or interesting to say. Its creaky, call-back-packed script just isn’t nourishing material for usually impressive performers like Lee, Anderson, Jeff Bridges (in a rent-a-mentor bit part as Flynn’s ghost in the machine) and Jodie Turner-Smith, who channels The Terminator as Ares’s indomitable lieutenant Athena.
Meanwhile, Leto’s polished cool fails to translate into applaudable, distinctive heroism. Instead, the true heroes of this Tron-free Tron outing are Nine Inch Nails, whose crunchy, pure-synth score and original songs pay tribute to both Wendy Carlos’ original 1982 compositions and Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy tunes. They gloriously uplift the action (capably handled by director Joachim Rønning), demanding this be seen wherever the speakers are biggest – if at all.
In cinemas worldwide Fri Oct 10.