TRON: Ares Improves on the Past, but Fails to Level Up: Review

"The most visually exciting moment of has nothing to do with the present or the future, but instead the past. Without getting too deep into plot spoilers, the third movie in this very strange franchise once again draws the audience back into the world of our computers, and at one point computer program Ares ( Jared Leto) enters a closed system that dates from the time of the original creator - the long-missing Kevin Flynn ( Jeff Bridges). That closed system gets rendered in exactly the style of the original 1982 movie, right down to the light-up grid on the floor and the unreal washed-out facial animation effects."

"Seeing those bright colors and retro details on a massive IMAX screen in pristine 3D is a true treat, a sharp contrast to the otherwise dark and moody color palette developed by director Joachim Rønning. Yes, this retreat to the '80s is also nostalgia bait of the highest order, though it's honestly an effective reminder of the legacy of this franchise, and the initial wonder which made the first movie a cultural marvel, before it evolved into cult film status."

"TRON: Ares doesn't seem poised to change the culture in anything resembling a similar way; while it has a lot more life to it than the inert TRON: Legacy, Ares keeps its focus on big spectacle as opposed to big ideas. In fairness, so many of the big existential ideas the movie could explore have been well-covered by the past few decades of entertainment. But it'd still be nice if it tried a little harder."

TRON: Ares features a standout sequence that recreates the original 1982 aesthetic, including light-up grids and washed-out facial animation, highlighting the franchise's visual legacy. The film presents bright, retro colors in IMAX 3D that contrast with the director Joachim Rønning's darker, moodier palette elsewhere. The plot introduces Julian Dillinger's breakthrough that prints digital programs as functionally human entities, raising but not fully answering questions about biological humanity. The movie leans heavily on spectacle and nostalgia rather than probing new existential concepts, offering more entertainment energy than philosophical depth.

Read at Consequence