The long follow-up to Tron: Legacy (which in itself was a long follow-up to Tron) is finally here as Tron: Ares light cycles its way into theaters. The consensus of the early reactions praises the look of the film, but not so much the story. Even our own Editor-in-Chief, Chris Bumbray, had lukewarm feelings about it, saying in his review, “As with Tron: Legacy, Ares is a mixed bag, but once the action kicks in and the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack goes into overdrive, I found myself having a great time. While a truly great Tron movie has yet to be made (I love the original, but I wouldn’t call it great), Tron: Ares is still an entertaining return to The Grid.”
Meanwhile, the techno-action-thriller from Disney sports a 55% aggregate rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 141 critic reviews and an audience score of 86%. But while everyone is giving their impressions, what did YOU think of the movie? Were you a Tron franchise fan prior to this movie? Do you think it holds up with the previous films? Did you think it was better than the previous films? Let us know in the comments!
The film was directed by Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales director Joachim Rønning and stars Jared Leto (Morbius), Cameron Monaghan (Gotham), Evan Peters (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story), Greta Lee (Past Lives), Sarah Desjardins (Yellowjackets), Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), Hasan Minhaj (No Hard Feelings), Arturo Castro (Road House), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), and returning TRON star Jeff Bridges. Sean Bailey, Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, Jared Leto, Emma Ludbrook, and Steven Lisberger are the producers, with Russell Allen serving as executive producer.
Scripted by Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne, TRON: Ares tells the story of a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. Leto is playing Ares. As Deadline put it, Ares is “a fictional character who crosses over from the world of videogames to planet Earth.”
Additionally, Nine Inch Nails’ anticipated return on the Tron: Ares soundtrack is now available, as you can purchase the album on their official online store HERE. Revolver reports that the new soundtrack is a return after a five-year hiatus, with their last albums being 2020’s Ghost V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts projects — both were released as free downloads that March. The Tron franchise has indulged in synth music, with 2010’s Tron: Legacy famously having techno artists Daft Punk compose the score. Nine Inch Nails provides a similar synth-rock approach with the signature vocals of Reznor.
