Music, Acting Are The Only Saving Graces For Disney’s Latest ‘Tron’ Offering

By: Philip Sayblack

​For those who may not have already heard or read, Walt Disney Studios will release the latest entry in its Tron cinema franchise – Tron: Ares – next month.  Released to streaming outlets Fandango At Home, Amazon Prime TV, and Apple TV Dec. 2, it will see the light of day on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD Jan. 6.  This latest entry in the franchise is yet another mixed bag offering from the studio and is worth watching at least once.  In all honesty, the one best aspect of this movie is in fact some very particular acting.  This will be discussed shortly.  On the negative note, there is far more to note, beginning with the all too familiar story.  Additionally, there will be a 3-movie Tron set released alongside Tron: Ares, but if information is to be believed, it will only be available on one platform.  This will be addressed a little later.  Even with all of this in mind, there is still one more positive to note herein, that being the movie’s soundtrack, provided by none other than Nine Inch Nails.  When the soundtrack is considered alongside the noted specific acting, the whole leaves Tron: Ares a less than stellar entry in this franchise, which leaves the door wide open for yet another sequel (and even series) in its finale.  Should either a sequel or new series happen (God forbid), hopefully it will make up for all of the problems posed by this movie.
Tron: Ares, the latest entry in Walt Disney Studios’ decades-long Tron cinematic series, is hardly the best entry in the franchise.  That honor still belongs to the franchise’s original 1982 movie.  In all honesty, this movie is something of a mixed bag, very much like its predecessor, Tron: Legacy (2010).  It suffers from a multitude of problems, but also has at least some positives, the most notable being the acting of star Evan Peters (X-Men: Apocalypse, X–Men: Days of Future Past, X–Men: Dark Phoenix) as Julian Dillinger, the grandson of Ed Dillinger, the villain of the original Tron movie.  Dillinger was played by the late, great David Warner (Titanic, In The Mouth of Madness, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze) in that movie.  To be frank, Peters’ performance as the younger Dillinger is spot on throughout the movie.  Between his acting and his look, the immediate comparison that comes to mind is to fellow actor Jesse Eisenberg’s work as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and in Justice League.  To a similar note, Peters’ work here can also be compared to that of another fellow actor, Cillian Murphy in some of his works.  The way that Peters brings out Dillinger’s absolute almost Ahab-esque obsession with beating Encom and the pained result of his obsession makes it so easy to despise Dillinger.  In all frankness, his work outshines that of most of his cast mates, including one Jared Leto.
On a related note, while she is only a foil to Peters, Gillian Anderson (The X–Files, the Fall, The Last King of Scotland) is just as wonderful as Julian’s mother, Elisabeth Dillinger.  She is that voice of reason opposite her son, who keeps trying to talk sense into him and clear his mind.  Anderson shows that she knows she is in a supporting role here, and she makes the most of it, too, complimenting the work of her young co-star in the scenes in which she appears.  Not to give away too much as per the story, but even as she pays the ultimate price for Julian’s obsession (how it happens will not be revealed here so as to avoid too many spoilers) Anderson handles the moment so tastefully.  The reaction that Peters provides to the moment makes it just as powerful, especially considering what follows in the movie’s final act.  The pair’s work on screen is the high point of this movie that sadly is otherwise forgettable largely due to its script.
The script is the most glaring issue for Tron: Ares.  The script is so problematic because it honestly comes across as being so formulaic. Yes, the script (penned by Steven Lisberger, Bonnie MacBird, and David DiGilio) does center on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and basically does continue what started some 45 years ago with Tron, but at the same time offers little new content.  The whole matter of the AI gaining sentience (in this case one Jared Leto – Morbius, Suicide Squad, Mr. Nobody) has been done to death for decades.  And in this case, that Ares turns face and protects the Eve (Greta Lee – St. Vincent, Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse, Past Lives) is way too easily compared to how the Terminator (basically an AI) went from being killer in the original Terminator (1984) to savior of sorts in its sequel, Terminator 2 (1991).  The only difference between the two characters is that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator turned good guy in the sequel because he was programmed to save John Connor in that movie.  In the case of Ares, he was a computer program that became sentient and realized the error of his way.  Either way, both characters are essentially AI type figures who go from bad guy to good guy, so to that end, the comparison is inescapable.
On another layer, the script feels somewhat preachy because it presents the whole equally familiar matter of whether AI should be used for good or bad.  On the “good guy” side is Eve and her desire to use AI to improve the world.  On the “bad guy” side is Julian and his desire to use AI for militaristic purposes and for his own personal greed.  He obviously ends up losing, as so many figures of his ilk often do in film and television in favor of that more peaceful-minded protagonist.  The preachy nature of this plot element detracts even more from the script’s appeal. 
Add in that so much of the script makes this movie feel like another cash grab by Walt Disney Studios, what with all of its throwbacks to the original Tron movie meant to play up the nostalgia of that movie’s original audiences, and the script becomes even more problematic. 
This is just one more concern for the script.  For those who perhaps might be unaware, allegations have come out since Tron: Ares’ debut back in October that the script presented in this movie was in fact not the original story.  According to the allegations that have come out, the original script involved Kevin Flynn’s son Sam (who was the star of Tron: Legacy) far more.  One can only wonder how different that script may be or have been from this script.  In this script, Sam is quickly written off in the opening credits through a “news report” claiming he had stepped down as head of Encom “for personal reasons.”  It is never mentioned again anywhere in the movie.  Rather all of the attention was focused on Kevin Flynn and the “permanence code” that he allegedly had created decades ago.  It is at the center of this whole thing as both Eve and Julian compete to get the code first.  It is that central conflict point that is sadly overshadowed by no less than four extensive chase scenes that take up so much of the movie’s roughly two-hour run time.  The chase scenes are, honestly, so overpowering, one cannot help but make comparison to Marvel Studios’ 2014 movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier what with all of its own action/chase scenes that make up so much of that movie.  This should come as no surprise considering that Marvel Studios is owned by Disney.
All things considered the issues raised through the script detract greatly from the ability of audiences to immerse themselves in the movie.  Moving on to another concern, now that this movie is set for release next month of 4K, one would think that Disney would release it and both of its predecessors on a full Blu-ray and .or 4K UHD box set.  The studio is not going that route.  Instead, the company has opted to package all three movies in a DVD box set.  If artwork provided to media outlets is to be believed, that 3-movie DVD set will not include any bonus content with the movies.  To that end, if no bonus content is included, audiences will do better to just hold onto their movies and wait for this movie’s 4K presentation to drop in price.
On a related note, those who are less concerned with bonus content still have another issue with which to concern themselves, the movies’ production quality.  How will the movies look when they are upscaled from DVD to 4K?  Yes, this is an aesthetic issue but still one very much of concern.
Speaking of bonus content, the bonus content featured with this movie does little to improve the viewing experience.  From the standard behind-the-scenes featurette to the slightly longer feature on each of the vehicles featured throughout the movie (it’s a surprise none of the vehicles have been marketed as toys to children considering the number of PG-13 movies out there marketed to children over the years), to the lack of any discussion on the story even with all of the nonstop talk about the soundtrack, crafted by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the bonus content just adds nothing to the presentation. 
Speaking of that soundtrack, which is addressed indirectly in each of the bonus features, it is really the only other shining point for this movie.  The soundtrack is so notable because while it is a soundtrack, it is also essentially another full Nine Inch Nails album and it puts Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ talents on full display.  As has been recently noted by Phil’s Picks, the 24-song soundtrack presents arrangements that at points throw back to Nine Inch Nails’ 1999 album, The Fragile.  At other moments, audiences can hear songs that intentionally or not, pay homage to work that Daft Punk did for the Tron: Legacy soundtrack.  At others still, there are arrangements that sound like they were perfect fits for the soundtrack to the original Tron movie.  Those songs, their sequencing, and their production make the soundtrack an item on which all audiences can agree in relation to this movie.  It is a presentation in itself that all audiences will agree is a standout presentation and another powerful work from Nine Inch Nails.  When it and the earlier noted specific acting is considered collectively, that whole makes Tron: Ares a movie that while otherwise forgettable, is still worth watching at least once, just sadly not much more.
Tron: Ares, the third entry in Walt Disney Studios’ decades-long Tron cinema franchise, is a largely disappointing offering from the studio that broke so much ground nearly 50 years ago when it premiered Tron in theaters nationwide.  It suffers so badly for a variety of reasons, beginning with its story.  The lack of any really impacting bonus content with the movie hurts the presentation even more.  Add in that the movie will be part of a trilogy set that will allegedly be released only on DVD and audiences get a presentation that does anything but pay tribute to the legacy of Tron.  To the positive at least there is some acting that helps the movie’s presentation, as does the soundtrack.  Those two items are the movie’s only matters that cannot be argued.  To that end, this movie proves itself, even in its new and upcoming home release, largely a forgettable entry in the Tron franchise.
Tron: Ares is streaming now through Fandango at Home, Amazon Prime TV and Apple TV.  It is scheduled for release on physical media Jan. 6.  More information on this and other titles from Walt Disney Studios is available at:
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