TRON: Ares Cinema Review

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With a history of over a hundred years, Disney has a rich tapestry of thousands of films, boundless characters, and some of the world's most valuable franchises to pull from. So it's somewhat curious that the studio keeps gravitating towards one of their strangest franchises, which disappointed in 1982 before becoming a cult classic, and performed much the same in 2010 for its sequel TRON: Legacy (despite a $400m worldwide box office).

In the opening weeks of TRON: Ares, it appears that history is repeating once more, with a soft box office that won't recoup its production budget, let alone turn a profit, but with qualities that suggest a long shelf life. So, where did it go wrong, and does that mean it's a bad film? Well, that's a complex question.

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Fifteen years after the events of TRON: Legacy, a high-stakes rivalry has erupted between tech conglomerates ENCOM and Dillinger Systems, as they race to unlock "permanence" for digital programs, allowing them to cross into and persist in the real world. When ENCOM CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) and her team uncover the code previously hidden by programmer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), Dillinger's CEO Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) deploys digital super-soldier Ares (Jared Leto) to steal it. But when Dillinger's reckless assault unleashes the technical superiority of the Grid, Ares and Eve need to team up to protect our world.

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Originally conceived as a direct sequel to TRON: Legacy a few years after its release, the studio decided to shelve plans in favour of exploiting the Marvel and Star Wars franchises, which successfully raised billions in revenue for the studio to fuel its expansion for the streaming age. But with sustained interest in the TRON ride at Shanghai Disneyland and Walt Disney World, plus solid re-watch figures on the Disney+ service, the studio eventually greenlit an amended 'soft reboot'.

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With an edgier, more contemporary take that merged the virtual and real worlds, industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails provided the score, and Jared Leto pulled dual roles as actor and executive producer. Disney no doubt hoped that the third time would be the charm. Unfortunately, rather than making a fresh start, the seeds of the film's commercial failure were likely set early on.

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Despite the welcomed return of Jeff Bridges as hacker-programmer Kevin Flynn, many fans soured against changing the focus from the previous cast to a new lead centered on the divisive actor Jared Leto. Putting aside some, shall we say, reputational concerns, Leto is a fine enough actor and does a decent job here; however, you're always reminded of the fact you're watching Jared Leto. The otherwise unencumbered Jodie Turner-Smith and Evan Peters perform solidly as the Dillinger Grid's soldier and puppet-master, respectively. At the same time, Greta Lee does the best she can with a somewhat undercooked role of protagonist Eve Kim.

Following up Daft Punk's superb score from Legacy was always going to be a huge task, and despite my initial antipathy, I have to say it's really grown on me. Whilst it doesn't feature anywhere near the same depth or variety - much of the score is centred on variations of the band's headline single 'As Alive As You Need Me To Be' - it's propulsive, edgy and superb accompaniment to the on-screen visuals. I do wonder if the Academy will ignore their score come Oscars season, as they controversially did with Daft Punk.

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The real star here is, of course, the wonderful effects which mark a decidedly different sensibility from industry stalwarts Industrial Light and Magic. They're eye-meltingly beautiful, wonderfully composed and executed, and really show off how far CG technology has advanced even just in the last 15 years.

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Disney franchise Director Joachim R?nning ably steps behind the camera, taking over from Joseph Kosinski, bringing some new sensibilities, but retaining much of the glossy visual cues established in the two predecessor films. Ultimately, while the film doesn't reach the same dizzying heights as either of those, it punches well above expectations to serve as an admirable - no, a worthy follow-up.

Despite a clearly signalled setup for a fourth film, the future for the TRON franchise remains very unclear. What is obvious is that it's not a blockbuster franchise and never will be. Thus, if it is going to continue, it requires a budget scaled appropriately. However, these aren't cheap to make, and so this all remains an open question for the studio to grapple with. But I do hope they find a way because I really enjoy this world, and there's still so much to explore.

End of line. At least, for now.