Tron: Ares

As a jaw dropping visual spectacle that stretches the borders of an IMAX 3D screen, TRON: ARES is a loud, thrilling success.

A flawless Nine Inch Nails wall-to-wall soundtrack blasts you through your seat, pounding alongside the rumbling of massive ships and best ever lightcycle chases.

But this is no Tron Legacy. Devoid of the bigger, more thoughtful philosophy of Joseph Kosinski's 2010 film (the best of the series by any measure), ARES positions itself as pure popcorn fluff.

If you're hungry for that, ARES delivers a nearly non-stop amusement park ride of action and cool images. There were times in the middle of the film where I almost laughed out loud as action sequence after action sequence thundered across the full height of the IMAX screen.

This time around, Sam Flynn has left Encom in the hands of the visionary Eve Kim (Greta Lee), who is committed to finding a way to turn computer programs into physical beings in our world. The problem is stability, as these physical versions collapse into a pile of ash like bits after about a half an hour. Eve is committed to an ethical application of the technology.

Following in his grandfather's footsteps, Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) is also trying to solve the dilemma of the 29 minute evaporation, but his goals for the technology are all military themed and power infused. There are some nice callbacks to his Grandpa, played by the great David Warner in the original 1982 film.

Dillinger has developed the perfect digital super soldier, called ARES. Every iteration of Ares is played by the perfectly cast Jared Leto.

Leto captures the inquisitive nature of AI and the edge of that technology becoming truly self aware. If Ares decides that he wants to live for a lot more than that short life span, he's got to have reason and emotion, right?

It's an intriguing part of a screenplay that all too often panders to a desire to provide 80's Schwarzenegger one liners and uncomfortable chatter.

Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) is a great add as Julian's mother, keeping a constant eye on her son who inherited none of her morals.

Jodie Turner-Smith, who was SO great in Apple TV's "Bad Monkey" is fantastic here as Athena, a digital soldier whose commitment to her primary mission is unwavering. She's fierce, lethal and a total badass. Turner-Smith deserves a lead role in an action franchise, she's the best part of this film.

For fans of the TRON series like me, this is a fun, pure popcorn installment that's clearly working a bit overtime to set up a Disney franchise. On some levels, it's wildly successful. It seems counter-Disney that they chose for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to be credited under the Nine Inch Nails name rather than their own separate names for the soundtrack unlike with their past film soundtrack collaborations, which has been noted, came as a surprise to both musicians.

It's also the first film in the trio to be rated PG-13 instead of PG, with amped up violence and action.

Seeing the lightcycles in an American city, speeding through the streets is an absolute visual explosion, perfectly executed. This time out, we also have versions that fly and speed just as quickly underwater. The IMAX 3D effects drop you into the action and between those trailing light trails to perfection. Riding the Tron lightcycle ride in Disney World is an adrenaline rush, and the sequence here gets pretty close in 3D.

But, anytime the film slows down, its flaws pop off the screen as well.

Greta Lee is a superb actress. Her performance in 2023's "Past Lives" was powerful, in a film that's the polar opposite of this one. It seems like a waste of talent to have her in a role where she's torn between some family drama and action hero. Lee is fine, it just feels a bit like the casting of Laurence Olivier in the original "Clash of the Titans", a whole lot of talent not given much to do.

Jeff Bridges's appearance is always welcome. He's evolved here into a digital, cosmically attuned version of the Dude. His dialogue with Leto's Ares is funny, hugely enjoyable and unexpected. At this point, Bridges is just playing himself, and in this context, it's sweeeeet man.....

Tron:Legacy earned an appreciative A from me 15 years ago, a perfect blend of nostalgia, thoughtful exploration and visual excitement. TRON: ARES only musters a B- as some of the character dialogue is painful, especially that final scene with Lee and Leto leaning against the police car. Woof.

However, if you're coming in for an abundance of visual thrills and a pounding Nine Inch Nails concert in IMAX sound, you are going to have one hell of a good time. I certainly did for much of the ride.

Stay halfway through the end credits for a fun teaser of what's sure to come......