Tron: Ares

A sequel no one asked for to a 15 year old film (which, in itself, followed up one from 28 years before) Tron: Ares is a bit of an odd choice from Disney.

Let me go against the consensus though and declare that, as a weekend cinema experience, it’s well worth your time.

The critical mauling of certain blockbuster films is always baffling.

Whilst some, of course, deserve to be critiqued and it’s important to judge the worth of projects in this ever-saturated landscape, especially those ‘cash grab’ ‘legacy sequels’, this one falling into the trap seems strange.

Bravely pushing past the events of Tron: Legacy with an all new cast, Ares looks beautiful, coasts by with good pace and cohesiveness and, perhaps best of all, sounds absolutely incredible.

Nine Inch Nails equal (and maybe even surpass) the legendary Daft Punk score in Legacy with a thumping, enveloping, leg jiggling soundtrack which is an almost constant companion here.

It does feel a little like Disney don’t trust their modern audiences to have any sort of attention span. Every scene has that thumping backdrop and always has something exciting going on.

We get lots of different chases (light bikes, on foot, an in-grid speedboat thing, flying suits), lots of flashy punch ups, explosions and constant ‘news’ updates all fighting for our attention.

The film doesn’t get a lot of breathing space but that’s actually to its credit.

Spend too long trying to get into the minutiae of the plot and it’ll confuse itself so, wisely, throwing cool lights, incessant action and refences to the original ‘80s film at us was definitely the way to go.

The plot, for what its worth, does feel ‘current’ in its ‘fear of AI and the companies behind it' focus but, mercifully, doesn’t bash us over the head with politics or moral messaging.

Those that are here for that sort of thing have probably picked the wrong film.

It’s hard to know what's not to like here and why the critics have chosen this film as their newest punchbag.

It’s a thoroughly modern and flashy blockbuster (for good and for ill) that will entertain you and feast your eyes and ears for two hours. We should all want a bit of that once in a while.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️