Tron: Ares

Directed by Joachim Rønning, Tron: Ares details the chaos that ensues after a computer program (Jared Leto’s Ares) attempts to cross over into the real world. It’s an intriguing premise that is, unfortunately, slowly-but-surely squandered by Rønning, which is a shame, ultimately, given that Tron: Ares boasts (and benefits from) a decent opening stretch that effectively establishes the larger-than-life scenario – with the relatively promising atmosphere heightened by Jeff Cronenweth’s slick visuals and Nine Inch Nails’ memorably discordant score. It’s disappointing to note, then, that Tron: Ares segues into a fairly meandering midsection that contains few elements and attributes designed to sustain one’s attention and interest – with the inclusion of a few woefully broad (and excessively frenetic) action sequences heightening the arms-length feel. And although the picture does feature a fun digression involving the original picture’s computer-animated landscape, complete with a cameo appearance by that film’s star, Jeff Bridges, Tron: Ares builds towards a seriously anti-climactic (and somewhat endless) third act that ensures the whole thing peters out to a distressing degree – with the end result a lackluster sequel that’s closer in line to 1982’s underwhelming Tron than 2010’s comparatively masterful Tron: Legacy.

** out of ****