“Tron: Ares — A Visually Electric Return to the Grid That Sparks More Than It Glitches"

Director Joachim Ronning continues his successful relationship with Disney as he ventures into the video game world with “Tron: Ares.” Jesse Wigutow and David DiGillo wrote the film’s screenplay.

“Tron: Ares” opens with AI news footage that recaps the first two films and introduces us to Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) and Eve Kim (Greta Lee), rival video game developers who are both trying to crack a code created by Flynn (Jeff Bridges) that will bring AI into the real world.

Julian has the highly sophisticated programs Ares (Jared Leto) and Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith) doing his bidding in the cyber world. While Julian has somewhat cracked the code, the time his AIs can spend in the real world is limited. In classic cinematic fashion, Eve ultimately cracks the code, prompting Julian to race to obtain it from her. However, things take a turn when Ares begins to question Julian’s motives.

“Tron” has always had a niche fan base. I immensely enjoyed the first two films and was looking forward to this sequel. The script provides fans with plenty of callbacks and Easter eggs to the original movie, and it was a joy to see two of my fellow critic friends get hyped about them. The visuals in this threequel are stunning, and I recommend seeing it in IMAX or Dolby. The score from Nine Inch Nails is an absolute banger!

In terms of the acting, Evan Peters effortlessly taps into the role of the evil tech genius, while Greta Lee seems to be having a grand time in this big-budget film. Jodie Turner-Smith is also a scene-stealer, radiating Black girl magic. I hope the right casting director notices her performance in this film and offers her another role in a major action movie. Meanwhile, Arturo Castro and Hasan Minhaj deliver their usual charm that fans have come to know.

As for the elephant in the room, Jared Leto is having fun as well. Although Leto can be hit or miss in big-budget productions, he gives Ares enough personality for the audience to root for him. Despite the engaging cast, some characters from the previous films are missing, but I suspect the studio is aiming to focus on new characters.

“Tron: Ares” is by no means a perfect film, but considering the state of the real world, sometimes we need escapist entertainment, and “Tron: Ares” delivers just that.

Final Grade: B

“Tron: Ares” opens in theaters tomorrow.