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It is a strange quirk of our movie memory that we consider TRON as some highly regarded cinematic touchstone, when it was not a slam dunk.
It was rejected by numerous studios before Disney picked it up, it was only a moderate box office success, and the reviews could be charitably described as “mixed”.
So it was for TRON: Legacy. It seems to be undergoing something of a re-evaluation now, but at the time of release it was met with a resounding shrug.
So, it seems, may the latest instalment TRON: Ares is imminent, and so the reviewers have seen it, and their word is decidedly lukewarm, but completely in line with previous franchise entries.
57% on Rotten Tomatoes puts it ahead of Legacy (51%) and behind the original (61%).
Here is what the summary quotes have to say:
“Tron: Ares has the visual flair of a mobile game and a thematic depth that makes the 1982 original’s premise — Jeff Bridges gets sucked into a computer — feel like it was written by philosophers.”
Clarisse Loughrey, Independent
“In an age bland, unimaginative cookie-cutter blockbusters, there’s something refreshing about a movie that puts a premium on looking and sounding badass.”
Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
“TRON: Ares doesn’t seem poised to change the culture in anything resembling a similar way; while it has a lot more life to it than the inert TRON: Legacy, Ares keeps its focus on big spectacle as opposed to big ideas.”
Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
“A few key elements keep this data file from being totally corrupted… The real MVPs, however, are Nine Inch Nails, whose staggeringly brilliant soundtrack dominates the entire proceedings.”
John Nugent, Empire
“It’s a film whose only goal is to make “Tron” into a renewable resource in its own right… If nothing else, “Ares” might just be relevant, palatable, and undemanding enough to pull that off.”
David Ehrlich, Indiewire
“Whereas the original 1982 Disney film on which it was based felt ahead of its time, Sean Bailey’s latest attempt to franchise-ify the “Tron” brand reads mostly as an exercise in nostalgia.”
Peter DeBruge, Variety
“There is no drama or jeopardy or human interest anywhere. This franchise now looks about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.”
Peter Bradhsaw, The Guardian
“For all the creativity on display in Tron: Ares, it’s in service of a story with scant signs of life.”
Tim Grierson, Screen
“Mostly, when you watch Tron: Ares, you become aware of the degree to which this franchise has exhausted its own metaphor.”
Alison Wilmore, Vulture
Joachim Rønning directs TRON: Ares. It stars Jared Leto, Jeff Bridges, Evan Peters, Greta Lee, Gillian Anderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Cameron Monaghan, and Julie Andrews.
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