Plot: What’s it about?
I’m getting to the point in my life where I can now remember things that happened decades ago. Case in point, I can vividly remember my mother, brother and I going to see Tron in theaters way back in 1982. At the time me, like most others my age, spent a lot of time at the arcade. Those were places where people socialized before spending all their free time on their phone (oddly probably playing games just like we did back then). As of this writing, that was over four decades ago. And, here we are in 2025 with the third installment of the Tron franchise. Admittedly, I don’t know if this was planned or not, but fans of the series/genre will be over the moon with this one.
Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and his company ENCOM is now in the hands of Eve Kim (Greta Lee). They’re working on being able to remove objects from the digital grid and bring them into the real world. There is, of course, a competitor in Dillinger Systems. It’s run by Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) and his mother, Elisabeth (Gillian Anderson). Each company is seeking to be the first to acquire a “permanence code” that will allow their creations to exist outside the digital world (i.e. longer than 29 minutes). As we might expect, one side has no intent on playing it fair and Julian unleashes Ares (Jared Leto), a digital soldier with immense power, to hunt down Eve. But things change and Ares goes rogue, leading Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith), his second-in-command, to pick up the pieces.
The Tron films have never been, to me, too heavy on plot. Rather this is the type of movie meant to be experienced visually. If you ever played the actual Tron game, it was more of a niche product. That’s four decades of non-experience talking here, folks. On one hand, it’s nice to see that Bridges is once again collaborating to the role that he helped make famous and having another Oscar winner in tow doesn’t hurt matters. The film flows, it’s fun and entertaining, but I don’t know if it’s the sort of thing that’ll keep me thinking long after the credits rolled. It’s visually/stylistically brilliant, don’t get me wrong. This is what home theaters were designed for, but I just felt some of the twists coming a mile away and my intellect wasn’t challenged. Then again, maybe that was the point?
Video: How’s it look?
Visually, Tron: Ares is second to none. As we might figure, the 2.39:1 HEVC 4K transfer looks amazing and with the majority of the film relying on CGI, the result is a very unique-looking appearance. The “live action” part of the film looks good with sharp detail, contrast and black levels on par and a very film-like look and feel to it. The movie really delivers when they enter the digital realm. And there’s an emphasis on the color of red, always a risky thing when it comes to how this translates to screen as it’s easy for that color to get muddled. That said, colors are bold and solid, black levels are impeccable and detail is stunning. This is one of those movies that you pretty much know what you’re going to get visually and it delivers.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Depending on which version you spring for (and since this is the review of the 4K disc, we’ll assume you’re going with this) you get a Dolby Atmox mix on the 4K and a DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 on the Blu-ray (also included). This is an instance in that no matter which way you go, they both sounds amazing. Surrounds are very active, the LFE are very involved and every speaker seems like it has something to say. The entire feel of the movie seems to radiate something from every scene and I’d have to say that I was very impressed with how this sounded. The “whooshing” of motorcycles, the sound of digital water (yes, you read that correctly) and everything between. C’est magnifique!
Supplements: What are the extras?
- The Journey to Tron: Ares – Essentially that. It’s your typical EPK with some cast and crew interviews, some amusing anecdotes from the shoot along with some behind the scenes footage.
- Lightcycles on the Loose – Oh, c’mon – what would a Tron movie be without some lightcycles? They get their own feature.
- The Artistry of Tron: Ares – I can imagine being a production designer on this movie might be a daunting task. Or a relatively easy one since you’re dealing with anything and everything digital. But we’ll steer towards it being a grueling task and one that’s explored here.
- Cast Conversations – Oscar winners Jared Leto and Jeff Bridges wax prolific on their respective characters and roles.
- The Legacy of Tron – Paying tribute to the other films, we get some easter eggs (of sorts) as well as an homage to both Tron: Legacy and Tron.
- Deleted Scenes – Just a couple of minutes’ worth. Noting mind-blowing missed.
The Bottom Line
I don’t dislike the Tron movies, but I don’t necessarily see the need for new ones. Then again it’s been a decade and a half since Tron: Legacy, so it’s not like they’re churning these out every couple of years. It’s visually second-to-none and we get a nice technical package. I preferred the first two, but to each their own. If you’re a fan, this one is for you.
