‘Tron: Ares’ 4K UHD Review

Stars: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges | Written by Jesse Wigutow | Directed by Joachim Rønning

Jared Leto and Greta Lee star in Tron: Ares, the third instalment of the Tron franchise, which is intended as a new story, rather than a direct sequel to 2010’s Tron: Legacy. As such, it’s a solid action blockbuster, enlivened by state-of-the-art special effects and a pulsing score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (billed here under their band name, Nine Inch Nails).

The film opens with two giant tech companies – the original film’s ENCOM, headed by Eve Kim (Lee), and rival outfit Dillinger, under CEO Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) – locked in a race to discover the “permanence code”, which will allow 3D-printed objects (and A.I.-generated people) from the Grid (the digital world) to exist for more than 29 minutes. Their motives couldn’t be more different: Eve wants to end famine and solve housing shortages, while Julian wants to create unstoppable super-soldiers and hi-tech weaponry.

However, Julian gets more than he bargained for when his “Master Controller”, A.I. supersoldier Ares (Leto) doesn’t take too well to hearing that he is considered expendable and promptly goes rogue, disobeying an order to eliminate Eve, and helping her to escape instead. In retaliation, Julian sets his digital second-in-command, Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith), on their tail, who takes to her mission like a souped-up Terminator.

Director Joachim Rønning (no stranger to belated IP sequels after Maleficent and one of the Pirates movies) proves a safe pair of hands, delivering a handful of thrilling action sequences (most notably a light-bike chase in the real-world city streets) and maintaining a decent pace throughout. Similarly, the fight sequences are nicely staged, with helpful colour coordination so we can tell the good A.I. supersoldier from the bad A.I. supersoldiers.

Leto is fine as Ares, though he’s not quite as good at the deadpan humour (expressing a fondness for Depeche Mode, for example) as the film thinks he is – some of his lines were clearly intended to elicit bigger laughs, and they don’t quite land. Luckily, Greta Lee is terrific as Eve, and she brings a warmth and a humanity to their scenes that considerably enhances Leto’s otherwise quite cold performance.

The supporting cast is great too. Turner-Smith is a formidable presence as Athena, while Peters is suitably slimy as Dillinger, and there’s a fun turn from Gillian Anderson (lips permanently pursed) as his mother. There’s also a pleasing in-Grid cameo from original Tron star Jeff Bridges, which has a dash of The Big Lebowski’s Dude in it.

Despite the relatively complex world-building, the actual story is refreshingly simplistic, though fans of Tron: Legacy may be disappointed at the lack of follow-up. It’s also slightly mystifying that the film completely ignores the obvious chemistry between Lee and Leto – he learns empathy and kindness but doesn’t get quite as far as love, which must have been a relief to Disney execs.

On the technical front, the 4K release is very much one for the disc nerds. The feature is presented in native 2160p with a HEVC/H.265 encode, framed in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio, and enhanced with both Dolby Vision and HDR10 for maximum visual punch. Audio duties are handled by a Dolby Atmos track, with an additional audio descriptive option included. Subtitle support is equally comprehensive, offering English SDH alongside German, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Polish and Swedish – making this a properly well-rounded UHD package for collectors, especially given the included extras:

Special Features:

• The Journey to ‘Tron: Ares’ – Join cast and crew for an in-depth making-of look at ‘Tron: Ares’
• Lightcycles on the Loose – check out one of the most action-packed sequences in the film
• The Artistry of ‘Tron: Ares’ – discover what drives the storytelling both in and out of the Grid
• Cast Conversations – sit with the cast as they reveal funny and memorable on-set experiences
• The Legacy of Tron – catch some easter eggs and cameos as Tron continues to leave its mark
• Deleted Scenes

In short, Tron: Ares is an entertaining action blockbuster that has a frisson of timeliness thanks to its focus on the potential good and evil of A.I. On that note, there’s a strong sequel set-up in a mid-credits sting that suggests a fourth instalment is a strong possibility.

***½  3.5/5

Tron: Ares is out on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD now.