Tron Ares was GREAT. The story is relatively thin, like Legacy, meaning it is a semi-rehash of the original story. It tracks though, and fits in well, with the exception of some character changes. I didn't think the acting was bad. My idea of bad acting is Rebel Moon. Legacy and Ares are leagues above that.
Ares is more directly tied to the original than Legacy, but it has ties to Legacy as well. We saw it in IMAX 3D, and I would highly recommend that as the best format to see it in. I don't watch too many movies in 3D these days, but this one is impressive visually, just as Legacy was. Legacy was one of the best 3D films done, because the light / dark contrast, it just looks great. Ares is the same, but the real world scenes also look very good.
I think the reason it isn't doing as well as it could is because people are not familiar enough with the original because it is old. The expectation, like Marvel's mistake with tie-ins, is that you need to have seen the original. They give you a 10 minute "catch you up" sequence that is not sufficient to get you all the info. While we were walking out, I heard people actually say "Apparently, there was a first movie in the 80s?" That will cause confusion for sure, since this one directly ties to it. There are a LOT of fun throwbacks to the original that people won't get if they aren't familiar with it.
If you are a Tron fan, this one is worth seeing in the theater.
Kosinski did write a sequel to legacy, but it was scrapped.
We got there early because the restaurant we went to wasn't busy, so we stopped in at the AMC bar and got the Tron Ares drink, a red Margarita.
The popcorn bucket is very cool, but WAY too expensive and big. Looks like it is online only, as they did not have it at the theater.
Race through the Grid with the limited edition TRON: Ares Lightcycle Light-Up Popcorn Bucket! Featuring red illumination, sleek design, and dynamic details, this bucket captures the true power of Team Ares in motion. Customers may purchase a maximum of three units of this limited-edition...
amctheatresshop.com