The Movie Guru: ‘Tron: Ares’ soundtrack best part of the movie, while ‘The Lost Bus’ a visceral experience

Tron: Ares (in theaters)

It’s getting harder to remember that Jared Leto has actually won an Oscar.

These days, he’s much better known for incredibly wooden or actively unpleasant sci-fi performances. “Tron: Ares” is more of the wooden variety, which you’d think would be okay given the fact that he’s playing an artificial intelligence. It’s exactly the opposite, however, since Ares’ relationship to humans, humanity and his own identity is supposed to be a major emotional underpinning for the movie. With Leto’s performance offering less subtlety and depth than a door, unfortunately, all of it falls flat.

Sadly for fans of either of the two previous “Tron” movies, a lot of the universe’s lore and thematic ideas have similarly vanished. Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn is name-checked, and the actor receives a brief appearance. But the explanations for how and why the digital people exist are gone, replaced by magical 3D printing technology that operates entirely on demands of the plot. The movie is pretty to look at, in some ways more so than its predecessors, but there’s no depth in the digital world building.

A few cast members try valiantly to make all this into something more. Greta Lee has a thankless role, yet she still manages to imbue her character with vital warmth and a practicality that brings a touch of humor to several scenes. Jodie Turner-Smith, playing another AI named Athena, manages all the exquisitely nuanced micro expressions that Leto can’t.

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Nine Inch Nails also does what they can, delivering a killer soundtrack that elevates the entire movie. It’s arguably better written than the film itself, so intense and emotionally nuanced that there were a few moments where it almost managed to convinced me Leto was acting.

Just think of it as a really long music video for some great music. It’s almost worth it, that way.

Grade: Two stars

The Lost Bus (Apple TV+)

If you’ve ever wanted to feel like you’re trapped in the middle of a raging inferno, “The Lost Bus” is for you.

Though it leans a little too close to 90s disaster action movies at times, “The Lost Bus” brings the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California to visceral, terrifying life. You’re scared for the people trapped on the bus because you can feel exactly how much danger they’re in, in a way that bypasses the brain and goes straight for the senses.

It’s not nearly as good at making the people seem real, with dialog and character development that’s on the nose enough to be wince-inducing. Luckily for the creative team, Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera are both great at filling in the humanity gaps the dialogue itself doesn’t quite manage.

The movie is based on a true story from the fire, one of those found in Lizzie Johnson’s book about the citizens of Paradise, California attempting to survive and rebuild. The names remain, as well as the basic facts of the situation — a bus driver and elementary school teacher try to get a class of kids to a nearby evacuation point, only to be trapped in a desperate quest to get out of the ever-spreading fire. In between their struggle, we get moments with other residents and firefighters dealing with the flames.

Director Paul Greengrass, best known for the “Bourne” movies, is old hat at making true stories that feel a little too much like action movies. If you’re okay with that, though, he is pretty darn good at making action movies.

Grade: Two and a half stars

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society and the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at themovieguruslc@gmail.com.