“Tron: Ares” blasts nostalgia at full volume, a high-tech carnival ride of a sequel that spins fast but goes nowhere meaningful.

Wastes towering talent on sluggish direction, dreary dialogue, and pretty images that never add up to meaningful cinema.

With razor-sharp satire, unforgettable performances, and a climax that demands the big screen, it takes its place in the upper echelon of Paul Thomas Anderson films.

If American football is war, then this movie is the endless trench: overwrought, futile, and convinced of its own profundity.