Sometimes it's hard not to feel sorry for Jared Leto.
This is not a compliment to his game. Tron: Aresthe latest installment in a sci-fi franchise that somehow manages to be both underrated and seriously overhyped. It would be almost unfair to charitably call this film a copy of the hundred best AI apocalypse films. Or if we're too generous Pinocchio.
Because while Summer plays the role of a malfunctioning computer program who develops the ability to simultaneously feel sympathy and, one might assume, buy lots and lots of hair mousse, it's not his desire to be a real boy that gets the pity. The point is that he so clearly and desperately wants to be considered an important and serious actor. But instead of earning money, he appears again and again in films like Suicide Squad, Morbius and unfortunately this.
Honestly, Tron: Ares not as bad as MorbiusA sick joke in a movie is so bad it deserves a semi-believable rating. fake slogan “It's time for morbin.” But given the critical temperature, a continuation of the 2010s is possible. Tron: Legacy (the reboot itself Thronea film inspired by the 1982 video game) may earn a similar reputation.
Already proclaimed as one of the worst big budget films ever madeit's almost unbelievable how disliked Leto's foray into the universe of modern cult classics was. And this is before the audience has even had the opportunity to watch it.
Another shame because Tron: Ares doesn't really rise to the level of deserved love, hate, or any reaction at all stronger than embarrassed indifference.
It's far from the most offensively bad movie of the year (an honor that still going in Ritual). And this is far from the worst big-budget event (it may be impossible someday I'll take this title away from Megapolis). Instead, an almost impressive softness Tron: Ares simply makes it one of the most unforgettable.
WATCH | Trailer “Tron: Aries”:
Ares picks up right where its predecessor Heritage ends. Or, in fact, the exact opposite of that. Because not only more than ten years passed between the creation of the two sequels, but almost all the main characters from Heritage disappeared.
Where is the original Throne followmarried a computer programmer who ended up in The Grid, a sentient, fully populated digital world he helped build, Heritage saw his son transported to the same action-packed world to hunt him down.
But Ares focuses on a different type of protagonist. Instead of a brave man in the street, Ares decides to make its hero the most beloved archetype of them all: the billionaire tech CEO.
We follow Eva Kim (Greta Lee), the head of Encom Corporation, which, along with its competitor Dillinger Systems, is at the forefront of artificial intelligence research and innovation. Except Kim should never have been CEO. It was her beloved late sister who led the company to the dominant position it now enjoys. – interesting backstory for the character, although it's entirely told through clunky dialogue rather than shown.
It's clunky enough exposition to suggest there's no movie (or three) between Heritage And Aresand we still have a lot to do. Because after The Grid revealed the technology awards, both Kim and her rival CEO Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) realized that the next step in human evolution would be found in cyberspace.
Both CEOs figured out how to use the Grid as a virtually limitless resource, allowing them to produce weapons, food, and even bloodthirsty killing machines.
This includes Ares himself, the pointless Master Control program that Dillinger has staked his company's future on: a walking, talking weapon of mass destruction that he can sell to the highest bidder.
The only problem? Anything printed from The Grid disintegrates in exactly 29 minutes. The only way around this problem is to find The Persistence Code, a film MacGuffin supposedly created by the first film's long-suffering protagonist Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges). This narrative stalwart gets another cameo here, making him one of the franchise's few remaining through lines: presenting a desperate and increasingly arbitrary thesis that falls apart faster than the film's internal logic.
Add to this a complex kidnapping strategy that temporarily traps Kim in the Grid. And add unexpectedly good guy Ares, with a futuristic motorcycle and a monologue so reminiscent of Arnold Schwarzenegger that it's hard to believe he didn't end it with, “Come with me if you want to live.”
Then bake with robotic reverence for life taken from I, Robot and a corporate superhero oligarch straight out of Elon Musk's most self-serving dreams. Voila, you have it Tron: Ares. Or as I like to call it, Terminator 2: The Passion of Mark Zuckerberg.
This ignores some of the strengths the film offers, including slick cinematography, even though almost the entire film takes place outside of a visually beautiful grid, the main selling point of the franchise's cinematic world.
There's also some impressive music from Nine Inch Nails, which unfortunately still isn't as good as Daft Punk's. Heritage.
Lee and Peters give competent performances, especially given the little they have to work with in the script. Yesred Summer… there, blinking his doe eyes awkwardly and innocently, why are these cult leader accusations even harder to fight.
But the most remarkable thing about Tron: Ares how completely unremarkable it is.
Considering the fertile possibilities AI uprisings And incredibly destructive role giant tech companies play a role in all of our lives, Ares somehow his stance on these issues is harder to pin down than literal tears in the rain.
Between a couple of good chases and fights here and there, it dodges and dodges any commentary, originality, importance or purpose with such amazing skill that it almost makes up for how boring it ends up being.
However, it is not the worst film ever made. And if you ignore the techno-fetishization and the idea that AI will somehow turn into humanity's tortured savior, it's fun and engaging enough to entertain. This is also some kind of evil. Although these days what we consume isn't?
