Propulsive, glossy and action-packed eye candy that’s dense on visuals but thin on impact.
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TRON: Ares starts off propulsive, with the brutal construction of Ares (Jared Leto) from mounds of stalactite-like matter. Ares is a superintelligent programme designed to be as capable as he is expandable. When Ares starts showing signs of questioning his purpose, he is thrust from his own cyber-world and into ours.
Eve Kim (Greta Lee) is a direct competitor to Ares’ creator, but would rather leave her position as CEO of a hugely profitable company to pursue her late sister’s dream – finding a code that could solve food scarcity, limited resources and renewable energy. This same code is the key to Ares surviving in the real world for longer than 29 minutes, which emboldens him to team up with Eve.
TRON: Ares does not attempt to be a continuation of the last sequel, but rather, is more interested in responding to more current-day issues, such as A.I’s disruptive traits being a reflection of its creators. Seeing as how the world is dominated by more Julian Dillinger than Eve Kims, not the most hopeful takeaway about A.I.
There’s also a quite touching and cute tribute to the original Tron, replicating its archaic graphics and nostalgic sound effects. Where it starts to lose momentum is in the last leg of the movie, with fights that add little in terms of emotional weight or story.
TRON: Ares is gorgeous eye candy, with all the sensationalism and nutrition of actual candy, and the synthetic, hedonistic crunch of Nine Inch Nails’ score is enough to earn some goodwill. If you like stunning setpieces, industrial soundtracks, and a narrative that runs on fumes, this is a movie that delivers.
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