'TRON: Ares' uses a predictable strategy in an attempt to save the franchise

The music is the real hero of the film, worth it even without the footage

Last updated:
Karishma H. Nandkeolyar, Assistant Online Editor
4 MIN READ
Jared Leto plays Ares, the most intelligent AI in the world, in TRON: Ares.
Jared Leto plays Ares, the most intelligent AI in the world, in TRON: Ares.
IMDB
'TRON: Ares' is a predictable man vs tech taleDirector: Director:  Joachim RønningCast: Cast: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Jeff Bridges, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith

On paper TRON: Ares seems like the movie we need; the one that promises that tech isn’t all bad, humans aren’t all corrupt, and the world will be saved even if some evil villains are in the picture. On the screen however, it plays out like a movie enthusiast’s first attempt at a feature film. How so? Well, there are bombastic sequences that recall scenes in the Fast and Furious series. Then, there’s the forced idea of diversity, which sees quota casting – one black person, one white, one Asian, one Indian, and so on. Add to that the side-kick who fails at being funny and just comes across as a nervous talker, conversation about AI – which mirrors the dialogue in the real (like, really real) world – and the movie works basically like failed programming.

When the franchise made its first appearance in 1982, it used tech that was stingily used at the time (green screens and CGI). It had a narrative that was ahead of its time – the grid, where computer programmers transported into systems. It explored the interplay been man and machine, and what it could become.

Now...

TRON: Ares sees Eve Kim (Greta Lee) as the new head of ENCOM, a mantle she has reluctantly taken over after her sister, Tess, who was once at the helm, died. And Sam the son of original company leader Kevin has checked out.  

In direct competition with this firm is Dillinger Systems, run by a severely tattooed CEO Julian (Evan Peters), who is in charge of the ‘most advanced AI in the world’, played by Jared Leto.

While Eve wants to use tech to change the world for the better, her opponents are in the mood for money by weaponsing it.

The only obstacle in both their paths is the fact that while AI programmes can be drawn into the real world, they have a 29-minute shelf life before they deteriorate like Voldemort at the end of Deathly Hallows, and scatter with the wind.

The company heads are in a battle for the prize the Permanence code which will rectify this hiccup. And while the good guys because let’s face it, the good guys tend to be at a disadvantage in this sort of situation  are doing their best on their own and trying to figure it out, the bad guys are playing dirty and deploying AI soldiers to ‘take care of it’.

The battle turns into a power corrupts situation, with Dillinger Systems stopping at nothing to get ahead. But then there’s the ‘unlikely’ – read as predictable – hero, the AI who develops a conscience and fights everything, including his programming, to help the common folk.

But here’s the thing, firstly, why on earth are the leading programmes named after the Greek deities of War and Wisdom. And why is it the wise one who almost destroys everything while the war deity is playing for peace?

Secondly, over the years a number of beautiful movies have been made about the anthropomorphism of AI. Remember Robin Williams’ Bicentennial Man, where we were forced to confront the definition of human-ness? Or, if you want a more grim example, the Matrix, where in a dystopian universe AI has taken over and controls everything, including a person’s perception of reality (seriously, for a moment, that’s where I thought TRON was taking us).

It’s also a bit of an affront to scientists in the real world, is it not, to think of a world where you can 3D print a living being into existence (like the orange tree, the fruit of which was turned into juice at some point). Man playing at creator certainly isn’t new, but it takes on a pompous edge when Norwegian film director Joachim Rønning (Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) takes the helm.

British-American actress Gillian Anderson (X-Files, The Crown), a powerhouse in other dramas falters, too not because of a lack of screen presence, but because her character has been written as a once powerful leader gone to seed.

The movie tries eccentric turns – flying spaceships, a Xena-like chakram edged with laser lights, upgraded superbikes that leave ribbons of indestructible matter as they streak down roads. And to give the movie its due, when it’s fantastical, it’s fantastic. But no amount of tech expertise can save a movie that’s taking a well-worn narrative and trying to stretch it into an engaging big screen moment.

The true star of the movie is the music Nine Inch Nails brings a soundtrack that pads any ill-fated direction, proving that sound is indeed a universal language and can make you feel emotions without saying a word. But what does that say about a legacy franchise that’s got video games and movies spanning decades? We hate to say it, but perhaps it’s game over for this one?

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