What’s it about?
A terrifying dead-eyed automaton that preys on humanity takes centre stage in this movie in which he plays a robot.
What’d we think?
Peter Linning says: If I was feeling charitable I’d call this a Jared Leto vanity project, but I’m not feeling charitable so I’ll call it a boring and forgettable waste of good intellectual property. An all-too-familiar plot about an evil corporation developing and then losing control of a superweapon (this time it’s 3D printing) provides the framework for the latest instalment in the Tron franchise, and I’m sorry to say that it’s not a fun time at the movies. The bad corporation wants to sell 3D printed tanks to the government, but they keep dissolving after half an hour (the tanks, not the government). The good corporation wants a McGuffin for basically no reason. Shockingly, it turns out that the McGuffin will solve the bad corporation’s problem, so they dispatch some 3D printed goons to steal it but end up digitising the good corporation’s CEO and sending her to The Grid for some reason. Mildly distracting action ensues.
Like most people of a certain age I’ve got a certain fondness for Tron, even if I don’t think the movies are terribly good – it represents a certain level of whimsical, good-natured enthusiasm for creatives taking a big swing at something that’s a bit weird. Tron: Ares is a limp-wristed swing at a stationary ball that connects with just enough force that you’re forced to move your eyes, but not enough that you need to move your head. At best, it inoffensively washes over you until it’s finished. At worst, it’s lingering shots of Jared Leto gazing into middle distance as he breathily delivers dialogue that’s not convincing for an AI to have said, or for a human to have written.
The score by Nine Inch Nails is exceptional, but there’s not really anything else I can say in the movie’s favour. I would have liked this to have been good, but at least it’s another reason for people to stop giving Jared Leto roles. 3/10
Sam Donaldson says: It was perfectly mid. I don’t have the energy to hate it. Despite being miscast and Jared Leto, Jared Leto was fine. The visuals were impressive, and with the excellent Nine Inch Nails score assaulting all your senses in the best way, it’s difficult to not be swept up. Unfortunately due to a tropey, weak script, it was difficult to be emotionally invested despite the visuals and score.
The movie plodded along at one speed and was one note. That note is not terrible, but also not the most interesting. Not bad, not great. 5/10
