MOVIE REVIEW: TRON: ARES

 

Mankind encounters AI beings for the first time when a highly sophisticated programme, Ares, leaves the digital world for a dangerous mission in the real world.

Director: Joachim Rønning

Cast: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges

Release Date: October 10, 2025

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rated PG-13 for violence/action.

Runtime: 1h 59m

Review:

Tron: Ares boast an excellent cast, a pulse pounding soundtrack from Nine Inch Nails and the kind of mesmerizing techno visuals you'd expect but the clunky, clichéd script keeps it from being truly special.  Norwegian director, Joachim Rønning, does an excellent job of capturing the look and feel of 2010's Tron: Legacy in addition to an extended retro segment that takes us back to the 1980's original.  Rønning proves more than capable of delivering big action set pieces both inside of the grid and out as evidenced by a rather thrilling motorcycle sequence through the city that brings the digital into the real world.  All the action is perfectly suited for the big screen in addition to being one of the few films I'd recommend seeing in 3D to get the full effect of the technical wizardry on display.  The Nine Inch Nail's pulsating soundtrack elevates each of the action set pieces to such a level that the director is more than comfortable with making more of an audio/visual experience with very little in the way of story or dialogue offered up.  While these sequences are undoubtably the highlights of the film they do tend to go on a tad too long almost as if the cast and crew are disinterested in getting back to the main narrative.  As wonderfully constructed as all these sequences are, the script and story fail to make them part of something more than a very generic AI becomes self-aware story.  The characters and plot are so clunkily written that you wish that the amount of care that was put into the visuals and soundtrack would have carried over to the actual story.  The dialogue is incredibly stiff across the board, which gives the talented collection of actors very little to work with.  The characters all come off as caricatures as opposed to fully realized creations.  Jared Leto leads the cast as the titular security program created by Evan Peters' Julian Dillinger, grandson of Flynn's rival from the original film.  Leto plays his character like a thoughtful Terminator type with a mostly robotic delivery broken up by random playful moments.  Greta Lee struggles a bit to get her footing as the emphatic CEO of ENCOM who is in search of Kevin Flynn's Permanence Code which would make it possible for programs from the grid to exist in the real world permanently.  It’s a slightly odd plot point since Legacy ended with Olivia Wilde's Quorra entering the real world at that film's finale which is touched upon in passing near the end of this film.  Evan Peters is task with the role of child prodigy turned unscrupulous CEO of Dillinger Systems who's only missing a long twirly mustache to complete his cardboard cutout villain.  Peters is such a capable actor that it's slightly irritating to watch him try to make the clunky dialogue not seem so cringe worthy.  Gillian Anderson is given the thankless task of playing his mother and former CEO who seem to be the only person in the company that thinks her son's actions are a bad idea.  Jodie Turner-Smith serves as the villainous program unleashed to pursue Lee and Leto's characters whose sole motivation seems to be her love of directives.  She's a visually imposing figure as she looks the part, but she's given very little to work with outside of looking intense.  Jeff Bridges gets an extended cameo here where he seems to channel The Dude more than anything else.  Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro and Sarah Desjardins are familiar faces that pop up but much like the rest of the cast aren't asked to do much besides shoot out some goofy comedy relief and technobabble.  Tron: Ares ends up being a missed opportunity since the two thirds of the film are rather impressive, but the lackluster script ultimately holds it back from greatness.  

 

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: ROAD HOUSE

 

Ex-UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.

Director: Doug Liman

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Conor McGregor, J. D. Pardo, Arturo Castro, Billy Magnussen, Joaquim de Almeida

Release Date: March 21, 2024

Genre: Action, Thriller

Rated R for violence throughout, pervasive language and some nudity.

Runtime: 1h 54m

Review:

Doug Liman's remake of the 80's cult classic, Road House, is entertaining in spurts thanks to some fun action sequences and solid turn from Jake Gyllenhaal but it doesn't do anything memorable enough to make the redux necessary.  Liman's film uses the basic plot of the original as the scaffolding for this update while only making cosmetic changes to the setting, characters and motivations.  It makes the entire thing feel strangely familiar but missing that 80s goofiness that only feathered mullets and karate kicks can bring about.  It’s replaced by a glossy sort of sweaty griminess that makes you feel every bit of that pre storm humidity throughout the film.  Liman makes great use of the scenery to deliver some visually impressive sequences such as Dalton & Ellie's date on a sandbar or some hyper kinetic fight sequences that border on cartoonish even by the original's standards.  Those action sequences are aggressively brutal and edited like they are trying to keep a caffeinated squirrel's attention.  Some of these sequences work better than others but they could all use some judicious trimming to avoid the pervading sense of overkill that takes over.  There are the ingredients of a fun, mindless, beat 'em up but the film lacks the sort of streamlined efficiency to make it all work with multiple dead spots killing most of the film's forward momentum.  Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a workmanlike, understated performance in the central role as he tries to give the character more depth and nuance than what's on page.  Unfortunately, all the other characters are one note at best with Arturo Castro and Billy Magnussen being the lone standouts who at least have fun with their roles.  Conor McGregor's cinematic debut is an embarrassingly over the top performance, puffed out chest and all, that's more likely to elicit unintentional laughter than anything else.  Daniela Melchior and Joaquim de Almeida both deliver professional if uninspired turns to round out the supporting cast.  When it's all said and done this version of Road House isn't likely to leave much of an impression and will probably be forgotten shortly after the credits roll.

C-