Movie Scene: Ctrl alt delete the franchise

Some fifteen years since ‘Tron: Legacy’ hit screens, this week we take another delve into the Grid with long-gestating three-quel ‘Tron: Ares’.

The series has gained cult status ever since Steven Lisberger’s 1982 original bringing Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) to life, carried on with 2010’s ‘Tron: Legacy’. ‘Legacy’ director Joseph Kosinski was supposed to return for this one but has instead handed over the reins to Joachim Rønning.

We open with a preamble explaining away ‘Legacy’ stars Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde’s omission before meeting new ENCOM CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) on a mission to find a ‘permanence code’ which will allow them to create medicines and other nice things. Also on the hunt for the code is Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), grandson to David Warner’s Ed Dillinger from 1982. He wants the code so his soldier army can last for more than half an hour in the real world, including Ares (Jared Leto) and Athena (Jodie Turner Smith). When Eve finds the code, Ares and Athena are sent after her to get it.

I went into this hoping for something good; I didn’t get it. Don’t get me wrong, ‘Ares’ has its moments, just not enough to justify what is essentially a two-hour music video. Screenwriter Jesse Wigutow riffs on ideas such as the ethical dilemma surrounding technology using it for medical or militaristic advancements, legacy and generational conflict and the desire to be ‘real’. The main problem with ‘Ares’ is that Wigutow takes these ideas from movies such as the Blade Runner series, Matrix, Pinocchio and Frankenstein, all of which explores these ideas in a much better way.

The script itself is rather clunky with touches of nice humour and banter between Lee and Leto but if you’re looking character development and emotional depth, ‘Ares’ is as soulless as Tilly Norwood.

It’s in the visuals and sound that ‘Ares’ holds any semblance of fun; Dillinger having created a neon red Mustafar-like hellscape with matching suits using what is essentially a large 3D printer, its flashy, bashy and pretty darn nice to look at. For me, the best set piece comes with Dillinger hacking into the ENCOM mainframe which plays out like a heist. This is accompanied by a thumping soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails that suits the action perfect.

Not much to be said performance wise. After breaking out in ‘Past Lives’, Lee takes on her first big-budget project and has little to work with while Leto is as stiff as they come as Ares. Turner-Smith brings decent baddie vibes, Peters spends most of the film grimacing but Gillian Anderson pops up as Ma Dillinger bringing a nice Thatcherite chilliness to her role.

Hints of a fourth film survive at the film’s mid-credits but, if it’s anything like this one, this might be the time to ctrl-alt-delete the franchise.