Half in the Bag - Tron: Ares

Quick Overview

The reviewers generally enjoyed the movie "Tron: Ares" more than expected, citing Trent Reznor's excellent score and understandable plot as major strengths, though they criticized the clunky action direction and noted the franchise's recurring weakness in lacking human connection and characterization, predicting it will likely flop commercially like its predecessors.

Key Points: The reviewer found the action in "Tron: Ares" clunky, noting that the Trent Reznor soundtrack elevated the movie, making it seem grandiose and preventing the content from feeling cheesy. The film is described as very derivative of many pop culture sources, but one reviewer found the plot understandable, unlike the previous entries, and enjoyed it more because they had not seen the other Tron movies. The core McGuffin in the film is the "permanence code," which the reviewers found unbelievable that 1982 Jeff Bridges could have written code functional for modern systems. Jared Leto's performance as a program learning humanity was criticized, with one reviewer calling him a "charisma black hole" and suggesting Evan Peters or Alexander Skarsgård would have been better. The visual design of the vehicles and the Tron world in this installment largely pulls directly from "Tron: Legacy," making it feel less unique compared to the distinct looks of the first two films. The speakers agreed that the main draw of the Tron franchise is the music and visuals, but the weak point across all films is the lack of human connection, which prevents them from catching on with a wider audience. The film sets up potential sequels by revealing that Evan Peters' character (Dillinger) will resurrect bad guys to get revenge on Ares, suggesting a path for future installments if the movie succeeds at the box office.

Context: The discussion centers on the analysis of the newly released film, "Tron: Ares," within the context of the entire, historically unsuccessful Tron franchise, which began with the 1982 film known for its groundbreaking visuals but boring plot, followed by the 2010 sequel, "Tron Legacy," which also bombed despite having Daft Punk's score. The speakers examine whether this new installment successfully updates the concept of a person being sucked into a computer world and attempts to build a franchise, noting the recurring pattern of Disney trying again every 15-20 years after a flop.