From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.movies
What is it with these morons trying to move things into "today's
world"?? It didn't work for "The Smurfs" live-action movies, and
despite this reviewer's glowing review, it simply can't work for Tron
either - light cycles driving around the real word simply makes a
hopeless mess.
ComingSoon.net's review of "Tron: Ares" ...
Tron: Ares Review: A Mind-Blowing Sci-Fi Action Spectacle
---------------------------------------------------------
There's a moment in Tron: Ares where Evan Peters's character
exclaims, "That might be the coolest thing I've ever seen!"
It's funny; I was thinking the exact same thing throughout
the entire movie. 43 years after Tron first pulled audiences
into the Grid and 15 years after Tron: Legacy brought us
back into this world, this movie reminds us that the future
still glows neon, and it's louder, sleeker, and stronger
than ever.
In many ways, Tron: Ares feels like a risk. It's a departure
from the previous two movies, which primarily set themselves
within the world of Tron. The majority of this sequel is set
in the real world, but the screenplay from Jesse Wigutow
allows the technology we're familiar with from that world to
enter ours. Tron: Legacy featured a very blue and orange
color palette, but this movie swaps those colors out for
red. Red is everywhere in this movie, and it's such a
phenomenal aesthetic change that works perfectly within this
universe.
The film is set a few years after Tron: Legacy. Sam Flynn
has left his position as CEO of ENCOM, which is now run by
Eve Kim (Greta Lee). Her rival CEO is Julian Dillinger (Evan
Peters), grandson of Ed Dillinger, the antagonist of the
1982 movie. Dillinger creates a super-intelligent program
named Ares (Jared Leto), and the movie follows what happens
when Ares begins to develop a mind of his own. It's a
fascinating look at the ever-present topic of artificial
intelligence, and it's told in the most entertaining way
possible.
Tron: Ares makes the bold choice of setting things in our
world, so what happens when you take the Light Cycles and the
Identity Discs and you throw them into the cityscapes we know
and love? Chaos. Pure, unbridled madness. And that's what
I live for. The film is the most grounded and accessible out
of all the Trons because we spend so much of it in a world
that's familiar to us. We're not watching entire set pieces
made on computers and green screens. We're watching practical
stunts and effects, background actors running away, and
having a hell of a good time.
This movie does such a superb job of combining practical
effects with visual effects. Joachim Ronning is also a very
talented director. It makes sense as to why Disney has
continually hired him, after Young Woman and the Sea,
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Men Tell No Tales. He understands that in order to sell
heightened technologies like we see here, the imperfections
are the key to perfection. There are shots that are mounted
onto Light Cycles as they're speeding down the street; when
you see a shot like that, you forget that functional Light
Cycles (unfortunately) are not real.
He's always doing something dynamic with the camera,
especially during the action. One of the early set pieces
surrounds two characters on Light Cycles chasing Eve on a
motorcycle, and it instantly sold me. It's one of the best
action sequences of the film. We have another shot where the
camera is mounted onto a car that Eve is driving, and the
camera stays locked onto the side mirror so that we see
Eve's face driving the car while the stunt is being
performed. Even if Greta Lee wasn't actually driving the car
in this stunt, little moments like this do an incredible job
of selling the idea that she was.
I also love when movies move at a breakneck pace. This is a
fast-paced, thrilling movie that launches at full throttle
and never slows down. Leto turns in a solid leading man
performance, but it's particularly nice to see Lee in this
kind of mainstream blockbuster role after Past Lives.
There's a set piece in the movie that pays tribute to the
original 1982 Tron perfectly, and made me appreciate that
film more.
Tron: Ares does tread on some familiar territory, but it's
told in such an entertaining way with so many breathtaking
visual effects and a soundscape unlike any other. This movie
is electrifying, and as a lover of Tron: Legacy, it didn't let
me down. It's a very different movie that focuses on new
characters, but it all works out to create a stellar cinematic
experience that should be seen on the biggest screen possible.
SCORE: 9/10
As ComingSoon'sareview policyaexplains, a score of 9 equates
to "Excellent." Entertainment that reaches this level is at
the top of its type. The gold standard that every creator aims
to reach.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our
Tron: Ares review.
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https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/reviews/2038952-tron-ares-review-a-mind-blowing-sci-fi-action-spectacle>
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