Lost in the machine

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, October 10th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up next: Disney tries to update an old science-fiction franchise.

Will the film Tron: Ares have anything new to say about our relationship to technology in the age of AI? Here’s WORLD arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino.

COLLIN GARBARINO: The idea of a third Tron movie might make someone wonder whether Disney thought this series could offer something relevant to today’s society. After all, the premise of the franchise rests on humans interacting with sentient computer programs. I think it’s more likely that Disney is yet again hoping to cash in on one of its nostalgia-laden properties since its Marvel and Star Wars franchises have stalled.

JULIAN DILLINGER: Ladies and gentlemen, I would like you to meet Ares.

The first two movies primarily dealt with humans getting sucked into the virtual world of computer programs. But Tron: Ares imagines what might happen if a computer program escaped the servers and entered the real world. The film takes place after the events of 2010’s Tron: Legacy, but it’s not so much a sequel as a soft reboot of the franchise.

In the movie, two large computer companies are racing to change the world through the use of technology and artificial intelligence. ENCOM is the computer company at the heart of the original Tron from 1982. It makes its money from flashy video games. But its executives are the good guys, hoping to use their platform to change the world for the better. Their rivals at Dillinger Systems want to use AI and advanced 3D printing technology to build war machines and super soldiers.

JULIAN DILLINGER: Ares is the ultimate soldier. He needs no food, no water, sheds no blood, and if by some miracle he is struck down on the battlefield, I will simply make you another.

Julian Dillinger, the head of Dillinger Systems, has big plans for military profit. But he needs a piece of code possessed by Eve, the CEO of ENCOM.

ELISABETH DILLINGER: You’re hacking ENCOM?

JULIAN: Just a peek over the garden wall. No one will notice.

ELISABETH: What makes you think ENCOM is any closer to finding it?

JULIAN: Because I know who else is looking for it, all right?

When corporate espionage fails, Julian uses his 3D printing lasers to bring Ares into the real world. Ares, played by Jared Leto, is Julian’s most advanced security program. And now that Ares has a body, Julian gives him the task of kidnapping Eve and stealing the code at all costs. However, the sentient computer program grows a conscience, which leads to a number of action-packed chase scenes.

From left: Greta Lee as Eve Kim, Jared Leto as Ares, and Arturo Castro as Seth Flores in a scene from Tron: Ares Disney

The visual effects provide plenty of eye candy during scenes in which the audience’s perspective swoops and shifts. And when the action moves to the virtual world the graphics create an immersive computerized reality—especially when viewed in IMAX. The special effects are well executed, but don’t expect a jaw-dropping experience. There’s nothing here that we haven’t seen before. It’s appropriate to pay homage to the stylings of the original, but too many scenes rely on derivative imagery from other digitally-inspired franchises.

EVE KIM: What happened back there?

ARES: I disobeyed my directive.

EVE: Which was?

ARES: To retrieve the code from your disc and delete the carrier.

EVE: Dillinger told you to delete me?

I also found the soundtrack by industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails a little overbearing. Oppressive synthesizers cause the film to drag, and some scenes contain music that doesn’t suit the tone of the action.

MUSIC: [As Alive As You Need Me To Be]

This musical miss is surprising, considering band members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have ably scored more than a dozen films. Their work appears in 2010’s The Social Network, 2020’s Soul, and 2023’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

It’s hard to say how fans of the previous films will react to Tron: Ares. This is the first Tron film that doesn’t include the title character Tron, and it’s the first to be rated PG-13 instead of PG. I’m not sure the sci-fi violence is any worse than its predecessors, but the film contains some misuses of God’s name.

There are enough callbacks to the original to amuse children of the ’80s, but this third installment for the most part pretends that the second movie never happened. I’m afraid moviegoers coming into this film without any affection for the prior films might not find enough to keep them interested.

ATHENA: Delete Ares and bring the user back to me.

A movie about AI’s effect on the world should resonate with audiences right now, but the film contains numerous plot holes and directorial decisions that don’t make sense. I know it’s a minor detail, but I couldn’t get over the fact that Ares has long scraggly hair. Does Jared Leto have an I-won’t-cut-my-hair clause in his contract? And speaking of Leto, it seems the overhyped method actor has finally found the perfect role by playing a soulless algorithm. It’s terribly ironic that ChatGPT has more personality than Leto’s Ares.

Moreover, the film doesn’t really have anything worthwhile to say about technology or the human condition. The original Tron was a Cold War metaphor for the dangers of totalitarianism, laden with Christian imagery. Ares timidly trots out Silicon Valley cliches. Lately, tech billionaires have been buying up movie studios left and right. Perhaps that’s left Disney too scared to say anything interesting about the people who might one day be the boss.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.