Geez, read the room, assholes. We are now a few years into AI for real. Our collective earthly wonder has turned to skepticism and antipathy. And why not? The promise of an AI future held that things would be easier, cooler. The reality has been just the opposite. Oh, AI has been slick and transformative, yet it mostly has been a tool that makes rich people richer. The owners of AI, those guys, have benefitted from it; the users, not so much.
In short, yes, modern technology could indeed feed, clothe, house, entertain, and make every person in the world prosperous. Yes, it could. Has it? Not even close, and in many ways, it is making things much worse in every venue besides entertainment. Wait. It made Tron: Ares. Yeah, entertainment is worse, too.
Hence, presenting a sci-fi commercial for AI and lauding the product as a savior is beyond disingenuous. It is evil. Or it would be if the film were comprehensible. All the average viewer will see is “Geometry fight!”
In 1982, we all gawked at a fascinating new sci-fi film called Tron in which a dude gets sucked into a computer and has to fight it out in the digital world as a digitized human hybrid of sorts. In 1982, this idea was fascinating because very few of us understood computer stuff. It is now 2025. Very few of us understand computer stuff still, but by now we are all familiar enough with the things to know that the idea of Tron is kinda silly, but we play along anyway because we can’t wait until civilization is destroyed by our digitized overlords.
We are -apparently- up to the point of creating organic material from digitized concept. Like we can 3D print living things, like an orange tree. For some reason, the big deal is NOT the making of the tree. Are you sure, because you’re literally playing God here. No, the big deal is the part where the organic material disintegrates after 29 minutes. Hence, a “permanence code” is needed to sustain the organic material.
If you do watch this polished turd, understand that “permanence code” is simply the film’s MacGuffin. Everything else is noise. And do notice how the people who wrote the code have no intention of spreading the code so the world can enjoy it. After all, when you make a world-benefitting technological advance, it’s important to cash in. Screw the world. So when you’re sympathizing with the ENCOM CEO (Greta Lee), do remember she’s part of the problem.
Speaking of problems, digitized super soldier Ares (Jared Leto) shows up so this film can have a title. Aside from lasting exactly 29-minutes (still better than most, I imagine), Ares really is the perfect
soldier – well aside from the fact that he’s hardly indestructible … and he doesn’t show up armed to the teeth … and he defies direct orders … and he fights with triangles. No, I’m serious; this is a world in which light cycles can create physical walls in their wake, but their drivers fight with protractors. The nemesis here appears to be Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith), another digital creation come to life. Athena is Ares #2, except “she” has access to better weaponry. Don’t worry, the battles they fight will also be tedious.
Tron: Ares is little more than a giant “HUZZAH” to the power of modern computing. “LOOK WHAT WE CAN CREATE!” “LOOK AT HOW COOL IT IS!” “IMAGINE WHAT PROBLEMS WE COULD SOLVE (if we cared)!” Yeah, you’ve made a wonderful looking film with nothing to say and zero memorable characters or moments. And you’ve concluded it with a tribute to the power and promise of AI exactly at a time where AI is making our lives worse. Read the room, assholes. Read the room.
A digital mercenary of the nth degree
Does everything needed sans apology
But “his” expiration date
Is thirty minutes, just wait!
If you don’t get justice by then, it’s free!
Rated PG-13, 119 Minutes
Director: Joachim Rønning
Writer: Jesse Wigutow, David DiGilio, Steven Lisberger
Genre: Movies I dare you to explain to me what’s going on
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Producers of Tron: Ares
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Wow, did you guys get this wrong
