Tron: Ares

Director: Joachim Rønning
Starring: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges, Cameron Monaghan, Sarah Desjardins, Selene Yun
Running Time: 119 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

While many were blindsided by director Steven Lisberger's groundbreaking and eerily prescient Tron in 1982, even its biggest detractors knew he was onto something, as its following in the years since has proven. So when Tron: Legacy came around over two decades later, it became a euphoric payoff for longtime fans repeatedly told for years a sequel would never happen. But with the industry finally evolving enough to do justice to Lisberger's futuristic vision, audiences were given an opportunity to experience a 2010 incarnation of the Grid in all its blue neon, 3D glory. And the timing couldn't have been better, at least until those tired "style over substance" complaints that plagued the original resurfaced, squashing any immediate hopes for a follow-up. 

Now after another excruciating wait comes Tron: Ares, with Norwegian director Joachim Rønning taking the reigns of a trilogy no one thought they'd ever see, in the franchise that refuses to die. And despite multiple delays, bad buzz and divisive reactions, it's just as spectacular as the others, ensuring its eventual enshrinement into cult status. Not exactly a sequel or reboot, it exists in this grey area in between, again managing to meet the moment with a timely plot centered around the perils and benefits of artificial intelligence. Of course, the first film foresaw this moral dilemma before anyone, knowing even then that technology's impact largely depends on how humanity chooses to use it.  

It's the year 2025 and rival companies ENCOM and Dillinger Systems are embroiled in a race to bring  digital constructs into reality. One such AI "being" is a program called Ares (Jared Leto), created by Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), the grandson of former ENCOM executive Ed Dillinger. An expendable super soldier, he's a Master Control Program following Julian's directives, but hampered by a fatal design flaw that limits its lifespan to 29 minutes. That's unless Julian can somehow obtain developer Kevin Flynn's (Jeff Bridges) "Permanence Code," which is in the hands of ENCOM's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee), who located it on a floppy disk at Flynn's remote Alaskan station. 

Ignoring his mother and ex Dillinger CEO Elisabeth's (Gillian Anderson) warnings, Julian uses Ares and digital solidier Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith) to attack ENCOM's grid and retrieve the code. After that fails, Julian sends them to target her in the real world to get it, even if this means killing her. But when Ares starts showing signs of empathy and self-awareness, he and Eve agree to work together, infuriating Julian, who escalates his tactics to obtain the code. Alternating between real and virtual worlds, the war for digital supremacy unfolds, carrying increasingly high stakes for Eve and Ares. 

Picking up exactly where Joseph Kosinski's Legacy left off just wasn't feasible, especially considering how they'd have to entice the key players back after over a decade away. If anything, it's a testament to how well Sam and Quorra's arc concluded, with that unforgettable final shot leaving no where else to go, or at least not enough to justify another feature length adventure focused solely on the aftermath.  

The idea that Sam would bow out of ENCOM and hand the company over to someone capable of carrying on his dad's work seems right given how things were left. And most of that information is cleverly dispensed in a slick pre-title sequence that introduces Eve, who's been acting as sole CEO following her sister Tess's (Selene Yun) death. And to the film's credit, that's not a minor detail, as so much of Eve's desire to possess this code stems from a need to fill her late sibling's shoes, and maybe just a touch of lingering jealousy. 

Like his grandfather, Julian's a greedy meglomaniac, only with the volume turned up and far less competence. Even his own mom thinks he's a loser, only making him more dangerous and ambitiously eager to prove himself with this risky, unregulated program. If Ares' perceived flaw is a conscience then the Dillinger CEO's human malfunction is his complete lack of one, causing him to play fast and loose with potentially fatal tech. It's a concept that's permeated Tron's universe from day one, but takes on even greater relevance as AI outpaces society's preparedness in dealing with the potential consequences.  

This all comes to a head when Julian sets his sights on the code, which Eve and colleague Seth (Arturo Flores) use in digitally transplanting an orange tree, effectively breaking the 29 minute rule. This is what Julian wants and he'll stop at nothing to get it, leading to a surreal, action packed light cycle chase through the streets where Eve's hunted by the dutifully compliant Ares and Athena. But upon realizing he's no longer interested in being considered "expendable," Ares develops a rebellious streak, instead trying his chances at freedom. 

While Leto's casting was derided before a trailer even dropped, it's hard to imagine this working quite as well without him, and not just due to his involvement in actually getting the picture made. You'd assume playing a digital entity with human traits is a thin line for any actor to walk, but Leto drops subtle hints that his assassin harbors some strong feelings about what Julian's planning, taking to reality in ways his creator couldn't have counted on. 

Conveying distinctly human qualities with something just a little off, Leto proves up to that task and remains equally convincing in full fledged action hero mode, whether inside or outside of the virtual world. And in an aesthetic departure, this Grid has a substantially darker, grittier feel and look that really sets it apart from its predecessors. This red-tinged hallucinatory trip is backed by Nine Inch Nails' hypnotizing electronic soundtrack, which won't supplant Daft Punk's beloved Legacy score, but provides an awesome accompaniment, representing some of Reznor and Ross's best recent work. 

In a series often overlooked for its performances, Greta Lee's phenomenal as the sympathetic heroine who unexpectedly goes into badass mode to protect Flynn and her sister's legacies from a maniacal Julian, played with deranged glee by Peters. Gillian Anderson shines in a smallish role as the disgraced former CEO embarrassed by her own son while Jodie Turner-Smith is a physical presence, commanding the screen when Athena gradually emerges as the story's chief antagonist.

As the saga's connective tissue, Jeff Bridges' return as Flynn wasn't exactly a well kept secret, but he's perfectly utilized at just the right time, making a colossal statement with the clarity his character imparts on Ares. Taking place in a familiar setting that calls back to the '82 original, this sequence also marks a convergence point for the trilogy, bringing the saga full circle. And while the final battle is a volcanic cacophony of speed and sound, its very last scene is the best of surprises, addressing the elephant in the room and silencing skeptics who assumed the previous entry's events would go unacknowledged.

A visual feast for the senses, this legitimizes the cliché that certain films are intended to be seen and experienced in the biggest, most immersive environment possible. Of course, that's what Tron's always been, and a lot more, regardless of how many bothered to notice at the time  You're either onboard or not, which may as well sum up the history of a franchise that never really got the respect it deserved. But if this is the send-off, it's hard to imagine a better way for the series to go out than staying ahead of the curve, still waiting for the rest us to catch up.                                                  

Elvis & Nixon

Director: Liza Johnson
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Michael Shannon, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville, Colin Hanks, Evan Peters, Tate Donovan, Sky Ferreira, Tracy Letts, Ahna O' Reilly, Ashley Benson, Dylan Penn
Running Time: 86 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

On the morning of December 21, 1970, a meeting took place at the White House between two of the most important and controversial public figures of the 20th century. It created a moment immortalized in a legendary photograph that became the the National Archives' most requested image. Thankfully, Liza Johnson's Elvis & Nixon isn't exactly a movie about that, at least in the strictest sense. If it was, there's a chance we'd be exposed to a reality that's nowhere near as funny or subversively entertaining as what ends up on screen. And while we all probably could have lived without the disturbing knowledge that "The King" and the disgraced 37th President of the United States share an alarming amount in common, isn't it kind of strangely unsurprising? The casting would imply the film's a big joke, and while that's true to an extent, it's at least a really funny joke that also works as a deep dive into the complicated personalities of these two eccentric figures.

Clocking in at a breezy 86 minutes, the film never overstays its welcome, focusing tightly on the immediate events leading up to this infamous meeting and the actual event itself, which definitely doesn't disappoint, thanks largely to the two immersive performances carrying it. This is one of those little footnotes in history that upon reflection signifies much more than it did at the time, with the film's strongest aspect being how well it conveys that. Everyone involved is so blissfully unaware of how simultaneously important and ridiculous this all this. It's hard watching without drawing parallels to current events, contemplating just how thin the line separating politics and celebrity has become. For better or worse, you could easily argue that this rarely discussed encounter helped pave the way, its implications still reverberating through the culture. 

It's 1970 and singer Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) is enjoying somewhat of a career resurgence off the heels of his late '60's comeback special, his fame and public recognizability at an apex. But despite this enormous success, the problems currently facing America heavily weigh on him as he lounges in his palatial Graceland estate, joined at the hip by best friend and "Memphis Mafia" cohort Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer) and bodyguard Sonny West (Johnny Knoxville). Disturbed by the hippie movement and worried the drug culture is rapidly eating away at the minds of the era's youth, Elvis makes it his mission to get sworn in by President Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey) as an undercover "agent-at-large" in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

To accomplish his lofty goal, Presley will have to find a way to reach Nixon, and after showing up at the gates of the White House with a handwritten letter, his request eventually makes it into the hands of top administrative officials Egil Krogh (Colin Hanks), Evan Peters and Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, After initially brushing it off as a ridiculous joke, they soon recognize the obvious, very real opportunity the meeting presents for Nixon to overhaul his out-of-touch, old fashioned image, particularly with young southern voters. But getting the President on board is full of an entirely new set of challenges, culminating in an encounter for the ages as Elvis meets Nixon.

There's a reason the film is titled Elvis & Nixon and not Nixon & Elvis, as the script devotes a considerably larger amount of time to Presley. He's the one on the journey, he's the mind we're granted access to, and at times, it's a fairly strange place to be. Torn between his loyalty to and love for a profession that's afforded him so much and the discomfort of having strangers viewing him as "Elvis" 24/7, he sees a lot of himself in Nixon, who also came from humble beginnings and shares similar conservative values.

The casting of Michael Shannon, known for playing psychotic creeps and menacing weirdos, is unusual not only due to him lacking any physical resemblance to The King, but because the choice seems like it could be some kind of inside joke on audiences. If this were an all-out mindless comedy that might be true, but anyone truly familiar with Shannon knows just how much more he's capable of bringing to it. And he does.

Shannon really gets under Presley's skin during a period of his life where he really did come across as a disturbed eccentric, albeit a likable, well-meaning one. When Elvis is at first informed that the President has no desire to meet him, Presley's not insulted that Nixon doesn't want to meet the one and only "King of Rock n' Roll," but rather sad and disappointed as an American because he has some ideas to share and thinks and they'd be friends. The deflated look on Shannon's face is more akin to an overgrown child being told they won't be meeting Santa Claus than a spoiled celebrity not getting what he wants. It's a small but crucial example of one of many nuances the movie gets right.

Much of the comedy comes from those closest to the two men trying to control uncontrollable personalities since no one really has any idea what will happen when they meet. Nixon is portrayed as an insulated old man, so stubbornly grasping to traditional values it comes as little surprise he has no idea who Elvis Presley even is. That he may have in reality has no baring on the fact that this movie believably theorizing that he didn't is just perfect. It isn't even until his team have to use his daughter to get through to him that they're able to finally set the wheels in motion.

No stranger to playing the Commander-in-Chief on House of Cards, Kevin Spacey now gets to tackle a real one and his physical embodiment of Nixon's mannerisms, posture and way of speaking are frighteningly on point, even taking into account the great actors who have previously tackled the role. While he doesn't get the screen time Shannon does, he makes the absolute most of it, conveying the type of defiant personality that would eventually lead to his downfall. He definitely lived and worked in a bubble, and there's no getting around the distracting fact that Spacey's portrayal will draw inescapable comparisons to our current President.

Finding plenty of common ground in their mutual disdain of hippies, The Beatles, and communism, it was inevitable Elvis and Nixon would hit it off, their discussion as off-the-wall as you'd expect and then some. The rest of the characters are mere window dressing, as they should be, attempting and often failing to keep their bosses' worst tendencies in check. Like how Presley basically tries to sneak an arsenal of firearms into the Oval Office and the person most perplexed as to why that's not  permitted is Nixon himself.

While all the characters' quirks are on full display in the eventual encounter, this semi-biographical account still somehow avoids feeling like a parody because it has genuine affection for two otherwise good men who each had their personality flaws magnified by the pressures of the spotlight. Under different circumstances, maybe both would have been regarded a bit differently, and perhaps even deserve to be. Elvis & Nixon zeroes in on that to become a fun, engaging trip back in time that's as straightforward and direct as the meeting itself.