Tron: Ares

Official Australian release date: 9/10/25. Viewed: 9/10/25.
Director: Joachim Ronning
Actors: Greta Lee, Jared Leto, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith
Genre: Sci-Fi / Action
Rating: M

‘Tron: Ares’ is the third film in the video-game/pre-‘Matrix’ series that revolves around “the Grid” (effectively cyberspace) and the competing companies controlling it, Encom and Dillinger (effectively Microsoft & Google) and their CEOs trying to take the next leap forward in AI – Eve Kim (Lee) and Julian Dillinger (Peters). I assume you don’t need to have seen the 1982 original or 2010’s ‘Tron: Legacy’, but there’s plenty of throwbacks and linkages, even if this isn’t a direct sequel.

So many cameos/supporting cast that all add something, but don’t get heaps of time = Julian’s mum, Elisabeth (Anderson), Eve’s CTO Ajay (Minhaj) & COO Seth (Castro), and obviously Kevin Flynn (Bridges), which is handled quite well. The main plot revolves around a security program, Ares (Leto) that tries to obtain “permanence” in the real-world, and his other Dillinger program Athena (Turner-Smith). Leto is actually not bad, with his still-somehow-youthful face perfect for an AI, and he has a few lines that get a few chuckles.

While there’s plenty of similarities to ‘Blade Runner 2049’ and ‘Ready Player One’, and arguably not as good, ‘Tron: Ares’ does deliver some very impressive CGI, with vivid colour, fast-paced action – especially on the motorbikes and jetski – and some engaging fight scenes. The final act set piece is pretty epic, especially when paired with the strong Reznor/Ross score. All wrapped-up in under 2 hours.

Overall: Better than I was expecting!

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars

 

One Battle After Another

Official Australian release date: 25/9/25. Viewed: 1/10/25.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Benicio Del Toro
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Rating: M

‘One Battle After Another’ may not be as good as ‘There Will Be Blood’, but it’s quite an accomplished effort. After the hectic, relentless 30min start that crams in a few years of freedom-fighting with Perfidia (Taylor) and Bob (DiCaprio) and lots of quick cuts, with little exposition, as we see a semi-fictional anti-immigration police-state-USA. We then move to 16 years later to follow Bob and their daughter Willa (Infiniti) in California, trying to lead a normal life, and settle into a more regular pacing.

I quite enjoy dishevelled, not-in-control/atypical hero Leo, who doesn’t have a costume changer for the final 2 hours! He’s funny without being a fool and shows good heart. Speaking of bad fashion – Lockjaw (Penn)’s haircut makes him an obvious bad-guy right from the start! Sensei Sergio (Del Toro) does his great cheeky nonchalance to perfection. And newcomer Infiniti is strong, especially in the final 30min.

I’d say it’s a mix of spy thriller, action, drama and social commentary all rolled into one. The old White men ruling the world thing is sadly not too much of a stretch. There’s not actually that much violence, even as it almost turns into a Western. The roller-coaster car-chase near the end is great to watch – and all aided by a solid soundtrack. The score is good in most parts, but sometimes purposefully off-putting. It does feel quicker than 2 hours 35min, and has a satisfying conclusion.

Overall: Enjoyable, relentless action mash-up

Gav’s Rating: 4 stars

The Long Walk

Official Australian release date: 11/9/25. Viewed: 17/9/25.
Director: Francis Lawrence
Actors: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garret Wareing, Mark Hamill
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Rating: MA

‘The Long Walk’ has a premise that is simple, brutal and a bit silly. We’re thrown right in to the starting line of the long walk – an apparently, non-defined dystopian future/past, in an apparent USA (even though filmed in Canada). We meet 50 walkers/participants, one from each state, as they walk without stopping until there’s only one left. Even though the situation is made clear, it only really sinks in after the first 20min or so, when they finally show the title.

We follow a core group of 7 – Ray Garraty (Hoffman – yes, Phillip Seymour’s son), Peter McVries (Jonsson), Arthur Baker (Nyuot), Hank Olson (Wang), Collie Parker (Odjick), Stebbins (Wareing) and Barkovitch (Plummer). Good to see a bunch of young actors making a name for themselves. We don’t see all the deaths, but after a while, it’s hard not to put yourselves in their shoes – how long would I last? What would get me – lack of sleep, cramp/illness/injury, dehydration? As well as those 7 having strong character growth throughout the film, it’s worth mentioning the Major (Hamill, hard to pick in his Aviators, even at night), who is exaggerated malevolence, and Ginnie (Greer), Ray’s mum.

While it may sound boring, it’s quite engrossing, and does well to skip ahead in parts, and have the miles/days occasionally shown to keep pace. It’s relatively quick at 1 hour 45min. I haven’t read the Stephen King book, but this treads the line between horror and hope, like most of his good works do. The film sits somewhere between ‘The Road’ and ‘The Purge’, with a hint of ‘The Green Mile’. The friendship that grows between Ray & Pete is the core of the film and highlights the importance of finding light in the darkness.

Overall: Relentless, sometimes shocking, solid thriller

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars

 

The Roses

Official Australian release date: 4/9/25. Viewed: 6/9/25.
Director: Jay Roach
Actors: Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Rating: MA

‘The Roses’ is a reimagining of 1989’s ‘The War of the Roses’, which I should note I’ve not seen, nor have I read the book. We start with Ivy (Colman) and husband Theo (Cumberbatch), on a therapy couch. We then go back to when they first met, and skip to a few years later when they have 2 kids, Hattie & Roy, when Theo’s architecture dreams quite literally come crashing down. Ivy’s restaurant becomes successful, and they swap their parenting roles.

It's mostly a rom-com, with the whole mad-cap, escalating situations to try to divorce each other only taking up the last 20min or so. Colman and Cumberbatch are both good, and we probably need more screentime from friends Barry (Samberg) & Amy (McKinnon), and Rory (Demetriou) & Sally (Chao). Like most things in films, all the issues in their relationship are exaggerated, with no real unforgiveable sins committed. The house on the northern California coast does look amazing.

It's quite quick at 100min, but still drags a little in the middle. The ending is maybe not as shocking as I was expecting, but absurd enough. A few good laughs, solid performances, but given it’s from the director of the ‘Austin Powers’ films, it’s not as funny or silly as I was hoping – probably closer to Roach’s ‘Dinner For Schmucks’.

Overall: Passable rom-com-gone-wrong

Gav’s Rating: 3 stars

 

Honey Don't

Official Australian release date: 28/8/25. Viewed: 31/8/25.
Director: Ethan Coen
Actors: Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Charlie Day
Genre: Mystery / Comedy
Rating: MA

‘Honey Don’t!’ is a semi-comedic murder mystery that follows Honey (Qualley), a private investigator as she looks into a series of odd deaths connected to a church run by Reverend Drew (Evans). She has some help from Marty (Day) and MG (Plaza) from the local police. It all starts with a car crash, Cher (Abova) and some gratuitous nudity and a lot of questions.

We sort of meet some of Honey’s family, including niece Corinne (Ryder), and there’s lots of plot points set up, but not necessarily all of them followed through. While there’s some funny moments, there’s no real jokes or hilarious moments, as it tries to be more of a semi-desert, almost 70s (even though it’s modern, with mobile phones) whodunit, with the main twist being that the tough detective is played by a lesbian rather than an old man.

All the cast are good, particularly Qualley, but at less than 90min, it definitely feels like Evans, Plaza and Day are all shortchanged. While looking stylish and with a good soundtrack – and unique titles – it ends up feeling like a set-up to a TV series or multiple films, not a standalone film. It’s not bad, but just leaves a few too many things unresolved.  

Overall: Probably needed more Joel

Gav’s Rating: 3 stars

 

Primitive War

Official Australian release date: 21/8/25. Viewed: 25/8/25.

Director: Luke Sparke
Actors: Ryan Kwanten, Carlos Sanson, Tricia Helfer, Jeremy Piven
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Rating: MA

‘Primitive War’ is a low-budget, Australian-made film, set in 1968 during the Vietnam War. The twist? There’s dinosaurs in the Vietnamese jungle for some reason! After a quick set-up where some US special forces go missing, Colonel Jericho (Piven) sends in Vulture Squad to find them, led by Sergeant Baker (Kwanten). These 7 men all head into the jungle and hang around longer than I expected! There’s a fair bit of ‘Predator’ influence at times.

All of them get some time for us to know them, primarily Baker and Leon (Sanson). They somehow run into a Russian scientist, Sofia (Helfer), who mentions multiple times how she saved their lives. It’s a bit drawn out in the middle/first hour, but we slowly get introduced to little raptors and then a T Rex to keep things interesting. It is a little long at 2 hours 10min, with some long exposition scenes and the whole wormhole plot could’ve been cut down.

Regardless, director Sparke has saved the budget for the final 45min, where it’s dinosaur overload – the CGI is pretty good, arguably more realistic than some ‘Jurassic Park’s, with feathered raptors, different looking Brontosaurus and just-different-enough Tyrannosaurs. Unlike the last 3 ‘Jurassic World’ films – and ‘65’ – it avoids the main let-down of these films, by having a good amount of violence and gore/dinosaur attacks/jump scares. The soundtrack is solid, the Gold Coast occasionally looks like it could be Vietnam, the actors are mostly OK, but we’re all here to see dinosaurs and a high body-count – and ‘Primitive War’ delivers.

Overall: Dinosaurs and high body-count, hard not to enjoy!

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars

The Naked Gun

Official Australian release date: 21/8/25. Viewed: 22/8/25.
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Actors: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Danny Huston, Paul Walter Hauser
Genre: Comedy
Rating: M

‘The Naked Gun’ is a reboot/sequel to the 1988/91/94 ‘Naked Gun’ films, with Frank Drebin (Liam Neeson) playing the son of Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin. Frank Junior’s partner at the LA Police Squad is Ed (Walter Hauser), with Beth (Anderson) as the love interest, and Cane (Huston) as the bad guy. The plot’s not too dissimilar to ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’. It’s from the director of ‘Hot Rod’, ‘The Watch’ and ‘Popstar’, if that’s any guidance.

The film does a pretty good job of doing the same type of silly comedy as the originals, with lots of sight gags, absurd set pieces (the giant claw), mispronunciation and inner-monologue jokes. I did quite like the recurring takeaway coffee cup gag. Neeson plays it all very straight and is quite good, playing off his action-hero persona from the past 2 decades – also impressive since he’s now 73.

At only 75min, the film doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. It’s definitely has some laugh-out-loud moments, but maybe not as many as hoped for. Lots of smirks and little nods. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but is still good to have comedy on the big screen. The overall tone is not quite as good as the originals, but it’s definitely not going to have Neilsen rolling in his grave. The credits scene is quite innovative and fun.

Overall: Solid attempt at old-school humour

Gav’s Rating: 3 stars