User Reviews

Ares is a movie falling into the category of dystopian stories, which seem to be quite popular lately. In it, we find all traditional elements of a dystopia: super rich elite and starving, homeless masses, evil corporations willing to do whatever it takes to increase profits, violent entertainment - here in the shape of a particularly violent type of boxing in which everything goes - drugs, and general hopelessness. The protagonist is an ex-boxer, who helps the regime until he is forced to go back in the ring.

Right up to this point I was certain this was going to be yet another movie about a brave individual beating the regime by taking part in its sick entertainment. And just when I was starting to feel truly bored, the movie became much grittier and much darker than I expected. This second part of the story is really well crafted and it is able to say a few important things about our modern society.

The acting is really good and I would say it is one of the best aspects of the movie. I especially liked Ola Rapace as Ares, as he was able to convey both the character's love for his family and his violent nature. Also, it is quite refreshing to see actors who aren't Hollywood stars once in a while.

Special effects, cinematography and editing may not be the best in the world, but they are quite good, especially for a European movie. The brightly-colored CGI generated skyscrapers not only look pretty good, but they also add a lot to the general atmosphere of the movie.

To sum up, Ares may not be the best dystopian movie in the world, but it is a solid production nonetheless. It's quite ambitious and may surprise a viewer expecting another bloody and violent action movie. I know I was surprised by how good the movie is.

In France of the future the corporations are all powerful. Despite owning pretty much everything they seem bent on ruining everyone's day for more profit. It is now legal to test chemicals and robotics on people, leading to some great gizmos and some very messed up test subjects.

The title character is a boxer who ekes a living by getting his head kicked-in on cable TV. He is a quiet, moody pragmatist dedicating himself to survival.

His sister and niece have much grander ideas.

What follows is a great character study. It is the realist verses the idealist. If nobody tries to make a change then nothing changes - on the other hand you have to accept the cost that you and those around you are going to pay.

The action is fairly light, there are some fisty-cuffs but nothing to get excited about. The characters are very interesting and well cast. The filming is purposely dark and grungy - don't expect too much of Sci- Fi this is mainly about a clash of ideals.

Definitely worth a Netflix watch.

Like Blade Runner it's a dystopian future, and in this is mass human experimentation by heartless corporations, as well a brutal prize fighting. But it's not a martial arts movie. It's a movie about the sacrifices that one man makes to try to save his family. I thought it extremely well done and compelling, and somewhat sad. There is a hint of the original French revolution throughout, which is interesting. The setting is Paris.

That's the kind of picture that the Hollywood crap factories will unfortunately never give us, concerning the characters, the scheme and especially the ending. A very very pessimistic but realistic tale about the future of the human kind. This scheme may make the audience think of George Orwell's 1984 or Yves Boisset's LE PRIX DU DANGER. A true depressing portrait of an anti hero, a man who has nothing to lose after his sister death, a desperate man ready at anything to save his nieces against a powerful and gigantic pharmaceutic company which wants to rule the world. That's a gloomy and brutal, bloody story, not for the squeamish. Ole Rapace already played in another anticipation stuff, a mini series, SECTION ZERO, which I have already talked about and where Rapace gave a similar performance. He is an underrated actor, very convincing.

Ares is an interestingly prophetic sci fi film from France.

Given the rise of corporate control and big pharma, its not too much of a stretch to envision a dystopian future where people are cannon fodder for drug dollars.

This is an action film first and foremost but its an intelligent one. The premise it starts from offers up one possible grim future that's quite plausible and builds from solid, rational foundations.

Perhaps the only downside of this film is it does feel a little abrupt at times, with an ending that could have had more impact had it been handled with a little more care.

Nonetheless, this is a quality production I can recommend. Seven out of ten from me.

Ares is not the kind of film I'd normally watch, I've just had a spate of good luck with French cinema lately so hoped for the best.

It tells the story of a struggling futuristic France where 15 million people are unemployed and even more homeless. Prize fighting has become big business and our story follows a washed up fighter reeled back in by big pharma and their legal enhancement supplements.

Despite the subject matter this isn't the brainless macho action feature you'd expect, it's fairly smart and paints a grim dystopian future where people are desperate while the top 1% manipulate them.

I appreciated everything they did here, though it's certainly not my kind of film that made something out of a very played out formula.

Good writing saves it to a degree and I'd say this is a watchable affair for anyone who likes their action films with a hint of intelligence.

The Goood:

Well written

Fairly smart little film

The Bad:

The brainless aspects still exist

Not as polished as it could have been

I'm always interested in new plot ideas and this one was different. My main gripe was that it was pretty slow. It really didn't pick up until the last 20 minutes and then ended super quick. It was a short movie and there wasn't a lot of dialogue so I didn't mind the subtitles at all.

Really good action film with a different premise, good characterizations, excellent action scenes and an unpredictable storyline. I never knew where it was going and was surprised when we got there. Think along the lines of "District 13" and "Lucy."

You won't remember this film 5 minutes after you watched it, it is that uneventful. It isn't a bad movie and it isn't a good movie. It just is. The thing about the film is that we may get to the future it depicts, we are kinda there already.

Some reviewers mentioned Blade Runner, really what were they tripping on? I think someone said crossover between Blade Runner and RoboCop. In which universe is that?

I would say this should be at a 5 🌟 rating. Right in the middle as a blah film. I assume that every 6+ rating comes from French viewers. If you want a non dubbed French film, sure go for it.

I think they had a pretty cool and original idea. I also really like the super gritty "Robocop Detroit style Paris" they created; the sets + CG shots of the city were very well done. Unfortunately the writing and directing were just so so, the acting was pretty lacking and the fight scenes subpar. At barely over an hour, this would be a decent indie short film, but as a supposedly full fledge movie it just doesn't cut it.

The perfect exercise to prove how to make a film instantly forgettable. It did have one redeeming feature though - it was mercifully short

Amazing. Dystopian vision encapsulated in fairly short, yet well served story. It's barebone, it's told consequently, characters are credible (even though stereotypes are used heavily) and the makers managed not only to fit into the story large, unpleasant vision of broken society but also how it influences ordinary people relationships, way of thinking and how burdensome simple decency might be. And the level of world-building details, all of them placed well and presented naturally - oh, it's really great.

Sci-fi was always about warning and exploring possible futures of mankind and cyberpunk sub-genre dwells on particularly disillusioned assessment of human nature. Make no mistake, this is not William Gibson copy, it is original piece and has unique touch to it (Eiffel tower burdened with giant commercial displays is really a view to remember). Yet given how the western society looks like nowadays it continues to underline and repeat the vision of very pessimistic consequences down that path. We can get a glimpse on that terrifying future walking along with Ares, ex professional boxer, riot cop hired for hours whos dream of decent, peaceful life is a corner kiosk. Ares is forced to get back on the ring and well, things go south at some point.

The crates and secured doors. The groceries bought through small slipping hole (so the shop robbery isn't that easy). The shop-keeper speaking through mic and pushing away regular customer, a total negative of still existing cozy small-shop topos with keeper knowing his regulars and chatting with them about their lives. Such details, small touches, consequently presented throughout the movie make this world terrifyingly alive and... possible.

Must see for cyberpunk fans, should see for anyone who likes condensed, yet complete story with good visuals.

Thoughtful, well directed, cast and shot. Punches above its weight. Chapeau.

... you truly believe all corporations are 100% evil, this movie is for you. Also...

... If you truly believe anything European will be automatically more original than Hollywood, this movie is for you. You don't even have to watch it to give a 9-star superb review!

As for me, some Hollywood movies are good, some are bad. Same goes for European films. Ares, for instance, is mostly bad. To compare Ares to Blade Runner you mustn't watch at least one of them. Blade Runner was written decades ago and was projected into a further future. Ares was produced a couple of years ago, projected only 2 decades ahead and yet people don't have smartphones and still buy printed newspaper. C'mon!

The narrative is worse than predictable, it is obvious. It feels like a movie written by an AI using TV Tropes as a tool.

On the bright side, Dystopian Paris deserves a star. The main reason it is worth to watch at least the first five minutes. Scoring and fight scenes also deserve a star: voilá, 4 stars!

There are several interesting elements in this dystopian science fiction film "Made in France", which is a pleasure to see in the French cinematic landscape of this century. Unfortunately, for undefined reasons (artistic and / or financial!?), it looks more like a long trailer than a full-length film, because both the story and the characters would have deserved further development. All the more so there is a definite potential for a hexagonal "Blade Runner", which explores the gray areas and lies that lead to the failed state stage.

This looked good, well acted, had unique feeling. First I was going to skip because of the fighting (not my favorite genre) but Im glad I didnt. Hollywood should take a look at this and learn how to make movies.

Great idea!!! ... But

• less action
• less acting
• less effect
• less script

All together it could have been a much better film. That's annoying. Hmpf

Really great movie filled with action and emotions

Amazingly well done. An excellent example of what genuine quality writing and story telling can do, without having to rely on big budget CGI and cliché' gimmicks.

The premise of the film is not at all implausible, and much of the precursor elements that are the core criteria of this story are readily observable in current times.

If anything, this darkish glimpse into a foreboding near future realm may be a bit too realistic for some, who are already keenly aware of these precursor elements in their current form.

Stylistically, it does have some hints of the original Blade Runner tone to it, though not nearly as far into the future realm that BR portrays. The premise of Ares is much more gritty, down to earth, immersed into the frailties and challenges of the human condition, extruded through the mandrill of a dystopian near future world of crushing economic disparity mapped against corporate intrigues and corruption with a particularly ironic twist, the relevancy of which becomes immediately apparent within the first few minutes of the film.

This is one of those productions which could have turned out very badly, if mishandled with clumsy direction or cheesy cardboard characters, which has become all too common in typical Hollywood productions.

Thankfully, however, this is not one of those examples, but rather a refreshingly rare example to the contrary.

Aside from a couple of minor plot holes, which the viewer can discover for themselves, I give this production a very solid 9 out of 10 stars.

So many crap movies out there get high ratings and movies like this one are down voted and buried. I saw this movie but accident on my cable TV an boy am glad I didn't change channel. Thumbs up to the makers.

Woaahhh!!! Just a great movie, deep vision and warning to us in a very thoughtful and entertaining movie at the same time. Various level of understanding, the deepest the worriest for our future given we are currently running towards the trend perfectly described in the smart storyline. Congratulations. From a writer.

An excellent engaged B movie, mix of science fiction, action and thriller in a futuristic Paris Hashima mode. The actors are very good, beautifully filmed and you do not get bored for a single second. Entertaining and intelligent ! In short, by far one of the most beautiful surprise of this end of the year (2016). We keep on saying that French B movies are dead, but absolutely not, and it's called Ares !

432. Ares. This flick could have easily been an updated version of The Running Man. It was a cool dystopian tale about a drugged up underground fighter who goes by Ares and the company that buys his soul... Ares is a loser and he knows it, but getting his head beat in earns him rent money. Then one day his sister goes ahead and gets in trouble with the law, Ares lacks the funds to get her out, and that's when a big ol corporation offers Ares a deal, take our new drug, that will basically make him an unstoppable machine, no pain, just kick ass power. Of course the downside is, it only lasts a few minutes, so he's gotta take care of business before the drug wears off. What happens then? He may fall asleep, go into a coma, or ya know die. Do this for them, bang! Heres the cash to get sis out of the joint. But ya know corporations, especially in those dystopian movies, they never keep their word... Like I said, definitely had Running Man vibes. Could have taken place in the Blade Runner universe. Looked cool, interesting characters and a story that flowed well. Check it out!! Filmbufftim on FB.

Gave me hope again in French cinema. watch it with your eyes closed!

12 first minutes a bit sloppy but then gets exciting, interesting. nice characters with consistent personnality. scenario is surprising and realistic. good moment