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The framework of pointlessness is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, more a screensaver than an actual film. This is a third installment to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that escapes this film and its forerunner Tron Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares almost comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mother, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. This is a bit of firm parenting you might feel like administering to all the producers engaged in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The scenario currently is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom, first established in the 80s arcade-game era by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create lucrative items such as invincible troops and tanks in the VR world and then transfer them into the real world using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these creations disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of androids, is beginning to show signs of not doing what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

And Ares himself – the hero of the title – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and subtly omniscient grin, details that were perhaps designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his broad (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, persistently terrible in this film, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart.

Series Features and Final Impression

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, adhering to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); one even shoots out a death ray which slices a police vehicle in half. But there is zero tension or danger or emotional engagement anywhere. This franchise now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.