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The matrix of pointlessness is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, more a screensaver than an actual film. This is a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares nearly awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like administering to every producer engaged in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of The New Tron Film

The scenario currently is that an malicious artificial intelligence company 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 brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is led by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce profitable things such as invincible troops and tanks in the VR world and then transfer them into actual reality using a sort of 3D printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things disintegrate after 29 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 keeps it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger 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 time-honoured way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and poor Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Breakdown

And Ares himself – the hero of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, details that were possibly designed by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was also quite amused by his broad (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly terrible here, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be charming when Ares the character says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

Consistent with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the place in linear paths, adhering to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); a single bike even emits a lethal beam which slices a cop car in two. But there is zero tension or jeopardy or human interest throughout. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.