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The framework of pointlessness is revisited in this tediously complex sci-fi movie, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a third installment to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that eludes this film and its predecessor Tron Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a piece of tough love you might want to administering to all the producers engaged in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

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 Inc, first established in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is led by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then export them into the real world using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena's role and poor Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were perhaps created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one 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 expansive (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful in this film, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be charming when Ares says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Overall Impact

Consistent with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which speed around the environment in linear paths, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); one even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a cop car in two. But there is no drama or danger or human interest anywhere. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.