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The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, more a screensaver than an actual film. It's a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that escapes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mother, in an traditional bit of real-world action. That's a bit of firm parenting you might want to handing out to every producer involved in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The scenario currently is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, first established in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is headed by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then transfer them into the real world using a kind of 3D printer.

The issue is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can keep these things alive for ever, and even keeps it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the superhuman fighter which can leave the VR world for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of androids, is beginning to show signs of disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Analysis

And Ares himself – the hero of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were perhaps created by typing the words “extremely annoying” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his expansive (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, persistently awful in this film, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Final Impression

And in keeping with the franchise 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 classic video games (or even dance clubs); one even emits a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in two. But there is no drama or danger or emotional engagement throughout. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.