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The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi film, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a third installment to the original movie Tron from the early 80s, a movie that was mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that escapes this one and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film almost 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. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like handing out to all the producers involved in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s odiously nerdish grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to develop and produce lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then transfer them into actual reality using a kind of 3D printer.

The issue is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the humanoid uber-warrior which can leave the VR world for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, 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 wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the title – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were possibly created by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Leto is consistently, persistently 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 Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be charming when Ares the character says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which speed around the environment in linear paths, adhering to the angular layout of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); one even emits a death ray which cuts a police vehicle in half. But there is zero tension or danger or human interest anywhere. This franchise now looks as relevant as an automobile CD system.