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The matrix of pointlessness is revisited in this tediously complex sci-fi film, more a screensaver than an actual film. It's a third installment to the classic Tron film from 1982, a film that was mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that eludes this one and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. That's a bit of firm parenting you might feel like handing out to all the producers engaged in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview 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 virtual reality firm Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn, 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's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then transfer them into actual reality using a kind of 3D printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these creations crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares the warrior, the superhuman fighter which can leave the VR world for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, is beginning to show signs of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and poor Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Breakdown

And Ares himself – the hero of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were possibly designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. No one 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 also quite amused by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

Consistent with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, adhering to the angular layout of antique arcade games (or indeed nightclubs); one even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in two. But there is zero tension or danger or emotional engagement throughout. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.