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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. It's a third installment to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that escapes this film and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a bit of firm parenting you might feel like handing out to all the producers involved in this movie, and it's unfortunate 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 malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a rival to the VR company Encom Inc, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (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 ambitious scheme to develop and produce profitable things such as invincible troops and tanks in the VR world and then export them into the real world using a sort of 3D printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered 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 dreadful Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, 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 disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and subtly omniscient grin, details that were perhaps created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. No one who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will ever 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 movie House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, persistently terrible 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 subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be charming when Ares says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode 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 place in long straight lines, conforming to the angular layout of classic video games (or even nightclubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which slices a cop car in half. But there is zero tension or danger or emotional engagement anywhere. This franchise now looks as relevant as an in-car CD player.