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The matrix of futility is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi film, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. This is a threequel to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that escapes this one and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like administering to every producer involved in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of The New Tron Film

The scenario now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme 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 three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive for ever, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech USB drive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of robots, is beginning to show signs of disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays 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.

Character and Performance Breakdown

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, details that were possibly designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who remembers the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was also very entertained by his broad (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, unrelentingly terrible in this film, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be charming when Ares says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

Consistent with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of classic video games (or even nightclubs); one even emits a lethal beam which slices a cop car in two. But there is no drama or jeopardy or human interest anywhere. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.