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The matrix of futility is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction movie, more a screensaver than an actual film. This is a third installment 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 eludes this film and its predecessor Tron Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares nearly comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mother, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. This is a bit of firm parenting you might feel like handing out to every producer involved in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of The New Tron Film

The scenario currently is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is led by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce lucrative items such as invincible troops and tanks in the VR world and then export them into the real world using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that however fearsome, these things crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive for ever, and even stores it on her person on a very low-tech flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the superhuman fighter 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 is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and poor Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Breakdown

And Ares himself – the hero of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were possibly designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, persistently terrible in this film, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be adorable when Ares the character says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Final Impression

Consistent with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which speed around the environment in long straight lines, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed nightclubs); one even emits a death ray which cuts a police vehicle in half. But there is no drama or danger or human interest throughout. This franchise now looks as relevant as an automobile CD system.