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The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction movie, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. This is a threequel to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a movie that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that eludes this film and its forerunner Tron Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mother, in an traditional bit of real-world action. That's a bit of firm parenting you might want to administering to all the producers engaged in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The situation now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create lucrative items such as invincible troops and armored vehicles in the VR world and then transfer them into the real world using a kind of 3D printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these creations crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can leave the VR world for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the title – 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 artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who remembers the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally quite amused by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, persistently terrible in this film, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be charming when Ares the character says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in half. But there is no drama or danger or emotional engagement anywhere. This franchise currently appears as relevant as an automobile CD system.