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The framework of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a threequel to the classic Tron film from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that eludes this film and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. That's a bit of firm parenting you might feel like administering to every producer engaged in this movie, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a rival to the VR company Encom Inc, first established in the 80s arcade-game era by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to develop and produce profitable things such as invincible troops and tanks in the virtual reality grid 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 current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena's role and unfortunate Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were perhaps designed by typing the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. 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 also quite amused by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, unrelentingly terrible in this film, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares the character says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

Consistent with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in two. But there is no drama or danger or emotional engagement throughout. This series now looks as relevant as an in-car CD player.