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The matrix of pointlessness is revisited in this tediously complex science fiction film, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. This is a third installment to the original movie Tron from the early 80s, a film that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that escapes this film and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares nearly comes to life just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. This is a piece of tough love you might want to handing out to every producer involved in this film, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The scenario currently is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, first established in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then export them into actual reality using a sort of 3D printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the superhuman fighter which can leave the VR world for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and unfortunate Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Acting and Roles Analysis

And Ares himself – the hero of the title – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were possibly created by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. No one who recalls the 1990s television 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) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly 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 “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Overall Impact

Consistent with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which whizz about the place in long straight lines, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed nightclubs); one even emits a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in half. But there is no drama or jeopardy or emotional engagement throughout. This series currently appears as relevant as an automobile CD system.