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The matrix of futility is reloaded in this tediously complex science fiction movie, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. It's a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that escapes this one and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. The new Tron film almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. That's a bit of firm parenting you might feel like handing out to every producer involved in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom, first established in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is led by the founder’s odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles in the VR world and then export them into the real world using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that no matter how intimidating, these things disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger sets his attack dog on her: Ares the warrior, 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 disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and poor Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the title – is acted by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were perhaps designed by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline 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 rendering her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorbikes from the VR netherworld which speed around the place in linear paths, adhering to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); one even shoots out a death ray which cuts a cop car in half. But there is no drama or danger or emotional engagement anywhere. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.