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The matrix of futility is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction movie, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. This is a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that escapes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. That's a piece of tough love you might want to administering to all the producers involved in this film, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The scenario currently is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, played 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 Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to design and create profitable things such as invincible troops and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then export them into actual reality using a kind of 3D printer.

The issue is that however fearsome, these creations disintegrate 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 permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech USB drive. So the ghastly Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – 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 inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. No one who remembers the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his expansive (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful here, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be charming when Ares the character says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the VR netherworld which whizz about the place in linear paths, adhering to the angular layout of antique arcade games (or indeed nightclubs); a single bike even emits a lethal beam which slices a cop car in half. But there is no drama or danger or emotional engagement throughout. This franchise currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.