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The matrix of futility is reloaded in this tediously complex sci-fi film, more a screensaver than an actual film. This is a threequel to the original movie Tron from the early 80s, a film that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that eludes this one and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares nearly awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mother, in an traditional bit of real-world action. This is a piece of tough love you might want to handing out to all the producers engaged in this movie, and it's sad 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 currently is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom, first established in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator 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 led by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create profitable things such as invincible troops and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then transfer them into the real world using a sort of 3D printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even keeps it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, is beginning to show signs of not doing what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Analysis

And Ares himself – the hero of the title – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were possibly created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was also very entertained by his expansive (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful here, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares the character says how he adores 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 virtual underworld which speed around the environment in linear paths, conforming to the angular layout of classic video games (or indeed nightclubs); a single bike even emits a death ray which cuts a police vehicle in two. But there is no drama or danger or human interest anywhere. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.