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The framework of futility is revisited in this tediously complex science fiction movie, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. This is a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that eludes this film and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mother, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. That's a bit of firm parenting you might want to handing out to every producer involved in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, 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 headed by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then export them into actual reality using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive for ever, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the dreadful Julian 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 time-honoured way of androids, is beginning to show signs of disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and poor Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Analysis

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the title – is acted by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were perhaps designed by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. No one who remembers the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was also very entertained by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Leto is consistently, persistently terrible in this film, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart.

Series Features and Overall Impact

Consistent with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which speed around the environment in linear paths, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); one even shoots out a death ray which cuts a police vehicle in half. But there is zero tension or danger or human interest anywhere. This franchise currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.