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The framework of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction film, more a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. This is a third installment to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that escapes this film and its forerunner Tron Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an traditional bit of real-world action. That's a piece of tough love you might want to handing out to all the producers engaged in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the respected 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 obviously criminal name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian Dillinger (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 actual reality using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the superhuman fighter which can leave the VR world 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's performance portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were possibly created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. No one who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, unrelentingly terrible here, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be charming when Ares says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart.

Series Features and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorbikes from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of classic video games (or indeed nightclubs); one even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in half. But there is zero tension or danger or human interest throughout. This franchise now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.