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The matrix of pointlessness is revisited in this tediously complex sci-fi movie, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a threequel to the classic Tron film from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. 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 respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is led by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then export them into the real world using a kind of 3D printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can keep these things alive for ever, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech USB drive. So the dreadful Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares, 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 starting to exhibit symptoms of disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena's role and unfortunate Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were possibly created by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who remembers the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was also very entertained by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly terrible in this film, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the VR netherworld which speed around the environment in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of antique arcade games (or indeed nightclubs); a single bike even emits a lethal beam which cuts a cop car in half. But there is no drama or danger or human interest anywhere. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.