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The matrix of futility is reloaded in this tediously complex science fiction movie, more a screensaver than an actual film. This is a third installment to the original movie Tron from the early 80s, a movie that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mum, in an traditional bit of real-world action. This is a bit of firm parenting you might want to handing out to every producer involved in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The situation currently is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, 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'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 develop and produce lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then export them into actual reality using a kind of 3D printer.

The problem is that no matter how intimidating, these things disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered 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 dreadful Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares the warrior, the superhuman fighter which can leave the VR world for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, is beginning to show signs of disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Analysis

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were possibly created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally quite amused by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, persistently awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be charming when Ares the character says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which speed around the place in linear paths, conforming to the angular layout of classic video games (or indeed dance clubs); a single bike even shoots out a death ray which cuts a police vehicle in half. But there is zero tension or jeopardy or emotional engagement anywhere. This franchise now looks as relevant as an automobile CD system.