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The framework of pointlessness is reloaded in this tediously complex science fiction film, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. It's a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a film that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that escapes this one and its forerunner Tron Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares nearly awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mother, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. This is a bit of firm parenting you might want to administering to all the producers involved in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The situation currently is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to design and create profitable things such as invincible troops and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then transfer them into actual reality using a sort of 3D printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these creations crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim's character (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 dreadful Julian deploys his enforcer 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 traditional way of robots, is beginning to show signs of disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena's role and unfortunate Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Breakdown

And Ares himself – the hero of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and subtly omniscient grin, details that were perhaps created by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who remembers the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Mr Leto, and I was also quite amused by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, unrelentingly awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be charming when Ares says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Final Impression

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which whizz about the place in linear paths, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which slices a cop car in two. But there is no drama or jeopardy or human interest throughout. This franchise currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.