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The framework of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a third installment to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that escapes this one and its forerunner Tron Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares nearly comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mum, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. This is a piece of tough love you might want to administering to every producer 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 The New Tron Film

The scenario now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, first established in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson Julian (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 the real world using a sort of three-dimensional 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 maintain these entities for ever, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can leave the VR world for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop 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, touches that were perhaps designed by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody 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 quite amused by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, persistently terrible in this film, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which speed around the environment in long straight lines, adhering to the rectilinear design of classic video games (or indeed nightclubs); a single bike even emits a lethal beam which cuts a cop car in half. But there is zero tension or jeopardy or emotional engagement throughout. This franchise now looks as relevant as an automobile CD system.