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The framework of futility 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 the early 80s, a film that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that escapes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. This is a bit of firm parenting you might want to handing out to every producer involved in this film, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The scenario currently is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the VR company Encom Inc, first established in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up 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 design and create profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles in the VR world and then transfer them into actual reality using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things disintegrate 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 very low-tech flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and unfortunate Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Acting and Roles Breakdown

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were perhaps designed by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally quite amused by his broad (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful in this film, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares the character says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which speed around the place in long straight lines, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); one even shoots out a death ray which slices a cop car in two. But there is zero tension or danger or human interest throughout. This series currently appears as relevant as an automobile CD system.