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The framework of pointlessness is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi film, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. It's a third installment to the classic Tron film from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that escapes this film and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. That's a bit of firm parenting you might want to administering to every producer involved in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The situation now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the VR company Encom, first established in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to develop and produce lucrative items such as invincible troops and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then export them into the real world using a kind of 3D printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these creations disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has uncovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares the warrior, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of androids, is beginning to show signs of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and poor Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the title – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were possibly created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was also very entertained by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be charming when Ares says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart.

Series Features and Overall Impact

Consistent with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which whizz about the environment in long straight lines, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed nightclubs); a single bike even emits a death ray which slices a police vehicle in half. But there is no drama or jeopardy or emotional engagement anywhere. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.