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The matrix of futility is reloaded in this tediously complex science fiction film, more a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a third installment to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares nearly comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. That's a piece of tough love you might want to administering to every producer involved in this movie, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of The New Tron Film

The scenario currently is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is led by the founder’s odiously nerdish grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create lucrative items such as invincible troops and armored vehicles in the VR world and then export them into actual reality using a sort of 3D printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can keep these things alive for ever, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the ghastly Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, details that were perhaps designed by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly terrible 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 villainous actions to Athena, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

Consistent with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which speed around the place in linear paths, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); one even emits a death ray which slices a police vehicle in two. But there is no drama or danger or human interest throughout. This series now looks as relevant as an automobile CD system.