🔗 Share this article

The matrix of futility is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, more a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. This is a third installment to the classic Tron film from 1982, a film that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that escapes this film and its predecessor Tron Legacy from the previous decade. The new Tron film nearly comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. That's a piece of tough love you might want to handing out to every producer involved in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

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 virtual reality firm Encom, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to design and create lucrative items such as invincible troops and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then export them into the real world using a sort of 3D printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech flashdrive. So the dreadful Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the superhuman fighter which can exit the virtual realm for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, details that were possibly created by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls 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 very entertained by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful in this film, 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 villainous actions to Athena's character, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

Consistent with the brand-identity of the series, 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 shoots out a death ray which cuts a cop car in two. But there is no drama or jeopardy or human interest anywhere. This franchise now looks as relevant as an in-car CD player.