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The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction film, more a screensaver than an actual film. It's a third installment to the original movie Tron from 1982, a film that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that escapes this one and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like administering to all the producers engaged in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The scenario currently is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the virtual reality firm 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's executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers 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 creations disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has uncovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can keep these things alive for ever, and even stores it on her person on a very low-tech USB drive. So the ghastly Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the humanoid uber-warrior which can leave the VR world for 29 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's role and poor Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – the hero 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 AI human creation programme. No one who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his broad (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently terrible here, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to show flashes of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which speed around the place in long straight lines, adhering to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or even dance clubs); a single bike even emits a death ray which slices a cop car in half. But there is zero tension or danger or emotional engagement anywhere. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.