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The framework of futility is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull 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 escapes this one and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mum, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. That's a bit of firm parenting you might want to handing out to all the producers engaged in this movie, 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 The New Tron Film

The situation now is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is led by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then transfer them into actual reality using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these creations crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the dreadful Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the superhuman fighter which can leave the VR world for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were perhaps created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. No one who remembers 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 quite amused by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, unrelentingly terrible here, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and delegate 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 are better than Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of antique arcade games (or indeed nightclubs); a single bike even shoots out a death ray which cuts a police vehicle in half. But there is no drama or danger or emotional engagement anywhere. This series now looks as relevant as an in-car CD player.