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The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. It's a third installment to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that eludes this film and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like handing out to every producer involved in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of The New Tron Film

The situation now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce lucrative items such as invincible troops and tanks in the VR world and then transfer them into actual reality using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that no matter how intimidating, these things disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech USB drive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for 29 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 portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and unfortunate Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the title – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were possibly designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. No one who remembers the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was also very entertained by his broad (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Leto is consistently, unrelentingly terrible in this film, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be charming when Ares the character says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart.

Series Features and Overall Impact

Consistent with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, adhering to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); a single bike even shoots out a death ray which slices a cop car in two. But there is zero tension or danger or human interest throughout. This franchise now looks as relevant as an automobile CD system.