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The framework of futility is revisited in this tediously complex sci-fi film, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. This is a threequel to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film 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 gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. That's a bit of firm parenting you might want to administering to all the producers involved in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal 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, 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 annoyingly geeky grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to develop and produce profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then transfer them into the real world using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (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 USB drive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares the warrior, 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 beginning to show signs of disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Acting and Roles Analysis

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the title – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were perhaps created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls 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 incidentally very entertained by his broad (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful here, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be charming when Ares says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

Consistent with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which whizz about the place in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of classic video games (or even nightclubs); one even emits a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in two. But there is no drama or danger or human interest anywhere. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.