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The matrix of futility is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, more a screensaver than an actual film. It's a third installment to the classic Tron film from 1982, a film that was mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that escapes this film and its forerunner Tron Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mother, in an traditional bit of real-world action. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like handing out to all the producers engaged in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The scenario now 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, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is headed by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create profitable things such as invincible troops and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then export them into actual reality using a kind of 3D printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even stores it on her person on a very low-tech flashdrive. So the dreadful Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the superhuman fighter which can exit the virtual realm for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of robots, is beginning to show signs of disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and unfortunate Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the title – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were possibly designed by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life 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) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, unrelentingly awful here, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be charming when Ares the character says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which whizz about the environment in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of classic video games (or indeed dance clubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which slices a police vehicle in two. But there is no drama or jeopardy or human interest throughout. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.