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The matrix of futility is reloaded in this tediously complex sci-fi movie, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a threequel to the original movie Tron from the early 80s, a movie that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that eludes this film and its forerunner Tron Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares almost comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like administering to every producer engaged in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview 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, first established in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create profitable things 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 issue is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “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 sets his attack dog on her: Ares the warrior, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm 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's performance portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena's role and poor Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Breakdown

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and subtly omniscient grin, details that were perhaps designed by typing the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. No one who remembers the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude 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 Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful here, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which speed around the place in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); one even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a cop car in half. But there is no drama or jeopardy or emotional engagement anywhere. This franchise currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.