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The matrix of pointlessness is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. This is a third installment to the classic Tron film from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that eludes this film and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. That's a piece of tough love you might feel like administering to every producer involved in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom, first established in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create profitable things such as invincible troops and tanks in the VR world and then export them into actual reality using a kind of 3D printer.

The problem is that no matter how intimidating, these things crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the dreadful Julian deploys his enforcer 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 androids, is beginning to show signs of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena's role and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Acting and Roles Breakdown

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were possibly created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who remembers the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Mr Leto, and I was also very entertained by his broad (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly terrible in this film, 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's character, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 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 motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in long straight lines, conforming to the angular layout of classic video games (or indeed dance clubs); one even shoots out a death ray which slices a police vehicle in two. But there is no drama or danger or human interest throughout. This franchise now looks about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.