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The framework of futility is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction film, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a third installment to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that escapes this one and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares nearly comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mum, in an traditional bit of real-world action. That's a piece of tough love you might want to handing out to every producer involved in this film, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The situation now is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a rival to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to design and create lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles 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 creations crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “permanence code” 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 warrior, 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 disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and poor Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Analysis

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were possibly designed by typing the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was also very entertained by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role 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 band are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Overall Impact

Consistent with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, conforming to the rectilinear design of classic video games (or indeed dance clubs); one even emits a death ray which slices a police vehicle in two. But there is zero tension or danger or human interest anywhere. This franchise now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.