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The framework of futility is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, more a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. This is a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a film that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that escapes this one and its forerunner Tron Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mum, in an traditional bit of real-world action. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like handing out to every producer engaged in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

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, first established in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce profitable things such as invincible troops and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then transfer them into the real world using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the superhuman fighter which can exit the virtual realm for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the title – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, 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 series will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was also quite amused by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful in this film, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be adorable when Ares the character says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart.

Series Features and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which speed around the environment in long straight lines, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); a single bike even shoots out a death ray which cuts a cop car in two. But there is no drama or jeopardy or emotional engagement anywhere. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.