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The framework of futility is reloaded in this tediously complex science fiction movie, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. It's a third installment to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that eludes this film and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. That's a bit of firm parenting you might want to handing out to all the producers involved in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the VR company Encom Inc, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles in the VR world and then export them into actual reality using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that no matter how intimidating, these creations crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer 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 disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena's role and poor Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the title – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were perhaps designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” 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 Jared Leto, and I was also very entertained by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful here, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract 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 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

Consistent with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the place in long straight lines, conforming to the angular layout of classic video games (or even dance clubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which slices a police vehicle in half. But there is no drama or jeopardy or human interest throughout. This franchise now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.