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The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this tediously complex sci-fi movie, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. This is a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that escapes this one and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film almost comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a bit of firm parenting you might want to handing out to all the producers engaged in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The scenario currently is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the VR company Encom, first established in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is headed 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 indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then export them into actual reality using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even stores it on her person on a very low-tech USB drive. So the dreadful Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the superhuman fighter which can leave the VR world for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of androids, is beginning to show signs of disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Breakdown

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were possibly designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who remembers the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, persistently terrible here, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be charming when Ares the character says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

Consistent with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the place in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of classic video games (or indeed nightclubs); one even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a cop car in half. But there is no drama or danger or human interest anywhere. This series now looks as relevant as an automobile CD system.