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The matrix of futility is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi film, more a screensaver than an actual film. This is a third installment to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its day 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 slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. This is a bit of firm parenting you might feel like handing out to every producer involved in this movie, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The scenario now is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom, first established in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is led by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then export them into actual reality using a sort of 3D printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even stores it on her person on a very low-tech flashdrive. 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 starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Breakdown

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the title – is acted by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were perhaps created by typing the words “extremely annoying” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, unrelentingly terrible here, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to show flashes of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart.

Series Features and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); a single bike even shoots out a death ray which slices a cop car in two. But there is zero tension or jeopardy or human interest throughout. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.