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The framework of futility is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi film, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a third installment to the classic Tron film from 1982, a movie that was mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mother, in an traditional bit of real-world action. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like administering to every producer engaged in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The situation currently is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom, 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's executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is led by the founder’s odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then export them into actual reality using a kind of 3D printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these creations disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can keep these things alive for ever, and even keeps it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and unfortunate Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo 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 hipsterish long hair, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were perhaps created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who remembers the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally quite amused by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful in this film, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Final Impression

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which whizz about the place in long straight lines, adhering to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); one even shoots out a lethal beam which slices a police vehicle in two. But there is zero tension or danger or human interest anywhere. This series now looks as relevant as an automobile CD system.