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The matrix of futility is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, more a screensaver than an actual film. It's a threequel to the original movie Tron from the early 80s, a film that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that eludes this film and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film almost comes to life just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a bit of firm parenting you might want to administering to every producer engaged in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The scenario currently is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a rival to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder’s odiously nerdish grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create lucrative items 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 no matter how intimidating, these things crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even stores it on her person on a very low-tech flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and unfortunate Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles 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 possibly created by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who remembers the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally quite amused by his expansive (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, unrelentingly awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

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 slices a police vehicle in half. But there is no drama or danger or emotional engagement throughout. This franchise now looks about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.