🔗 Share this article

The framework of futility is revisited in this tediously complex sci-fi movie, more a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. This is a third installment to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that eludes this film and its forerunner Tron Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. That's a piece of tough love you might feel like administering to every producer engaged in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to design and create lucrative items such as invincible troops and tanks in the VR world and then transfer them into the real world using a sort of 3D printer.

The issue is that however fearsome, these creations crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (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 flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the superhuman fighter which can exit the virtual realm for twenty-nine 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 plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and poor Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the title – is acted by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were perhaps designed by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. No one who remembers the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will always 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 Jared Leto is consistently, persistently awful here, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Final Impression

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which speed around the place in long straight lines, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed nightclubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a cop car in half. But there is no drama or jeopardy or emotional engagement throughout. This franchise now looks as relevant as an automobile CD system.