🔗 Share this article

The matrix of futility is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. This is a third installment to the classic Tron film from 1982, a film that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that eludes this one and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares nearly awakens just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. This is a piece of tough love you might want to administering to every producer engaged in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The situation now is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a rival to the VR company Encom, first established in the 80s arcade-game era by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up 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 develop and produce profitable things such as invincible troops and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then export them into the real world using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that however fearsome, these things crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger sets his attack dog 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 is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor 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 trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were possibly created by typing the words “extremely annoying” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who remembers the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was also quite amused by his expansive (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful in this film, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to show flashes of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares the character says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

Consistent with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which whizz about the place in long straight lines, adhering to the rectilinear design of classic video games (or even dance clubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in two. But there is zero tension or danger or human interest throughout. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.