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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 threequel to the classic Tron film from 1982, a movie that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that escapes this film and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mother, in an traditional 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's role and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The situation now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is led by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to develop and produce lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles in the VR world and then export them into actual reality using a sort of 3D printer.

The problem 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 uncovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the dreadful 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 traditional way of robots, is beginning to show signs 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 Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the title – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and subtly omniscient grin, details that were possibly designed by inputting 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 totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally quite amused by his broad (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be charming when Ares the character says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

Consistent with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, conforming to the angular layout of classic video games (or even nightclubs); a single bike even emits a lethal beam which slices a police vehicle in half. But there is no drama or danger or human interest throughout. This franchise currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.