🔗 Share this article

The matrix of futility is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull 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 mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that escapes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares nearly comes to life just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like handing out to every producer engaged in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The situation now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s annoyingly geeky grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to develop and produce profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then transfer them into the real world using a sort of 3D printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has uncovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the dreadful Julian 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 disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and poor Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and subtly omniscient grin, details that were possibly designed by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who remembers the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally quite amused by his broad (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Leto is consistently, unrelentingly terrible here, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares the character says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

Consistent with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which whizz about the place in linear paths, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which slices a cop car in two. But there is no drama or danger or human interest anywhere. This franchise now looks about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.