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The framework of futility is reloaded in this tediously complex science fiction film, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. This is a threequel to the original movie Tron from the early 80s, a film that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that eludes this film and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like administering to every producer involved in this movie, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The situation currently is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is headed by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create lucrative items such as invincible troops and tanks in the VR world and then export them into the real world using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. 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 time-honoured way of robots, is beginning to show signs of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and unfortunate Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Breakdown

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 typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, unrelentingly awful here, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be charming when Ares says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

Consistent with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, adhering to the angular layout of antique arcade games (or indeed nightclubs); one even shoots out a lethal beam which slices a cop car in two. But there is no drama or danger or emotional engagement throughout. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.