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The framework of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction film, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. It's a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a film that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering 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 once – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like administering to every producer involved in this film, and it's sad 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 currently is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is led by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then transfer them into actual reality using a kind of 3D printer.

The problem is that no matter how intimidating, these creations crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the humanoid uber-warrior which can leave the VR world for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, 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 sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Acting and Roles Breakdown

And Ares himself – the hero of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were perhaps designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently terrible in this film, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares the character says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which speed around the place in long straight lines, conforming to the angular layout of classic video games (or even nightclubs); 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 in-car CD player.