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The matrix of futility is reloaded in this tediously complex science fiction 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 boldly pioneering for its time in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mother, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a bit of firm parenting you might want to handing out to all the producers involved in this movie, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The situation now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the VR company Encom Inc, first established in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is led by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then transfer them into actual reality using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that no matter how intimidating, these creations crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive 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 ghastly Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the humanoid uber-warrior which can leave the VR world for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and unfortunate Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Breakdown

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were possibly designed by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. No one who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally quite amused by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, persistently terrible in this film, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart.

Series Features and Final Impression

Consistent with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of classic video games (or even nightclubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a cop car in two. But there is no drama or jeopardy or emotional engagement anywhere. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.