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The matrix of futility is reloaded in this tediously complex sci-fi movie, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. It's a threequel to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its time in a way that escapes this film and its forerunner Tron Legacy from the previous decade. The new Tron film nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mother, in an traditional bit of real-world action. That's a piece of tough love you might feel like handing out 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.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The scenario now is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a rival to the VR company Encom, first established in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s odiously nerdish grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to design and create profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then export them into actual reality using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that no matter how intimidating, these creations disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even stores it on her person on a very low-tech USB drive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the superhuman fighter which can exit the virtual realm for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Analysis

And Ares himself – the hero of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were perhaps designed by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who remembers the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series 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 movie House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly 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 subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be charming when Ares the character says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the VR netherworld which speed around the place in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); one even shoots out a death ray which cuts a cop car in half. But there is zero tension or danger or emotional engagement throughout. This franchise currently appears as relevant as an automobile CD system.