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The framework of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi film, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. This is a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from the previous decade. The new Tron film nearly comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like handing out to all the producers involved in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of The New Tron Film

The situation now is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, first established in the 80s arcade-game era by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to design and create lucrative items such as invincible troops and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then export them into actual reality using a kind of 3D printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech USB drive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer 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 robots, is beginning to show signs of disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and poor Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the title – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were possibly designed by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who remembers the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Mr Leto, and I was also quite amused by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be charming when Ares says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Final Impression

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorbikes from the VR netherworld which whizz about the place in long straight lines, conforming to the angular layout of classic video games (or indeed nightclubs); a single bike even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in two. But there is zero tension or jeopardy or human interest throughout. This franchise currently appears as relevant as an in-car CD player.