🔗 Share this article

The matrix of futility is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction movie, closer to a screensaver than an actual film. It's a third installment to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that eludes this film and its predecessor Tron Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. This is a piece of tough love you might feel like handing out to every producer involved in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Story Summary of Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the VR company Encom Inc, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is headed by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce profitable things such as invincible troops and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then export them into actual reality using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that however fearsome, these things crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog 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 time-honoured way of robots, is beginning to show signs of disobeying what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Analysis

And Ares himself – the hero of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, details that were possibly created by typing the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will ever find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally quite amused by his expansive (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful here, 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 making her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be charming when Ares the character says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Final Impression

Consistent with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which speed around the environment in long straight lines, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); one even emits a lethal beam which slices a police vehicle in two. But there is zero tension or jeopardy or human interest anywhere. This franchise now looks as relevant as an in-car CD player.