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The matrix of futility is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi film, more a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a third installment to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that eludes this one and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film almost comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. That's a piece of tough love you might want to administering 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.

Plot Overview 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 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 executive Ed Dillinger's role, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce lucrative items such as invincible troops and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then transfer them into the real world using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The issue 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 discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the dreadful Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares the warrior, 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's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and poor Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

And Ares himself – the hero of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were possibly designed by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was also very entertained by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, unrelentingly awful in this film, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be adorable when Ares the character says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart.

Series Features and Final Impression

And in keeping with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which speed around the environment in long straight lines, adhering to the rectilinear design of classic video games (or even nightclubs); one even emits a death ray which cuts a cop car in two. But there is zero tension or jeopardy or human interest anywhere. This franchise currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.