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The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi film, more a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, 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 once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. That's a piece of tough love you might feel like administering to every producer engaged in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The situation currently is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s odiously nerdish grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create profitable things such as invincible troops and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then transfer them into actual reality using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these creations disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech flashdrive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the humanoid uber-warrior which can exit the virtual realm 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 portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were possibly designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Mr Leto, and I was also very entertained by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful in this film, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be charming when Ares the character says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart.

Series Features and Overall Impact

Consistent with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, adhering to the angular layout of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); one even emits a lethal beam which slices a cop car in half. 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.