Tron: Ares Review – Despite Gillian Anderson's Efforts Can't Rescue This Incredibly Boringly Complex Sci-Fi Film

The framework of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull 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 mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that escapes this one and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. That's a piece of tough love you might want to administering to every producer involved in this movie, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The situation now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is led 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 the real world using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic USB drive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the superhuman fighter which can exit the virtual realm for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena's role and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Breakdown

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the title – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were possibly designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was also very entertained by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is consistently, persistently terrible here, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be charming when Ares says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart.

Series Features and Overall Impact

Consistent with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the place in linear paths, adhering to the rectilinear design of classic video games (or indeed dance clubs); one even emits a death ray which cuts a cop car in two. But there is zero tension or danger or emotional engagement throughout. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.