🔗 Share this article

The matrix of pointlessness is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction film, more 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 boldly pioneering for its day in a way that eludes this film and its forerunner Tron Legacy from the previous decade. The new Tron film nearly comes to life just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mother, in an traditional bit of real-world action. That's a piece of tough love you might want to handing out to every producer engaged in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith 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 Corp has become a rival to the VR company Encom Inc, first established in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded 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 design and create profitable things such as invincible troops and armored vehicles in the virtual reality grid and then export them into the real world using a sort of 3D printer.

The problem is that no matter how intimidating, these things disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares the warrior, the superhuman fighter which can exit the virtual realm for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, is beginning to show signs of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena's role and poor Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and subtly omniscient grin, touches that were perhaps created by typing the words “extremely annoying” into an artificial intelligence character generator. Nobody who remembers 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 incidentally very entertained by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful in this film, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is intended to allow him to show flashes of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be adorable when Ares the character says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in long straight lines, conforming to the rectilinear design of classic video games (or even dance clubs); one even emits a death ray which cuts a police vehicle in two. But there is no drama or jeopardy or emotional engagement anywhere. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.