Tron: Ares Review – Despite Gillian Anderson Can't Rescue This Incredibly Mind-Bendingly Dull Sci-Fi Film

The framework of pointlessness is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi movie, more a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a threequel to the original movie Tron 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 2010. The new Tron film almost comes to life just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mother, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. That's a piece of tough love you might want to handing out to every producer engaged in this movie, and it's sad to see the respected 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 competitor to the VR company Encom, first established in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to develop and produce profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and armored vehicles in the VR world and then export them into actual reality using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can keep these things alive for ever, and even stores it on her person on a very low-tech USB drive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, 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 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 wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the title – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were possibly created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who remembers the 1990s television 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 broad (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently terrible in this film, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode band are better than Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Overall Impact

Consistent with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, conforming to the rectilinear design of classic video games (or even dance clubs); one even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a cop car in half. But there is zero tension or danger or human interest throughout. This franchise currently appears as relevant as an automobile CD system.