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The framework of pointlessness is revisited in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction film, more a screensaver than an actual film. This is a threequel to the classic Tron film from 1982, a film that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. This is a bit of firm parenting you might feel like administering to all the producers engaged in this film, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of The New Tron Film

The situation now is that an evil AI corporation with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the VR company Encom Inc, originally set up in the 80s arcade-game era by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, played by David Warner) is led by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then transfer them into actual reality using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that no matter how intimidating, these things crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's current CEO 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 very low-tech flashdrive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger 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 androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and poor Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the title – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and subtly omniscient grin, details that were possibly created by typing the words “extremely annoying” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was incidentally very entertained by his broad (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful in this film, although he isn't helped 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's character, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be adorable when Ares says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart.

Series Features and Final Impression

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which speed around the place in linear paths, adhering to the rectilinear design of classic video games (or even dance clubs); a single bike even emits 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 in-car CD player.