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The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this tediously complex science fiction film, more a screensaver than an actual film. It's a third installment to the classic Tron film from 1982, a movie that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that escapes this film and its predecessor Tron Legacy from the previous decade. Tron: Ares almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. That's a piece of tough love you might want to handing out to all the producers engaged in this film, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith's character being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The situation currently is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is headed by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to develop and produce profitable things such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the virtual reality grid and then export them into the real world using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has uncovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence code” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the dreadful Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the superhuman fighter which can exit the virtual realm for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena's role and poor Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, details that were possibly designed by typing the words “incredibly irritating” 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 also very entertained by his broad (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, unrelentingly awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be charming when Ares the character says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which whizz about the place in linear paths, adhering to the rectilinear design of classic video games (or indeed nightclubs); one even emits a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in two. But there is no drama or jeopardy or emotional engagement anywhere. This series now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.