Review of Tron: Ares – Despite Gillian Anderson's Efforts Fails to Rescue This Mind-Bendingly Dull Sci-Fi Film

The framework of futility is revisited in this tediously complex sci-fi film, more a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. This is a third installment to the original movie Tron from the early 80s, a movie that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from the previous decade. The new Tron film almost awakens just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of real-world action. This is a bit of firm parenting you might feel like administering to every producer involved in this film, and it's sad to see the estimable Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so uninspired.

Plot Overview of The New Tron Film

The situation currently is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger 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 Dillinger (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson's character Julian (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to design and create lucrative items such as invincible troops and armored vehicles in the VR world and then export them into the real world using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these creations crumble into dust after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive for ever, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian sets his attack dog on her: Ares the warrior, the humanoid uber-warrior which can leave the VR world for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Analysis

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, touches that were possibly designed by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. No one who remembers the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was also very entertained by his expansive (and critically misunderstood) comic turn in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently terrible here, although his performance isn't aided by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena, thus making her slightly more engaging. It is meant to be charming when Ares the character says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart.

Series Features and Final Impression

Consistent 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 antique arcade games (or indeed dance clubs); a single bike even emits a lethal beam which slices a cop car in two. But there is no drama or danger or human interest anywhere. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.