Review of Tron: Ares – Even Gillian Anderson Can't Rescue This Incredibly Boringly Complex Sci-Fi Movie

The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this tediously complex science fiction film, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a threequel to the original movie Tron from 1982, a film that was mould-breaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from 2010. Tron: Ares nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mum, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. This is a bit of firm parenting you might want to handing out to every producer engaged in this movie, and it's unfortunate 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 scenario currently is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a rival to the VR company Encom, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn's character, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson's character Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce profitable things such as invincible troops 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 creations crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim's character (Greta Lee) has discovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities permanently, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech flashdrive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger sets his attack dog on her: Ares, 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's told. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Breakdown

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the title – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were perhaps designed by inputting the words “extremely annoying” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude 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 Jared Leto is consistently, persistently awful here, although he isn't helped by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role and delegate all the villainous actions to Athena's character, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be charming when Ares the character says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode band are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Final Impression

Consistent with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorcycles from the VR netherworld which whizz about the place in linear paths, adhering to the angular layout of classic video games (or even dance clubs); one even emits a death ray which slices a cop car in two. But there is no drama or danger or emotional engagement throughout. This franchise currently appears as relevant as an in-car CD player.