Tron: Ares Review – Even Gillian Anderson Fails to Rescue This Boringly Complex Sci-Fi Film

The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull science fiction film, more a screensaver than an actual film. 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 escapes this film and its predecessor Tron: Legacy from the previous decade. The new Tron film almost awakens just one time – when Evan Peters gets a slap 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 want to handing out to every producer involved 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 Tron: Ares

The scenario now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the obviously criminal 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 Dillinger (originally set up by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is led by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson Julian (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to design and create lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then export them into actual reality using a sort of 3D printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these things crumble into dust after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has discovered the plot-driving “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 Dillinger sets his attack dog on her: Ares, the superhuman fighter which can leave the VR world for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the time-honoured way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and unfortunate Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, beard and subtly omniscient grin, details that were possibly created by typing the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. No one 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 also quite amused by his expansive (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful in this film, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to show flashes of “compassion” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he adores 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart.

Series Features and Final Impression

Consistent with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorcycles from the virtual underworld which whizz about the place in long straight lines, conforming to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or even dance clubs); one even shoots out a lethal beam which cuts a police vehicle in half. But there is no drama or jeopardy or emotional engagement anywhere. This series currently appears about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.