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The framework of pointlessness is revisited in this tediously complex science fiction film, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a threequel to the classic Tron film from the early 80s, a film that was groundbreaking and courageously innovative for its time in a way that eludes this one and its predecessor Tron Legacy from the previous decade. The new Tron film almost comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson portraying his mother, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. That's a piece of tough love you might feel like handing out to every producer engaged in this film, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of The New Tron Film

The scenario now is that an evil AI corporation with the obviously criminal name of Dillinger Corp has become a rival to the virtual reality firm Encom, first established in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger's role, played by David Warner) is led by the founder's odiously nerdish grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to design and create profitable things such as indestructible soldiers 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 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 extremely basic USB drive. So the ghastly Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer 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 time-honoured way of robots, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith plays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena's role and poor Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the hero of the film's name – is played by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were perhaps created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who recalls the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will ever find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was incidentally quite amused by his expansive (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Leto is consistently, persistently terrible here, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is supposed to allow him to show flashes of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be charming when Ares the character says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart's compositions.

Series Features and Final Impression

Consistent with the franchise identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which speed around the place in long straight lines, adhering to the angular layout of classic video games (or indeed dance clubs); one even emits a lethal beam which cuts a cop car in two. But there is zero tension or jeopardy or emotional engagement anywhere. This franchise now looks about as urgently contemporary as an automobile CD system.