Review of Tron: Ares – Even Gillian Anderson's Efforts Fails to Save This Boringly Complex Science Fiction Movie

The framework of pointlessness is reloaded in this tediously complex science fiction film, more a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. It's a threequel to the original movie Tron from the early 80s, 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 comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters gets a slap in the face from Gillian Anderson's character playing his mum, in an traditional bit of real-world action. That's a piece of tough love you might want to handing out to all the producers involved in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Story Summary of The New Tron Film

The situation currently is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger Corp has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, first established in the 1980s gaming period by brilliant innovator Kevin Flynn, portrayed by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (initially founded by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder's annoyingly geeky grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a grand plan to develop and produce lucrative items such as indestructible soldiers and tanks in the VR world and then transfer them into actual reality using a sort of three-dimensional printer.

The problem is that however fearsome, these things disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's current CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can keep these things alive permanently, and even stores it on her person on a extremely basic flashdrive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger deploys his enforcer on her: Ares the warrior, the humanoid uber-warrior which can leave the VR world for twenty-nine minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of robots, is beginning to show signs of not doing what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance portrays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and poor Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Character and Performance Analysis

And Ares himself – 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 artificial intelligence character generator. No one who remembers the 90s TV classic My So-Called Life will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was also very entertained by his broad (and widely misinterpreted) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's film House of Gucci. But Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful here, although he isn't helped by a limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus rendering her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be adorable when Ares the character says how he loves 80s synth pop and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart.

Franchise Elements and Final Impression

Consistent with the brand-identity of the series, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which speed around the environment in long straight lines, adhering to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or even dance clubs); a single bike even emits a lethal beam which slices a police vehicle in half. But there is zero tension or danger or emotional engagement throughout. This franchise currently appears as relevant as an automobile CD system.