Tron: Ares Film Analysis – Even Gillian Anderson's Efforts Can't Rescue This Mind-Bendingly Dull Science Fiction Movie

The framework of pointlessness is revisited in this tediously complex science fiction film, closer to a screensaver than an real cinematic experience. This is a third installment to the original movie Tron from 1982, a movie that was groundbreaking and boldly pioneering for its day in a way that eludes this film and its forerunner Tron Legacy from the previous decade. The new Tron film nearly awakens just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack 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 feel like handing out to every producer engaged in this film, and it's sad to see the respected Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of The New Tron Film

The scenario now is that an malicious artificial intelligence company with the unsubtly gangster-ish name of Dillinger has become a competitor to the virtual reality firm Encom Inc, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn's character, played by Jeff Bridges. This corporation (initially founded by Encom's executive Ed Dillinger, acted by David Warner) is headed by the founder’s odiously nerdish grandson Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), who has a ambitious scheme to develop and produce lucrative items such as invincible troops and tanks in the VR world and then export them into the real world using a kind of three-dimensional printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these creations disintegrate after twenty-nine minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the MacGuffin-y “permanence algorithm” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech USB drive. So the dreadful Julian Dillinger sets his attack dog 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 androids, is starting to exhibit symptoms of not doing what he's told. Jodie Turner-Smith portrays Ares's deadpan second-in-command Athena and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a leaden legacy cameo in sage-like white garments, like a Poundshop Jor-El on Krypton.

Acting and Roles Analysis

Moreover, Ares – the protagonist of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with trendy lengthy locks, beard and faintly all-knowing smile, details that were possibly designed by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an artificial intelligence character generator. No one who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life will always find it in their hearts to be totally rude about Mr Leto, and I was also quite amused by his broad (and critically misunderstood) humorous performance in Ridley Scott's movie House of Gucci. But Jared Leto is unremittingly, persistently awful here, although his performance isn't aided by a weak storyline which is intended to allow him to display glimpses of “compassion” for Eve Kim's role and subcontract all the villainous actions to Athena, thus making her marginally more interesting. It is meant to be charming when Ares says how he adores 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are better than Mozart.

Series Features and Overall Impact

And in keeping with the franchise identity of the franchise, there are motorbikes from the VR netherworld which whizz about the environment in linear paths, adhering to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); a single bike even emits a lethal beam which slices a police vehicle in half. But there is zero tension or jeopardy or human interest anywhere. This franchise now looks as relevant as an in-car CD player.