Tron: Ares Film Analysis – Even Gillian Anderson's Efforts Fails to Save This Boringly Complex Sci-Fi Film

The framework of futility is revisited 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 film that was mould-breaking and courageously innovative for its day in a way that escapes this film and its forerunner Tron: Legacy from 2010. The new Tron film nearly comes to life just one time – when Evan Peters' character gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson's character portraying his mother, in an traditional bit of analogue reality. This is a piece of tough love you might want to administering to every producer engaged in this movie, and it's unfortunate to see the respected Greta Lee's role and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.

Plot Overview of Tron: Ares

The situation 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 Inc, originally set up in the 1980s gaming period by genius trailblazer Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges. This Dillinger (originally set up by Encom executive Ed Dillinger, acted 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 lucrative items such as invincible troops and armored vehicles in the VR world and then transfer them into the real world using a kind of 3D printer.

The issue is that no matter how intimidating, these creations disintegrate after 29 minutes. But Encom's present chief executive Eve Kim (Greta Lee) has uncovered the plot-driving “permanence code” which can maintain these entities for ever, and even keeps it on her person on a very low-tech flashdrive. So the dreadful Julian deploys his enforcer on her: Ares, the superhuman fighter which can exit the virtual realm for 29 minutes at a time but which, in the traditional way of robots, is beginning to show signs of disobeying what he is commanded. Jodie Turner-Smith's performance plays Ares's stoic deputy Athena and unfortunate Jeff Bridges has a wooden legacy appearance in wise white robes, like a budget Jor-El on Krypton's setting.

Character and Performance Analysis

And Ares himself – the protagonist of the film's name – is acted by Jared Leto with hipsterish long hair, facial hair and subtly omniscient grin, details that were possibly created by inputting the words “incredibly irritating” into an AI human creation programme. Nobody who recalls the 1990s television classic My So-Called Life series will always find it in their hearts to be completely harsh about Jared Leto, and I was also quite amused by his expansive (and widely misinterpreted) 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 limp plot point which is supposed to allow him to display glimpses of “empathy” for Greta Lee's character and subcontract all the badass wickedness to Athena's character, thus rendering her slightly more engaging. It is supposed to be adorable when Ares says how he loves 1980s electronic music and that Depeche Mode are superior to Mozart.

Series Features and Overall Impact

Consistent with the brand-identity of the franchise, there are motorbikes from the virtual underworld which speed around the place in long straight lines, adhering to the rectilinear design of antique arcade games (or even nightclubs); one even shoots out a death ray which slices a police vehicle in two. But there is no drama or jeopardy or emotional engagement throughout. This franchise now looks as relevant as an automobile CD system.