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Tron: Ares (PG-13)

Cast: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson

Release Date: October 10, 2025

Runtime: 1 hr. 59 mins.

Genre: Science Fiction, Action/Adventure

“TRON: Ares” follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.

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Review

Tron: Ares is fan service at its finest: a bold, brash spectacle that can't get enough of its Easter eggs and callbacks. But there are two problems with this approach: it can be alienating for those outside the inner circle, and it prioritizes sensory overload over storytelling. Even for those who fell in love with the quirkiness of the original 1982 film - and may have been a little disappointed by the 2010 sequel - this installment doesn't quite live up to expectations. Things may look great, but there's something hollow at the center. The screenplay is surprisingly shallow, cobbling together a narrative pilfered from other, better films (from the explicitly mentioned Pinocchio to Terminator to just about any movie that uses A.I. as a plot point). Seen in a theater, its roller-coaster elements provoke engagement, but it's hard to shake the nagging feeling that we've seen it all before and know exactly where it's going.

It's hard to say which is more overwhelming: director Joachim Rønning's visual smorgasbord or the throbbing, Daft Punk-inspired score assembled by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. At times, the soundscape threatens to become overbearing (and I saw it in 2D - the 3D version is more readily available). That's not entirely a problem, since the audiovisual excess distracts from a threadbare storyline filled with clichéd characters and uninspired action scenes. The humanity in the film - embodied primarily by Eve Kim (a wonderful Greta Lee) - gets short shrift. Every time we're in danger of feeling something, Rønning cranks the spectacle up to eleven, steering the viewer away from any emotional connection.

As Kevin Flynn, Jeff Bridges represents the bridge (no pun intended) to the past. He's the only actor to have appeared in all three movies, though his role here amounts to little more than an extended cameo. Completely missing in action is Bruce Boxleitner, who, despite being as associated with the franchise as Bridges (having appeared not only in the two previous films but also in two video games and an animated TV series), doesn't even merit a mention. With so much of the film steeped in nostalgia, the decision not to involve Boxleitner at all is curious, feels borderline-disrespectful. (He says he wasn't asked to appear.)

The background to Ares informs viewers that it's 2025, and ENCOM has a new CEO: Eve Kim (Lee), who has succeeded Kevin's son, Sam. ENCOM and rival tech firm Dillinger, headed by Ed Dillinger's grandson, Julian (Evan Peters), are in a race to find the "permanence code," a piece of software that will allow entities transferred from the cyber realm to exist permanently in the physical world. Currently, digital constructs disintegrate after 29 minutes. While Eve seeks answers in a small Arctic outpost, Julian builds a tactical strike team in the cyber world, led by Ares (Jared Leto), the new Master Control Program, and second-in-command Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith). Once Eve locates Kevin's original permanence code, Julian targets her for kidnapping, sending 29-minute incarnations of his attack dogs into the real world to extract the code from her memory and delete whatever remains. But Ares, showing signs of sentience and independence, begins to struggle against his programming.

In 1982, Tron was a visionary film - one that acknowledged the reality of cyberspace long before the general public had any concept of it. Dismissed by some critics as "style over substance," it was actually too sophisticated for those without a solid tech background to appreciate its foresight. The same cannot be said of Tron: Ares, which does nothing new with the philosophical implications of A.I. that we haven't already seen. If Tron was ahead of its time, Tron: Ares is lagging behind.

The concept of someone entering a video game and playing from within was one of Tron's most enjoyable conceits. Ares tries to replicate this by transferring the action from cyberspace to the physical universe and slathering it in flashy special effects. It's cool-looking, sure, but it doesn't raise the pulse. Admittedly, it takes a lot to make a motorcycle race exciting, and whatever that secret ingredient is, Rønning doesn't find it.

The only interesting character is Eve. Although her background is poorly developed - we learn she lost her younger sister to cancer and is planning to step down as ENCOM's CEO - Lee does a fine job fleshing out her personality. The same can't be said for the robotic Ares, whose supposed awakening to emotion is handled poorly. Jared Leto's acting is mechanical, which works early in the film but not so much later. Evan Peters is adequate as the megalomaniacal narcissist, while Jodie Turner-Smith is intimidating as Athena. And Gillian Anderson collects a paycheck in the thankless role of Julian's overbearing mother.

The film ends with a minor cliffhanger that presumably teases future installments. Personally, I'll be thrilled if they never come to pass. The primary problem with Tron: Ares, as with Tron: Legacy, is that sequels to the original were always doomed to disappoint. The 1982 film was conceived as a one-off, and every attempt to build a franchise around it has felt forced. Despite its relentless nostalgia-mining, Ares moves further away from the original's spirit without evolving enough to stand on its own. The result is a two-hour kaleidoscope of color and sound - dazzling to look at, but empty at its core.

© 2025 James Berardinelli

Synopsis

“TRON: Ares” follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.

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