‘Tron: Ares’ Review: Time to Pull the Plug on this Series, Permanently
Disney consistently overestimates moviegoers' interest in the Tron series. Out of all their live-action reboots, this sci-fi game-centric universe remains less about the games and more about reflecting the state of blockbuster cinema in real time. It doesn’t help that each return to the Grid is even duller and more hollow than before, feeling like each installment was written by the AI programming that makes up these digital worlds. The only element holding them together is the notable music groups that compose the soundtracks, like Tron: Legacy with Daft Punk. And of course, Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn. This third Tron installment, subtitled Ares, does something new to the series: a Jumanji – the one that comes out and not the one that goes in. The concept of a Grid being isekai'ed into our reality is intriguing, but this installment – which follows a Winter Soldier-like AI program with a Pinocchio complex – starring talent-vacuum Jared Leto is cinematic evidence that it’s time to permanently pull the plug on this series.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of Disney
MPA Rating: PG-13 (for violence/action.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 59 Minutes
Language: English
Production Companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Sean Bailey Productions
Distributor: Disney
Director: Joachim Rønning
Writers: Jesse Wigutow
Cast: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges
U.S Release Date: October 10, 2025
Long after the events of Tron: Legacy, Sam Flynn is out of ENCOM, and new CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) is in. She’s on the verge of accomplishing her late sister’s work, the permanence code, which can bring digital products into reality. Elsewhere, the head of Dillinger Systems, Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), created his own red-soaked, militant grid system with characters named after Greek gods. There, his most trusted soldier, a humanoid AI program named Ares (Jared Leto), follows his every command with his right-hand woman, Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith). Julian wants to find the permanence code so he can encourage investors to pull his super soldiers into reality, as he can only generate them in the real world for thirty minutes before they’re sent back to the Grid. As Kim successfully cracks the code and returns to ENCOM’s headquarters in San Francisco, she’s pursued by Ares and Athena, who were transported into the real world. However, Ares, who has developed a fondness for humanity on his own time, wishes to become human. This leads to a rat race of multiple parties trying to get the code first.
Tron Ares encapsulates current Disney for the worse
When Steven Lisberger helmed the original Tron installment, it was actually imaginative in creating a retro-futuristic world based on the 1980s cassette era. Even if that plot made little to no sense, the experimentalism matching the technical feat was part of the 1982 film's charm and identity. Besides that, it was a pioneer in film CGI. In other words, it was revolutionary and encapsulated the next wave of sci-fi.
Joseph Kosinski's Tron: Legacy was released at the perfect time, during the post-Avatar 3D boom of 2010s blockbuster cinema. That was when people cared about continuing the story out of love for the original while being visually creative.
Ares is emblematic of the current state of Disney and blockbuster filmmaking: a blatant, desperate attempt to make its property relevant while leaning into militaristic conservatism and propping it up as entertainment. It’s been a running thread all year, specifically with Captain America: Brave New World. At least Nine Inch Nails' new music is worth hearing in an IMAX theater. It's even better if you can afford to install subwoofers in your house and turn up the volume.
The Dillinger-based Grid we’re transported into is rife with G.I. Joe energy. Its new arena is as boring, drab, and uninteresting as its AI-programmed characters, with vehicles that resemble scraps from James Cameron's Avatar more than Tron. At the heart of it all is the hollow vessel of Jared Leto's robotic performance, which lacks any humanistic elements even by robot-who-wants-to-be-human standards. I’m more bummed for Jodie Turner-Smith, whose aggressive Athena's only distinctive feature is her rockin' blonde hair. The human counterparts don't fare any better, as not even Greta Lee's charm and Evan Peters' charismatic, antagonistic tech bro energy are enough to bring this script to life. Not to mention a wasted Gillian Anderson as Julian's enabling mother, and the rarely unfunny Arturo Castro as Eve's comic relief right-hand man.
Tron Ares has one good action sequence and not much else
As a writer, I don’t believe in using ChatGPT for any means, but I almost considered it for this review so I could match Tron: Ares’ sheer narrative laziness. The entire plot is just a race to find a code that gives digital objects eternal life, done with the same cow-milking, nostalgia-filled hubris that's been running the Mouse House for ages. I mean, if you have a beat that enables a character to recognize their humanity by expressing their love for Depeche Mode and then transforms it into an unfunny gag and plot point, then there’s no reason for it to exist.
Director Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) retains his role as Disney’s go-to “yes man” for their generic blockbuster bidding as the film is composed of chaotic and flashy set pieces. While visually impressive with strong VFX work, it often screams in your face, “Isn't this cool?!” Much like Mistress of Evil – I can't believe I'm mentioning that trash fire – it's rampant in uninspired, destruction-heavy set pieces and slow-motion slop. The only worthwhile action sequence is a lightcycle chase through San Francisco. Even at the Grid, the graphics and computer-generated effects are of the highest caliber, but the lack of creativity completely undermines the work.
I don’t expect a Tron movie to engage in contemplative dialogue about the current AI-driven landscape. However, Jesse Wigutow's dull and hollow screenplay frequently capitalizes on the bleak and infuriating modern AI push and skewers its virtues towards positivity. It takes a "good" stance on it via Eve's expository dialogue, commenting on how "it can change the world." Meanwhile, Bob Iger is lauding it, saying how it’s vital for the industry. Though this film reflects how far the industry – and Disney, for that matter – has strayed in the last fifteen years, I admire Ares for showcasing how unimaginative these companies are today.
FINAL STATEMENT
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