What’s It About

A highly sophisticated Program, Ares, is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

It’s that time again. Disney is reviving the Tron franchise with another installment, and really, I should have learned by now not to get my hopes up. When I paid to see the very pretty but virtually nonexistent “Tron: Legacy” more than a decade ago, I said to myself that I wouldn’t do that again. However, it has been 15 years since that time, technology has advanced, and possibly – just possibly – they have figured out how to create a narrative to go along with the breathtaking visuals. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. “Tron: Ares” is about what happens when someone Rainbow Brite-slides a bunch of visually appealing computer graphics together with some well-known actors, hoping that no one can figure out that the movie is basically nonexistent. This is what really bugged me – what a world of opportunity this was to say something meaningful about AI – something credible about technology taking over our lives, and what it really meant to be human in a digital age. Instead, we are given a corporate thriller that plays it so safe that half of the audience could take a nap during the action scenes. The movie centers around the character of Ares, a digital warrior played by Jared Leto, who travels from the computer world of ‘The Grid’ to our society. He works for the character of Julian Dillinger, who is played by Evan Peters, a tech founder whose motivation is to pursue the integration of AI as weapons for sale to the military. On the other side, there’s Eve Kim, played by Greta Lee, who leads the rival company Encom and wants to use this same technology to help people instead of hurt them. The big prize everyone wants is something called the Permanence Code, which would let these digital beings stay in our world forever instead of falling apart after twenty-nine minutes. Let’s begin with the positives, since there are a few rays of sunshine in this disaster. The film has some really beautiful visuals. When we see those light cycles racing through city streets, and the light trails they leave behind, or when we actually see the Grid lit up red and blue with neon reflective glow, it is genuinely a beautiful experience. I will concede that director Joachim Rønning knows how to stage beautiful visuals. The visual effects team clearly put in serious work, and unlike “Tron: Legacy” with its creepy digital version of a young Jeff Bridges, this movie doesn’t fall into that uncanny valley trap. The soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails does heavy lifting, too. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross created music that adds emotion and energy to scenes that otherwise feel completely flat. It’s not as memorable as what Daft Punk did for “Legacy,” but it’s solid work that makes you feel something even when the story refuses to. Jeff Bridges shows up for a cameo as Kevin Flynn, and seeing him again reminds you of what this franchise used to be about. It also makes a return trip back to the original 1982 Grid; all blocky and retro, and that sequence has its charms. It is precisely the sort of moment that makes you smile because it is an acknowledgment of where the franchise came from. But this is also where everything crumbles. The story is dull; nothing more, nothing less. Two companies vying for code while an AI learns how to feel. We’ve seen that multiple times. The script comes across as being written by someone who watched a rainbow of other science fiction movies and plagiarized their homework with no comprehension of creative or daring content. No plausible scenes stretched my attention, whether it was during the dumb development of the Danny boy or the action sequences. Jared Leto as Ares should be the defined heart of this movie; the only difficulty with him is that he’s about as wooden as a park bench. The character has moments where he could be interesting—he quotes Frankenstein, he prefers Depeche Mode over Mozart, and he starts questioning his programming. But Leto plays him with zero charisma or depth. You never care about what happens to him. A movie about a program learning to be human should convey some feeling, but there is nothing to feel as you merely watch an actor perform these actions. Greta Lee is a capable actor who deserves a much better vehicle than this. Her character, Eve, is tortured throughout the film, running and fighting and surviving, but we do not have a sense of growth. She starts the film grieving her dead sister and ends it the same way, just more beat up. The script gives her nothing to work with. It seems as if the writers assumed that just making her the head of a tech company was sufficient character development. As for Peters, he portrays the villain Julian like a petulant adolescent throwing a tantrum. He does a lot of yelling and presents as smug, but there is nothing beyond that. As for Gillian Anderson, who is fantastic in other projects, she appears wasted here playing Peter’s mother, as the script treats her like an afterthought.  Jodie Turner-Smith shows up as another digital warrior named Athena and does what she can, but again, the material is weak. And let’s talk about the diversity issue, because it needs to be said. The movie throws in actors of different backgrounds, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, and pretends that’s enough. But again, these characters have no real role; they are just comic relief or tech support behind a computer, while the white and Asian characters get to deal with all the important stuff. It’s just lazy representation, the type of probable representation where the studio checked a box with little to no effort into actually having a real role. As a Black critic, I’ve seen this type of formula before. Put some brown faces in the background, give them a couple of jokes, and that is supposed to be progress. The action scenes were supposed to be exciting, but Rønning shoots them so close up that you can’t tell what is happening for half of it. The disc fights that were so cool in other films before feel cramped and quick in this. The light cycle chase throughout the city is supposed to be exhilarating, but the thrill is not there, and there is no fun creativity to it either. It all seems like we have shrunk everything down, as if they spent all of their money just on making everything glow instead of working through some sort of choreography to create something exciting. What bothers me most is that this movie does not say anything about where we are in the moment. The moment we are living through is one where artificial intelligence is a thing everywhere, where people are legitimately concerned about what any of that technology really means for us as humans, and where humanity and the importance of questioning consciousness are actually more important than ever. This could have been ideas “Tron: Ares” could have addressed. In actuality, nothing was challenged in the film; it would not take a stance on anything. The original “Tron” in 1982 imagined what it would be like inside a computer and made every character represent something about how technology works. “Legacy” at least tried to explore themes about perfection and creation. “Ares” just wants to look cool and avoid saying anything controversial. The worst thing this movie does is being forgettable. It’s not even awful enough to be persistent. It simply exists and takes up space and wastes everyone’s talent, everyone involved, and ultimately, when it is all done, I felt nothing. No anger, nothing, just a shrug. That is more offensive than actually being bad because a bad movie at least gives you something to respond to. Disney obviously has no clue why anyone cared about Tron in the first place. It is not about the reflective surfaces or neon lights. It is about imagination – about asking big questions – about making a world feel full, alive, and real. Tronn: Ares has zero soul. It is a product of a corporation that wishes to keep the franchise running while carrying no institutional knowledge. The movie doesn’t even address characters in Legacy that fans probably assumed they would see. Sam Flynn and Quorra, who ended that movie together, get written off in the first few minutes. The actual character of Tron doesn’t even appear. It’s like they wanted to distance themselves from what came before while still using the name for brand recognition. As the credits rolled, I experienced the same disappointment that I did in 1982 with the original and again in 2010 with “Legacy.” The Tron franchise continues to dangle the continuity of revolution, and continues to fall into mediocrity, or worse. They dangle the promise of stunning visuals and new ideas, but all we get is more pretty lights. Maybe it’s time to put the Tron franchise to rest. Not everything has to be a continuation series. Sometimes, a cult classic needs to remain a cult classic and not be extended for more iterations that nobody wants or asked for. “Tron: Ares” is evidence that Disney is more interested in profiting from their intellectual property than providing something folks will actually remember or love.

OUR RATING – A FLASHY 4

MEDIA

• Genre – Science Fiction

Street date

• Digital – December 2, 2025
• 4K/BluRay/DVD – January 6, 2023
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size 2.39:1
• Sound – English: Dolby Atmos,
• English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1,
• French (Canada): Dolby Digital Plus 7.1,
• Spanish: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1,
• Audio descriptive
• Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras

• Featurettes:
  • The Journey To Tron: Ares: Go on a personal journey with Jared Leto, director Joachim Rønning and other cast and crew members for an in-depth making-of look showcasing the stunning visuals, incredible stunts, cool (but heavy) costumes, and next-level sets of Tron: Ares.
  • Lightcycles On The Loose: Join director Joachim Rønning as he peels back the layers of one of the most action-packed sequences in the film. Discover what ILM and the artists who grew up loving the franchise contributed, and what other iconic film the sequence pays homage to.
  • The Artistry Of Tron: Ares: Director Joachim Rønning and actor-producer Jared Leto sit down to discuss their journey creating Tron: Ares. The pair unpack key moments and the striking visual, sonic and artistic philosophies that drive the storytelling both in and out of the Grid.
  • Cast Conversations: Join the cast in candid conversations as they reflect on stepping into character, memorable on-set experiences, funny anecdotes and personal insights. Get a glimpse of the off-screen camaraderie that shines in their electric on-screen synergy.