Star Cast: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, and Jodie Turner-Smith
Director: Joachim Rønning
What’s Good: The visuals are quite impressive, and some of the action sequences feel sublime, even if there is not as much action as it could have.
What’s Bad: The story feels very much like the start of a new TV series, for kids, which could be good or bad depending on your age and tolerance, but it is definitely not the strongest element in the film.
Loo Break: There are a couple of scenes where the movie goes into full exposition mode, and you can miss them, and be okay with the rest of the story.
Watch or Not?: Watch only if you are a huge Tron fan or if you really want to watch something visually impressive on the big screen.
Language: English (with subtitles).
Available On: Theaters
Runtime: 119 Minutes
User Rating:
Opening:
Tron is one of the strangest Disney IPs of all time, as it started as a cult film from the 1980s, only to then return in the 21st century with Tron: Legacy, a visually striking film that couldn’t really hit the landing with its story or characters. Now, many years after that movie, Tron is back with another tale, one where the digital world and reality intersect in a much direct way, creating new conflict but also kind of depleting some fundamental aspects of what makes Tron attractive as a world to explore.
Tron: Ares Movie Review: Script Analysis
Tron: Ares is quite fascinating from a writing standpoint because it doesn’t really match with the movie that is presented to audiences on the trailers and most definitely doesn’t fit the visual palette of the film as a whole, which sometimes can be very dark and serious, while the story is actually more akin to that of an animated show for kids, like Trollhunters on Netflix. This is not to say that Trollhunters or similar shows are bad, not at all, but rather that perhaps the film should have a different tone and, definitely, a different advertising campaign.
Does this story make sense at least? Yes, of course, it makes sense but what is there is pretty simple, which is why I make the comparison with more family friends out there, even if the film doesn’t look like that, Tron: Ares is definitely a family film, there aren’t big surprises, and the plot development feel a bit tame, even the themes exploring AI and the self-awareness are all pretty superficial, but they are enough to keep the film moving forward.
The characters are a big issue, I think only Greta Lee’s Eve Kim comes across as a proper character in the entire film, while Jared Leto, who plays Ares himself feels more like an after-thought in terms of being a character, he barely speaks and feel more like an ethereal force, just like Athena, another digital program feels just like a Terminator. The film leaves things ready for a sequel, but I hope they can send the idea of that future film properly, instead of doing what they did with Ares.
Tron: Ares Movie Review: Star Performance
Tron: Ares is not a film about characters, but rather about ideas and visual splendor. As a result, the actors feel somewhat constrained by the massive amount of visual effects surrounding them. Eve actually has a clear motivation, one that can be easily understood by both kids and adults. Leto does well, and he appears a lot throughout the film, but he is more like a presence instead of a proper character. Leto is already quite ethereal, so he fits the character.
Tron: Ares Movie Review: Direction, Music
This is where the film excels, for sure, as Joachim is certainly a very visual director, dating back to the days of Kon Tiki. Now that he has become essentially a Disney hire gun, it is nice to see that he hasn’t lost his visual touch. However, he should definitely fight more for better scripts. The atmosphere in the film is outstanding, and the action sequences are also quite good; however, they never reach their full potential, which is a shame and a reason why the film will not be as memorable as it could be.
Tron: Legacy’s OST became a phenomenon because it was basically a new Daft Punk album, but the same cannot be said about Nine Inch Nails, who have basically done tons of OST at this point. This is one of their best works for films, though, and combined with an excellent sound design, it makes the entire film feel quite outstanding in that department.
Tron: Ares Movie Review: The Last Word
Tron: Ares excels at being a pretty movie to look at, the visual is certainly top-notch, and the music is just on another level, but that is not enough to make the film feel like it seized its entire potential, because the story, characters, and themes feel too simple, and more like the start of a TV series for all members of the family, instead of a proper adventure for adults.
Tron: Ares Trailer
Tron: Ares releases on 10th October, 2025.
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