Director: Joachim Rönning
Cast: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges
Rating: ★.5
More than four decades later tron Changed cinema’s approach to computers, Disney attempts to reboot the grid again Tron:AresDirected by Joachim Rönning, this third chapter brings Jared Leto into the digital maze as the title AI program, along with Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, and blink-and-miss Jeff Bridges cameos. The original 1982 film was groundbreaking for its time, while the 2010 Tron: Legacy At least Daft Punk had the score to keep it alive. aresHowever, this feels like a glossy reboot that no one asked for – an over-designed screensaver masquerading as science fiction.
At its core, the story begins in a future where two rival tech corporations – Encom and a villain named Dillinger – are locked in a digital arms race. Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), a smiling tech-bro heir, is obsessed with bringing AI creations from the virtual grid into the real world. There’s a problem with his experiments: Everything he moves turns to dust after 29 minutes. The solution lies in the mysterious “Sustainability Code”, guarded by Encom CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee). To steal it, Julian uses his ultimate weapon – Ares (Jared Leto), a super-intelligent humanoid who can briefly enter human reality. But once Ares experiences emotions – the sound of rain, the pulse of Depeche Mode, the idea of empathy – his programming begins to go haywire. There’s a hint of an identity crisis somewhere between Frankenstein and Pinocchio, as Ares begins to wonder if being human is more than just good coding.
Good
For all its narrative missteps, Tron:Ares Never boring visually. Joachim’s camera travels through sleek cyber corridors and glowing highways that glow like electrical veins. Jeff Cronenweth’s cinematography turns each chase into a techno-ballet, with new lighting cutting across the Kimbers’ city scenes with astonishing precision. Christine Bisselin Clark and Alix Friedberg’s costume design is also worthy of praise – black bodysuits with glowing stripes that pulsate like living circuitry.
Nine Inch Nails, taking over from Daft Punk, provides a pounding score that keeps the film moving when the script fails. Jodie Turner-Smith’s Athena, a fierce lieutenant with the aura of Grace Jones, brings much-needed energy to an otherwise mechanical ensemble. And for a fleeting moment, Gillian Anderson as Julian’s icy mother – all tart cheeks and Margaret Thatcher-esque menace – reminds you what human rights look like in a sea of digital puppets.
bad
For a film about humanity’s discovery of artificial intelligence, Tron:Ares Looks spectacularly artificial. Jared Leto’s performance is as innocuous and unreadable as his CGI armor – a human performance as soulful as a motherboard. The script mistakes cryptic dialogue for depth, making most scenes sound like they were written by an actual chatbot.
The central premise – the entry of AI into the real world – could have been thrilling if it weren’t weighed down by clumsy performances and endless callbacks to the original films. The constant references to Flynn, the recycled iconography, and the obligatory Jeff Bridges cameo all feel less like homage and more like corporate checkboxing. And while the action sequences look expensive, they hardly carry any emotional charge. When everything shines, nothing really shines.
Even the film’s ethical questions – about AI ethics, empathy, and control – are handled with the philosophical depth of a startup pitch deck. What could have been a fascinating exploration of emotions ended up being a two-hour cycle of pretty lighting and empty rhetoric.
Decision
Tron:Ares Wants to be deep but settles for pretty. It toys with big ideas – consciousness, control, creation – without ever saying anything new about them. The visuals may dazzle, the music may thunder, but beneath that neon polish lies the same old emptiness that plagues Tron: Legacy,
It’s ironic that a movie about artificial intelligence feels like it was written, directed, and edited by someone. By the time the credits roll, you’re left wondering not just what makes us human – but the very thing that made Disney think this franchise needed another revival.