More than four decades since audiences were first dropped into the luminous world of Tron, and 15 years after Tron: Legacy tried to modernise its circuitry with some Daft Punk panache, Tron: Ares arrives looking to plug the franchise back into relevance. And while it boots up with impressive flair and the kind of digital dazzle that once felt revolutionary, it struggles to recapture the mysterious spark that made the Grid feel alive.
Set in 2025, Tron: Ares follows a renewed corporate arms race between ENCOM and its rival Dillinger Systems, both attempting to bring AI programs into the real world – though current technology limits their physical presence to just 29 minutes. Cue Ares (Jared Leto), a sentient program developed by Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), designed as a prototype digital soldier. When ENCOM’s CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) uncovers a long-buried piece of code that could make that transition permanent, a cross-dimensional pursuit begins – unleashing the franchise’s signature digital aesthetics into the real world. As firewalls between the real and virtual break down, Ares begins to debug his own existence – questioning the very code he’s built from, as the system around him spirals into chaos.
Tron: Ares looks incredible – all sharp edges, neon veins and dark chrome surfaces – and the real-world spillover of the Grid is certainly a clever twist that allows for some spectacular imagery. IMAX sequences dazzle, and the blend of practical and digital environments is often seamless. But once the action kicks in, the film gets stuck in a loop: more chase, more code, more talk. The big ideas are there, flickering at the edges but never quite syncing up.
Leto, as Ares, is enigmatic but ultimately kind of flat. His deliberate poses and distant stares fit the idea of a digital entity, but his performance ends up lacking emotional depth, leaving the character hollow. Peters brings a charismatic menace as Dillinger, while Greta Lee’s Eve Kim injects some much-needed energy, albeit in a limited role. Jodie Turner-Smith adds a spark as Athena, though, again, her character isn’t given enough room to develop.
The score, by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, is arguably the film’s standout feature – dark, industrial, and pulsing with unease. It doesn’t quite reach the iconic highs of Daft Punk’s Legacy soundtrack, but it adds mood and weight that the script often lacks.
If Tron: Ares set out to rewire the franchise for a new era, it hasn’t quite found the right current. For all its ambition, it leans too heavily on nostalgia, often reusing visual motifs and narrative beats from earlier instalments instead of finding new directions. There are callbacks and cameos aplenty, but most feel like placeholders for real story development. It spends so much time gesturing at the past that it never fully steps into its own future.
It’s not a disaster by any means. Fans of the franchise will likely find moments to admire, and the sheer technical craft definitely deserves recognition. But for all its polished surfaces and philosophical posturing, Tron: Ares feels like a program caught in an infinite loop – searching for purpose but trapped between the cold logic of its own code and the demands of cinematic storytelling. Ultimately, it’s a sequel suspended in limbo, flickering between the promise of innovation and the pull of legacy.
VERDICT:
Tron: Ares is in theaters, filmed for IMAX, October 10.
