REVIEW: ‘TRON: Ares’ Offers Immaculate Vibes With Very Little Substance

TRON is an awkward franchise for me. TRON started in 1982, and then was followed up 28 years later with TRON: Legacy. Bow 15 years after that, we have TRON Ares, making the franchise almost 50 years old. Yet, it has very little to show for it. And yet, the franchise is ubiquitous with video games and cinema, branding the genre of science fiction that has inspired a whole world of fiction. Yes, TRON is the isekai prototype, if you ask me. 

TRON Ares is well aware that it’s picking up the torch on a long time passed since Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) created the video game (and Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBirds created the franchise) that started it all. However, it’s also drastically different from the film that marked the beginning of extensive CGI use. 

Directed by Joachim Rønning, the screenplay for TRON Ares was written by Jesse Wigutow, with a story by David DiGilio and Wigutow. It stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, with Gillian Anderson and Jeff Bridges.

TRON Ares builds for the future of the franchise without forgetting its past. 

In the film, Dillinger Systems and Encon are competing to bring A.I. to life. The companies’ dual CEOs, Eve Kim (Greta Lee) and Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), know that whoever can make artificial intelligence transcend the digital world by bringing it into the real one will have struck gold in a way no one else has before. 

To accomplish this, a highly sophisticated Program, Ares (Jared Leto), is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission from Dilligner to destroy Encon’s chance at success and steal their one-in-a-million code. Julian is cunning but driven by greed in a way that pushes him to brute force his way into everything from Encon’s core systems to the boardroom. 

But where Julian is pushing his tech farther and faster (and with more violence geared for military use), Eve is leading Encon by creating video games and searching for the Permanence code to change the world for the better. To make A.I. into something vital that can help humans thrive rather than something that could destroy it. Dillinger and Encon are clearly at odds, and as Ares begins to embrace his sentience, he begins to pick a side. 

Trent Reznor has crafted a sultry, moody, and kinetic soundtrack that pushes synth as far as he can.

TRON Ares is a film with immaculate vibes. Trent Reznor’s score is sultry, moody, kinetic; it is the heartbeat of every single scene. The production design and use of dynamic lighting, playing red against blue, is expert. This is the kind of movie that you can get lost in with an edible and just let it wash over you. 

The futuristic tech edge lives on synthwave and comes to life beautifully, with sharp and cold designs that utilize light perfectly. Every vehicle and suit constructed takes into account decades of science fiction, and of course, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira for good measure. Visually and sonically, TRON Ares has a lot to offer. 

But it’s also a film that, if you peel back the sexy packaging and look at what’s inside, you can’t help but be let down a bit. The story is basic, and at times, the overreliance on heavy exposition does more harm than good. Greta Lee and Evan Peters’ casting is ace, but it’s hard to overlook how badly cast Jared Leto is in this role and how his gaunt face distracts from his status as some ace warrior.

For every plus, there is a minus just on the other side with TRON Ares.

Throughout TRON Ares, the good and the bad keep trading blows. For every killer chase sequence and stunning display of digital effects, crafting a sea of bits and a neon skyline, there are Play-Doh-looking character models with too much slow-mo effect, exchanging blows. Gillian Anderson is stellar, but she appears in the film too briefly, and even Evan Peters thrives as the film’s villain (a role he consistently nails), but again, we don’t see much of him. 

The side characters Seth, Ajay, and Athena have great actors in the roles with Arturo Castro, Hasan Minhaj, and Jodie Turner-Smith, respectively. However, they’re paper-thin characters with little to do. And even Greta Lee showcases that we should really cast her in more action properties, as Eve Kim is a fantastic showcase for the Oscar-nominated actress. Still, her role is limited, as shown to the audience through Ares’ eyes, and she is not allowed to thrive on her own.

If anything, she’s hindered by this romantic tension we keep getting forced into; however, even that low note has a good payoff by the choice not to seal anything between them. Every good thing about TRON Ares has something trailing it that may not be bad per se, but drains out some of the life it brought. Well, except for Reznor. 

TRON Ares succeeds largely due to its immaculate, pulse-pounding soundtrack and dynamic visuals.

Still, though, all of the good outweighs the bad, and sometimes vibes can overtake the lacking substance of a film. It’s hard to strike a balance between the past and the future of a franchise, especially when it’s been so long since the last sequel (15 years to be exact).

TRON Ares carries that weight well, in large part due to the attention to detail it shows in recreating the original computer world of Tron and honoring what Kevin Flynn created in-universe, as well as what Lisberger and MacBirds created with the property itself. 

If there is any other fault, aside from the forced chemistry between Greta Lee and Jared Leto, it’s that we are once again shoehorned into an ending that leaves the door open, which hasn’t always paid off for TRON fans and movie fans in general.

The finale of the film isn’t finite; it’s a launching pad, but is that a good thing?

There is no ending to this film, so much as a turning to a new chapter. And while that may work for some, the permanence of an end is something that Disney could learn from, if only to drive impact with the significant decisions that characters make. If there is always a next time, then the finality of some choices doesn’t hold much significance. 

Ultimately, though, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still feel Reznor’s synth beats and bass pounding in my chest when I left the theater. I’d be lying if I didn’t praise the stunt coordination, particularly in the chase sequences. On top of that, whatever TRON‘s future holds, so long as Gret Lee’s Eve Kim is in it, I have to say, I’ll be there. TRON Ares is pure vibes, and I guess, in that way, it’s picking up the franchise’s legacy the only way you really can. 

TRON Ares releases in theaters nationwide on October 10, 2025.