Film Review – TRON: Ares (2025)

      TRON: Ares, 2025.

      Directed by Joachim Rønning.

      Featuring Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jeff Bridges, Hasan Minhaj, Cameron Monaghan, Arturo Castro, Sarah Desjardins, and Elizabeth Bowen.

      SYNOPSIS:

      A highly advanced Program named Ares is dispatched from the digital realm to the real world on a perilous mission. In an effort to stay relevant, director Joachim Rønning’s TRON: Ares merges the digital landscape with reality, centering on rival CEOs in pursuit of a permanence code that would prevent them from evaporating after 29 minutes. While the film makes vague references to the rise of AI in an uncertain tone, it ultimately feels disconnected, lacking engagement with contemporary issues, including the gaming industry. A franchise humorously dubbed Space Paranoids somehow seems to thrive despite its resemblance to a 1980s arcade game. This film aims to capture the current moment, yet its writing (by Jesse Wigutow, who developed the story with David DiGilio) is insulting, failing to adjust any part of the series for today's world.

      The central concept of two CEOs competing for the code is also tone-deaf. It doesn't matter if one of them is portrayed as well-meaning yet oddly open to the potential of AI when used correctly—as AI is only briefly mentioned a couple of times throughout the film, the ending proves to be more frustrating than M3GAN 2.0's nod toward coexistence—or if the ENCOM Corporation has been part of the franchise since the beginning. Expecting modern audiences to engage with a corporate rivalry feels misguided, especially considering the minimal yet overwhelming exposition designed to draw in viewers, as though it were a reenactment of the Nintendo/PlayStation battles of the 1990s.

      New Dillinger Systems CEO Julian (played by Evan Peters in an exaggeratedly villainous and poor performance) seeks the permanence code for more sinister reasons, wanting to keep Ares (Jared Leto) in the real world indefinitely (as the code suggests) to profit from him as a militarized super-soldier (his dialogue about this appears lifted directly from RoboCop). He is also depicted as a shady businessman, attempting to hide the current 29-minute limitation from his investors for as long as he can, with his mother, Elizabeth (Gillian Anderson), occasionally pointing out how overwhelmed he is, highlighting that he is not in control as much as he believes.

      Part of the issue is that Ares is becoming sentient, curious about phenomena like rain, and developing emotional traits such as empathy (he is also a big fan of Depeche Mode, despite Nine Inch Nails composing the score). His team of algorithmic humanoid programs, featuring Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith, portrayed with menacing scowls and little depth), have yet to experience such emotions. It's unclear why Ares is becoming more human other than to advance the plot. Nonetheless, Ares is charged with entering the real world to find new ENCOM CEO Eve (Greta Lee), who, with no assistance from her dull comedic relief sidekick (played by Arturo Castro), has discovered the mythical code and brought a tree from the digital realm that has lasted five hours without showing any signs of decay.

      The first half of TRON: Ares does manage some engaging momentum, consisting of a sequence of action scenes with little downtime, shifting between different worlds and aspect ratios. Given its nature, the film is visually expensive, featuring intricate CGI. The aerial perspectives of characters on their Light Cycles, leaving trails of orange or red across busy downtown streets, create a striking image and present something fresh for the series. The 29-minute countdown adds to the urgency, often amplified by the pulsating, invigorating music from Nine Inch Nails, which appears to underscore nearly every scene, suggesting the filmmakers realize it’s one of the film’s few vibrant elements.

      As the plot progresses, it becomes more generic as Ares learns about Eve, intensifying his desire to remain in reality. After losing the code, Ares and Eve undertake a new mission to reclaim it while evading Julian, who is now relentlessly pursuing them with Athena. The film is filled with noise, uninspired action, cameos, and unearned sequel teases, failing to explore any meaningful themes or topical relevance in blending aspects of the digital world with ours. Instead, TRON: Ares relies on recycled narratives and clichés, offering nothing deserving of the spectacle it aspires to achieve or the presence of Trent Reznor on the soundtrack.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

      Robert Kojder