TRON: Ares

misubisu 10/12/2025 10:24:27AM 8.4

##A Visually Stunning Sequel That Plays It a Bit Too Safe The Grid awaits once more, and its return is a welcome one. *TRON: Ares*, the long-gestating next chapter in the cult-favourite franchise, delivers exactly what the trailer promises: a breathtaking dive back into a digital world of light-cycle duels and identity-disc battles. It’s a spectacle for the senses that faithfully honors the legacy, even if its human heart sometimes gets lost in the neon glow. **The Visuals and Sound Are the Real Stars** Let's be clear: this film is worth the price of admission for the aesthetic alone. Building on the foundation laid by *TRON: Legacy*, *Ares* pushes the visual envelope even further. The Grid feels more vast, more detailed, and more dangerous. The signature light-cycle sequences are more visceral and intelligently choreographed, and the disc wars have a satisfying, weighty impact that will please fans. The real standout, however, is the sound design and score. While no one can truly replace Daft Punk, the new musical team (or rumoured guest artists) have crafted a pulsating, electronic heartbeat that seamlessly blends nostalgic tones with fresh, aggressive synth-wave rhythms. It’s a triumph. **A Compelling Premise with a Rushed Execution** The story follows Ares (a perfectly cast Jared Leto), a powerful A.I. program sent from the digital world into our human reality—a clever inversion of the first film's premise. The goal is one of peace and understanding, but as any *TRON* fan knows, nothing on The Grid goes according to plan. The philosophical conflict—what happens when a perfect digital consciousness confronts the messy, illogical nature of humanity?—is fertile ground. The film is at its best when exploring this core idea. Leto brings a compelling, otherworldly quality to Ares, making him both empathetic and intimidating. However, the screenplay struggles to balance its high-concept themes with its blockbuster obligations. The human characters, including a weary corporate tech executive (played ably by a under-utilised Jodie Turner-Smith), often feel like narrative devices to move the plot along rather than fully fleshed-out people. The third act, in particular, rushes toward a climactic battle that, while visually spectacular, resolves the film's central philosophical dilemma a bit too neatly. **A Worthy, if Flawed, Entry** *TRON: Ares* doesn't reach the iconic status of the original nor the cult-cool heights of *Legacy*. It feels like a carefully crafted, slightly safe attempt to reignite the franchise. It does so with immense style and a clear love for the source material, but it stumbles in giving its human elements the same depth and complexity as its digital ones. **The Verdict: 7/10** *TRON: Ares* is a solid and entertaining sci-fi adventure. It delivers stunning visuals, a thumping score, and enough classic *TRON* action to satisfy devotees. While its story doesn't fully explore the profound questions it raises, it successfully opens a new door to The Grid, leaving you hopeful and eager for the next round. **See it if:** You're a fan of the franchise; you crave a big-screen visual and auditory experience; you enjoy high-concept sci-fi, even when it prioritises spectacle over depth. **Skip it if:** You demand deep character development from your blockbusters; you have no prior connection to the *TRON* universe.

ezra 10/22/2025 5:36:48PM 8.4

mixed feelings! i really enjoyed it and brought a lot of cool stuff to the table, but felt really disconnected from the worldbuilding in the tron legacy affiliated media. this last month or so i've been going through all the canon tron media and obsessing over it. i really do have a love for the franchise. most of the people i went to see it with, who didn't put in the same amount of preparation, really enjoyed it, one said they liked it more than tron legacy. anyway! the scenes and ideas in it were really cool, the action scenes were well done from a technical standpoint. although i don't feel like the action had too much emotional weight like they did in legacy. i feel like it's not really a tron movie without the flynns, alan and tron. and that's where my disappointment really comes from is that it's about completely different people who never existed in lore prior to the film. it never contradicted the lore and there were callbacks and light nods, but it really just wasn't the same without the characters fans fell in love with. also i wish they had done more with the isos, the isos were a big deal to flynn and there's so many cool things they could've done with them. i'm also disappointed with the casting decision for jared leto, his performance was fine but as a person i don't exactly hold him in the highest regard, which made it difficult for me to look at his face the whole time like that. some of the pacing felt really campy, comic relief in weird spots from characters who really served no purpose. this issue didn't exist in either previous film which really took me out of it this time. scoring was great, trent did a great job. overall the film was very enjoyable and i would recommend for people who enjoyed the first tron film or legacy. but if you're a superfan, don't expect anything too spectacular.

CinemaSerf 10/15/2025 4:01:53PM 8.4

Oh dear! After “Morbius” (2022), I had hoped that Jared Leto might pick better, but after about ten minutes into this overlong and repetitive adventure I am afraid that proved not to be the case. Named after the Greek war god, he is a sophisticated computer programme that makes the “Terminator” look like “Barbie”. Virtually indestructible, he can penetrate any security system and therefore could prove to be invaluable to the military. Meantime, at a rival technology company they are working on the one thing that has thus far evaded all of the developers. Permanence. No matter how clever their inventions become, corporate nasty “Dillinger” (Evan Peters) knows that after half an hour their creations turn into Lego. He knows that rival “Eve” (Greta Lee) might be onto a solution and so he plonks “Ares” and his kick-ass sidekick “Athena” (Jodie Turner-Smith) into their system and so a cyberspace battle-royal ensues that tests the mettle and the “humanity” of just about all the players. I say players because that’s what this comes across as for much of it’s computer generated existence. Unlike the first “Tron” film from forty-odd years ago, this has very little by way of story and relies way too much on the, admittedly impressive, visual effects and high-octane pace of the thing rather than making any real effort to characterise the folks engaged in their venal and morally questionable corporate shenanigans. Quite why Gillian Anderson is here is anyone’s guess, Jeff Bridges looks as if he ought to be off parting the Red Sea and the writing is largely irrelevant, save for a little psycho-babble towards an ending that reminded me a little of “Max” from Disney’s “Black Hole” (1979). There is the odd homage to bygone eras of video games, zeroes and ones but I found this a long old and disappointing two hours to sit through.