'Tron: Ares' Review: An IMAX tech demo that looks and sounds incredible, but offers very little else
- Dan Bremner
- 53 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Dan Bremner - October 2025
Fifteen years after Tron: Legacy, Disney’s most persistently strange sci-fi franchise returns from the digital grave with Tron: Ares, a film that somehow manages to be both visually stunning and utterly lifeless. It’s been 43 years since the original Tron flopped its way into cult status, and while Legacy at least had Daft Punk’s all-timer soundtrack to carry its glossy emptiness, Ares tries to replicate that lightning in a bottle with the problematic Dr. Michael Morbius himself Jared Leto front and centre as the saviour of the franchise.
Once again, we’re treated to a story about humans meddling with digital gods, this time, the titular Ares (Leto), a sentient AI who escapes the Grid and enters the real world for reasons that are somehow both overexplained and undercooked. It’s the kind of film that wants to say Big Things about AI, humanity, and consciousness, but instead settles for vague monologues and messianic symbolism that feel woefully undercooked. Somewhere beneath all the neon and techno-spiritual waffle, there’s a compelling idea. Unfortunately, no one involved seems to have found it with one of the blandest scripts of the year.
The cast is a mixed bag. Jared Leto, playing a literal artificial being, is perfectly cast in the sense that he, too, seems entirely devoid of humanity. His performance is flat, oddly inert, and incapable of portraying any sort of personality outside of the bizarre gag about loving Depeche Mode. Greta Lee, on the other hand, is fantastic, bringing warmth and actual presence to the film’s cold digital landscapes. Evan Peters is bafflingly miscast as the cartoonishly evil CEO antagonist (Playing the son of Cillian Murphy’s tiny role in Legacy), whining through a performance that feels like it belongs in a Spy Kids sequel, while Gillian Anderson is sadly wasted in a one-note role that does very little with her talents. Jeff Bridges appears for about a minute in what can only be described as the contractual obligation cameo.
To give credit where it’s due, Tron: Ares looks absolutely spectacular. Every frame is an explosion of color and light, glowing circuits, shimmering landscapes, and hyper-stylized chases that absolutely justify seeing this in IMAX. The light cycle sequences in particular are breathtaking, a whirring barrage of speed, red lines, and geometry that feels like watching an incredibly well put together tech demo. It’s a visual feast from start to finish, but the problem is that the material around it is often weak and generic.
The Nine Inch Nails score is another saving grace, fusing industrial grit with electronic pulses that elevate the film’s mood and rhythm. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ work is hypnotic and often more alive than anything happening narratively. There are moments where the sound and visuals lock together perfectly, those rare flashes where Ares feels transcendent, like you’re watching the kind of film Tron always wanted to be.
Unfortunately, those moments are fleeting. The script is painfully thin, built on a foundation of tired sci-fi tropes and faux-spiritual mumbo jumbo. The film repeatedly gestures toward exploring questions of AI morality, identity, and the blurry line between machine and man, but never commits to any of it. Instead, it devolves into a pseudo-religious parable where Ares (and I wish I were kidding) literally becomes a kind of “AI Jesus,” sacrificing himself to save humanity before being reborn in a scene that’s equal parts embarrassing and unintentionally hilarious. It’s The Passion of the Grid, and it’s as dumb as it sounds. I can see why Leto desperately wanted to star.
Still, it’s hard to entirely hate a film that looks this good and sounds this cool. Tron: Ares is a visual and auditory feast wrapped around a hollow core, a luminous neon shell with little substance inside. It’s not a total disaster, but it’s hard not to walk out feeling like you’ve just watched a $200 million screensaver. It's rarely boring and comes alive in key moments, but I can't see this lingering too much in my memory.
Tron: Ares dazzles on the surface but collapses under its digital flashiness. It’s gorgeous, sleek, visually stunning, and Nine Inch Nails' score is absolutely incredible. But emotionally inert and thematically vacant. Leto’s wooden lead performance and a script stuffed with half-baked AI metaphors leave this as little more than an expensive exercise in style over substance.
Tron: Ares was released in UK cinemas on Friday, October 10, 2025.
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