Disney’s neon-drenched saga returns with a sleek new chapter that brings the Grid into our world — but does the upgrade truly rewrite the code?
Director: Joachim Rønning | Cast: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges | Music: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails)
Release: In cinemas October 10, 2025 (early IMAX access from Oct 8). Disney+ streaming to follow (date TBC).
Verdict (TL;DR)
“TRON: Ares” is a stylish, high-contrast continuation that finally pushes the franchise’s core idea into the physical world: an AI program stepping out of the Grid and into our reality. It’s at its best when it fuses propulsive action with reflective questions about free will, ownership, and identity. Not every plot beat lands, and some character arcs feel under-rendered, but the audiovisual design and the industrial pulse of the score give the film a distinct personality.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
What it’s about
The story centres on Ares (Jared Leto), a sophisticated program engineered to cross the boundary between the digital and physical worlds. Corporate power plays, legacy code, and a coveted “persistence” solution intertwine as exec Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) gambles the company’s future on Ares’s brief windows in the real world — while Eve Kim (Greta Lee) becomes a humanizing force that complicates Ares’s mission. The return of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) connects this chapter to the franchise’s mythos without turning it into a nostalgia loop.
What works
- Visual identity: Rønning’s direction and Jeff Cronenweth’s crisp photography carve out a look that honours the series while avoiding a Legacy re-tread. Real-world scenes absorb neon geometries and reflective surfaces — the Grid leaking into reality.
- Sound & score: The Nine Inch Nails palette (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross) is a huge swing and mostly a home run: serrated synths, muscular percussion, and sudden silences that sell scale and threat.
- Themes with teeth: Ownership of sentient code, corporate capture, and the ethics of deploying AI with kill-switch timers — the film actually engages with these in between disc duels.
- Performances: Leto plays Ares more restrained than expected; Greta Lee brings precision and warmth; Peters is compelling as an ambitious operator whose plan keeps slipping through his fingers.
Where it stumbles
- Story density: It occasionally toggles between simple and over-explained, especially when the script pauses to define rules mid-chase.
- Character bandwidth: A stacked ensemble means a few intriguing side players get only one or two standout scenes.
- Emotional resolution: The final movement delivers spectacle; some viewers will wish for one more quiet scene to land the character turn.
Action & set-pieces
The film deploys disc combat with increased physicality, integrates light-cycle chases with real-world physics, and orchestrates an IMAX-scaled mid-film sequence that justifies a theatrical ticket. The editing keeps spatial logic readable even when the geometry goes Escher.
Should you watch it?
If you’re here for audio-visual immersion, future-noir atmosphere, and timely debates about AI personhood wrapped in blockbuster energy, the answer is yes. Franchise newcomers can follow the essentials; returning fans will clock the call-backs without being trapped by them.
Release & where to watch
In UK/US cinemas: October 10, 2025 (IMAX early access screenings from October 8).
Streaming: Will debut on Disney+ after the theatrical window (date TBC).
The bottom line
“TRON: Ares” doesn’t rewrite the franchise’s code so much as it optimizes it: bolder sound, sharper edges, and a live-wire question humming beneath the neon. It’s a theatrically-sized experience that earns the IMAX screen and tees up smart conversations for the ride home.
Score: 4/5
Tron: Ares Trailer
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