Featured Image: Pacer Graphic / Darby Self
Do androids dream of electronic sheep? The age-old question of whether artificial intelligence is truly alive is asked once again in Disney’s third entry into the Tron franchise. Tron: Ares was released on Oct. 10, 2025, to mixed reviews and is, in my opinion, the coolest movie to have been released this year. Even Jared Leto, who has been a controversial actor in the past, gives a standout performance for the first time since Blade Runner: 2049 (2017).
In Tron: Ares, Leto plays the titular character, Ares, as he slowly discovers who he is as a program and who he can become as a person. Ares is the film’s main lead, but he’s backed by supporting characters that, in all honesty, slightly bog the movie down. Regardless, it’s definitely worth watching for the action, music and special effects alone.
If there’s one thing that the Tron movies are known for, it’s their neon colored landscapes and synth-infused music arrangements. The soundtracks are usually composed by mainstream music groups at the time of the films’ release. American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails manages to retain their own established style while also remaining faithful to the source material of the first two movies, Tron and Tron: Legacy.
The iconic look of the Tron franchise has been fully thrust into the modern day, and it works well. Whereas Legacy did well with transferring the effects, Ares blew it out of the water. Whether it’s the lightcycles zooming through the cityscape or the larger-than-life recognizer floating over a giant lake, the special effects really pop out of the screen, even when not in 3-D screenings. A good way that Ares immerses the audience is by pulling them in and increasing the drama of the scene with slow motion. Although slow motion can make a scene drag on when misused, this is one of the few films that uses it well. A lot of heart and soul went into creating the effects for this movie, and it shows.
Although almost every aspect of the film is impressive, there is one area it lacks: the acting. The aforementioned Jared Leto does a phenomenal job as Ares. However, he’s surrounded by a lackluster supporting cast. Its villains, Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) and Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith), do an alright job, but the deuteragonist, Eve Kim (Greta Lee), seems stagnant. Her facial expressions seem forced, and the way she reacts to the fantastical things happening around her is equivalent to a wet blanket.
The plot is also lacking at times. It feels like things happen because they have to for the sake of the story instead of feeling like a naturally occurring thing. Even though it can be inadequate at times, it remains faithful to the follow-through story its predecessors set up, and that’s all you can really ask from the third movie in a trilogy spanning 43 years.
Overall, this is a film that fans of the Tron franchise can enjoy. It stands out from the other two movies and improves on an already established formula. It’ll definitely be a worthy contender for some awards when it comes time for the Oscars. I recommend this to all who wish to explore the Grid. Farewell, programs!
Grade: 7/10
