Tron: Ares arrives as the latest outing in a neon‑dream universe, directed by Joachim Rønning and led by Jared Leto alongside Greta Lee and Jodie Turner‑Smith. It leans into retro vibes and the franchise’s familiar glow, yet the experience comes off as stylish surface with little depth.
The film toys with the idea of returning to the grid’s iconic imagery while quietly resetting its cast, choosing nostalgia over new ideas. What follows is a glossy, design‑driven spectacle that never fully earns its emotional or narrative payoff.
The movie’s visuals are ambitious at times but often feel aloof. The Grid remains visually striking in concept, but Rønning keeps it at arm’s length, trading the electric glow for a more grounded, almost mundane aesthetic. When the film does deploy its practical effects, the results are clever, yet the action sequences swing between inert and overly busy.
Performance is the film’s Achilles’ heel. Leto’s Ares struggles to register as a believable, human presence, while Turner‑Smith’s Athena offers a trace of humanity amid the sheen. Greta Lee’s Eve Kim is underused, and the rest of the cast blends into a largely generic chorus.
There are bright moments—a neon jetski chase and a few Ghost in the Shell–tinged visuals—but they don’t cohere into a convincing whole. The script leans on references to the original Tron and Legacy, yet those callbacks feel more desperate than meaningful. The exploration of AI in a therapeutic frame appears briefly but isn’t revisited with any real impact, leaving the film feeling out of step with contemporary conversations.
All told, Tron: Ares highlights style over substance. It looks the part and knows the franchise’s history, but it doesn’t deliver a fresh shape for the future. For fans craving retro glow, the movie offers plenty of eye candy; for those seeking a compelling new chapter, it delivers little more than a polished, hollow echo.
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