A highly sophisticated program, Ares, is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission.
Posted: December 4, 2025
I’ll start by saying that I actually enjoyed Tron: Ares more than Tron: Legacy. To be fair, I haven’t watched Legacy since it came out about 12 years ago, so my memory of it is fuzzy. What I do remember is that I wasn’t a big fan, which probably explains why I never went back to rewatch it.
With that out of the way, let’s dive into Tron: Ares. This movie is absolutely worth watching for the visuals alone. The effects are fantastic and easily the highlight of the whole experience. The story, on the other hand, is a mixed bag. It technically makes sense within its own rules, but most of those rules completely ignore anything resembling real-world logic. Half the time the characters are supposedly in the real world, and the other half they’re suddenly inside some program hacking for code. The shifts can get confusing fast. And if the programs can only survive for 29 minutes outside the digital world before falling apart, what about the glowing light barriers from the motorcycles? Those things are slicing police cars in half across an entire city. You’d think we’d see mass accidents, chaos everywhere, and the military rolling in immediately. It’s one of those details the movie never really explains – it just hopes you’ll go with it.
I kept reminding myself, “It’s just a movie,” but still, some explanation would’ve helped. I was also thrown off in the beginning when Eve (played by Greta Kim) is surrounded by advanced technology, yet for some reason she’s using old computers straight out of the 80s. Why? If all she’s doing is searching for code, using ancient hardware makes no sense. But then again, not much in this movie does, so I guess it fits the theme.
The core plot revolves around Ares, a computer program brought into the real world for military use. Naturally, the idea is to use programs in place of human soldiers. The catch? These laser-built, 3D-printed, whatever-you-want-to-call-them constructs only last 29 minutes before disintegrating. So Ares (Jared Leto) is sent to steal the code that would allow them to last indefinitely. Because he’s built on AI, he starts forming opinions of his own and decides to use the code for himself instead of handing it over to his creators. He ends up teaming up with Eve, who discovered the code in the first place, in order to keep it away from Julian Dillinger, who will do anything to get it.
And honestly, you can probably guess the rest. This movie follows the same formula many sci-fi action films do: good guys win, bad guys lose. It’s predictable, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. I still enjoyed watching it.
Now let’s talk about the acting. I usually like Jared Leto in the roles he takes on, but I’m not convinced he was the right fit for Ares. Sometimes he works, but other times he doesn’t sell the idea of being a computer program at all. The same goes for Jodie Turner-Smith’s character, Athena. Both of them feel a little too human for what they’re supposed to be. Yes, I know they’re designed to mimic humans, but it wasn’t entirely believable to me.
And as someone who has used lasers and done plenty of 3D printing, the way these machines get “built” made me laugh. I get that this is sci-fi, but watching lasers magically assemble complex machines in seconds just throws all common sense out the window. And if they had the ability to instantly create flying drones, why did they bother using motorcycles earlier in the film to chase Eve? They could’ve caught her immediately if they’d used the tech they reveal later.
I could nitpick this movie forever, but I won’t. The important thing is that it’s actually a good time. The action and sci-fi elements work really well, the effects are impressive, and the Nine Inch Nails score adds a great vibe. It’s not my favorite sci-fi movie by any means, but for a Tron entry, it’s solid. I genuinely hope Disney keeps taking chances with movies like this.
One last note, don’t expect to see much of Jeff Bridges. He’s barely in the movie, maybe two minutes total. How he ends up in the “top cast” listing is beyond me considering nearly every other character gets more screen time.
All that said, I’d still recommend Tron: Ares. Hardcore Tron fans might not love the direction it takes, but it’s worth watching at least once, if only for the visuals. At the very least, you’ll get some great special effects out of it.
Overall Verdict: Watch it for the special effects and action sequences as it's pretty much non-stop. The storyline though is well... another story.
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