Prepare to enter the Grid once again. TRON: Ares opens in theaters this Friday, and the first reviews are out now. The second sequel to Disney’s 1982 sci-fi cult classic arrives 15 years after the previous installment, TRON: Legacy, which renewed interest in the franchise. This time, programs from the digital realm enter the real world, with Jared Leto starring as the titular militarized AI. The franchise has always been more style than substance, and the action and visual effects here will continue to delight fans, as will the original soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails.
Here’s what critics are saying about TRON: Ares:
Will TRON fans be happy with the latest sequel?
TRON: Ares lives up to the hype.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
This TRON franchise entry checks all the boxes of a legacy sequel, looping through past installments and setting up future ones.
— Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
The Grid is what made so many of us fall in love with the franchise, and it still rules.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
It stands as a decent, heartfelt evolution of the Tron franchise.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
The previous films have their fans. Not enough to justify their budgets, perhaps, but they’re out there. It’s hard to imagine any of those fans getting excited about the most generic TRON yet.
— William Bibbiani, TheWrap
With TRON: Ares, [director Joachim] Rønning has created a legacy threequel that will have even the most devoted TRON defenders regretting their decision to keep this franchise on life support.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
How does it compare to the other two TRON movies?
Here we are with a new adventure that’s better than its predecessor and which suggests there’s more life in this IP yet.
— Harry Guerin, RTÉ
It doesn’t take the big swings of 2010’s TRON: Legacy, but it honors both that film and the 1982 original by finding a new spin on the idea of life inside a computer.
— Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
Where Legacy dazzled with its neon spectacle and Daft Punk’s pulsating score, Ares aims for something moodier and more human.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
One area in which the threequel matches (or maybe even surpasses) the other movies in the franchise is sonically.
— Emily Garbutt, GamesRadar+
Are the special effects of the franchise still amazing?
As you might expect, this third cinematic iteration of Tron is full of dazzling effects.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
It’s an eye-candy buffet of astonishing visual effects.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
Visually, the first two TRON films were incredibly groundbreaking in their own time. TRON: Ares doesn’t have that going for it, unfortunately, but the way it integrates Grid components like lightcycles and Recognizers into the real world is undeniably awesome and gorgeous.
— Germain Lussier, io9.com
The new, wider Light Skimmers look amazing racing through real city streets, while the sight of a red-trimmed Recognizer hovering toward Encom Tower is every bit as thrilling as Patrick Jean’s three-minute Pixels short.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
The visual effects are competent, but it’s hard not to notice that, given a nearly fifteen-year difference between releases, the film isn’t any more enchanting to look at.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
The effects aren’t the novelty they once were.
— Trace Sauveur, AwardsWatch
How does it look overall?
It looks stunning – better to these eyes than any other effects-driven film this year.
— Harry Guerin, RTÉ
TRON: Ares is the coolest-looking film of the year.
— Anthony Gagliardi, The Movie Podcast
The whole highlighter color scheme is unique enough to give the movie a look all its own.
— Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
Watching the Cycles trail deadly beams of light in their wake through the cityscape is a compelling sight, and Rønning exploits this to the max. Same goes for the splendid black-and-red color scheme that runs through the film, neatly deployed by production designer Darren Gilford.
— James Mottram, Radio Times
The aesthetics of the Grid, with its sleek angles and retro ideas of the future, have always been the franchise’s strong point, and Ares misses out on that distinctiveness by going offline.
— Emily Garbutt, GamesRadar+
Someone behind the scenes thought the problem with TRON and TRON: Legacy was that they were gorgeous. Don’t worry. That era of TRON is over.
— William Bibbiani, TheWrap
Does it have any great action sequences?
The cool, luminous glow that typically defines a TRON action sequence is given room to shine through some fairly solid action filmmaking.
— Trace Sauveur, AwardsWatch
The opening chase scene will have jaws scraping the floor.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
The set-pieces… are another big win for director Joachim Rønning.
— Harry Guerin, RTÉ
The action is cleanly staged and mostly coherent… but it never truly thrills.
— Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
How is Jared Leto’s performance?
Very well mapped out. Ares in the first scene is radically different from Ares in the last scene, and we clearly see that transformation happen over the course of the movie.
— Germain Lussier, io9.com
Leto is better here than you might expect… aperhaps because he’s mostly playing a blank slate, with little room for his usual assortment of odd tics.
— Trace Sauveur, AwardsWatch
Leto does a good job making himself believable as a digital wonder.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
Perhaps it’s perfect casting to choose Leto as an artificial intelligence devoid of emotion, because his performance here offers little of it.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
The role demands flatness, and Leto delivers that with precision.
— Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
Are there any other standouts in the cast?
It boasts a compelling lead in Greta Lee as Eve Kim, the current CEO of ENCOM.
— Trace Sauveur, AwardsWatch
Greta Lee is an extremely likable co-lead and gives the movie’s standout performance.
— Emily Garbutt, GamesRadar+
Lee’s progressive, high-minded tech CEO may be pure fantasy, but the actor gives the character a vitality and depth that transcends the razzle-dazzle.
— Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
What I found that works about TRON: Ares is that the women of the film carry it in such a way that you are captivated by them.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
TRON: Ares (almost) comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analog reality.
— Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
How is the score by Nine Inch Nails?
Thrilling and completely mind-melting.
— Anthony Gagliardi, The Movie Podcast
The clear standout remains the Nine Inch Nails score, which absolutely slaps over the booming IMAX speakers.
— Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
This score is absolutely incredible and often makes every scene it is in that much better.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
It’s a tidal wave of sound, crashing into Disney’s film and soaking every frame. It is a sonic wonder for which both Reznor and Ross deserve great praise. TRON: Ares has, in no uncertain terms, a great frickin’ soundtrack.
— William Bibbiani, TheWrap
There’s something cool about NIN and TRON together, but this electronica-driven score (which feels highly indebted to Radiohead’s Kid A at points) doesn’t touch what Daft Punk achieved for TRON: Legacy. Still, it’s atmospheric, energizing, and befits Rønning’s heart-pumping action.
— James Mottram, Radio Times
The Nine Inch Nails score, which works well as a stand-alone listen, doesn’t fully integrate into the world of TRON: Ares…It feels more like background noise than the living, breathing entity Daft Punk’s music became in 2010.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
Is there a problem with the script?
The narrative has predictable aspects, but smartly weaves a classic storyline into a thoughtful exploration of AI’s potential.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
The screenplay by Jesse Wigutow occasionally buckles under the weight of its own ambition, but it’s refreshing to see a big-budget sci-fi film wrestling sincerely with ideas of consciousness, AI, and human identity.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
The script references both Frankenstein and Pinocchio, offering a more pertinent exploration of those two archetypes than Guillermo del Toro’s recent adaptations of both books — if only the film were more committed to Ares’ existential journey.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
TRON: Ares has no ideas. Instead, it has plot. Lots and lots of tedious plot.
— William Bibbiani, TheWrap
A simple story holds it back.
— Anthony Gagliardi, The Movie Podcast
It’s the clunky script and the film’s overall failure to realize any potential that holds Ares back.
— Trace Sauveur, AwardsWatch
The blasé script never locks onto anything narratively compelling… The story’s lack of emotional stakes only amplifies how fundamentally unfeeling this movie manages to be.
— Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot
Does it feel like a movie for the moment?
It’s hard not to think a new TRON movie feels rather timely. Then again, with that inevitable trudge of technological progress, TRON has the benefit of always feeling timely.
— Trace Sauveur, AwardsWatch
It’s exactly the wrong time to release a TRON with nothing to say about the topic. Then again, it’s always the wrong time to release a bad movie.
— William Bibbiani, TheWrap
TRON: Ares, like many long-delayed legacy sequels, has long since crossed the threshold of necessity.
— Giovanni Lago, Next Best Picture
This franchise now looks about as urgently contemporary as an in-car CD player.
— Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
Should we see it on the big screen?
See it on the biggest screen possible because yes, the Grid rules in IMAX.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
The chaos and destruction gets bigger, bolder and better until an epic climax that’s worth every penny of an IMAX 3D ticket.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
Viewers are encouraged to see this empty but transportive cinematic experience on the biggest screen with the loudest volume, in 3D if possible.
— Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
See TRON: Ares in stereoscopic 3D if you can, as Rønning clearly recognizes the potential of the format.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
[It is] best seen on the largest screen possible with the loudest sound system in existence.
— Peter Martin, ScreenAnarchy
See Ares on the big screen rather than wait for the Disney+ release…to hear their industrial, pulsing backdrop to the movie’s action scenes through proper theatrical speakers.
— Emily Garbutt, GamesRadar+
TRON: Ares opens in theaters on October 10, 2025.
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