“Tron: Ares” (2025) is the third movie in the “Tron” franchise, the first with a cohesive story and the best soundtrack from Nine Inch Nails (no disrespect intended to Daft Punk). Set after Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) has stepped down as CEO of ENCOM, the Kim sisters take over the company with Eve Kim (Greta Lee) rebooting Kevin Flynn’s game, Space Paranoids, continuing the rivalry with Dillinger Systems and looking for some lost tech that Flynn (Jeff Bridges) hid that has the potential to solve humankind’s problems. Meanwhile Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), the grandson of Ed Dillinger (David Warner), i.e. the human villain from the first movie, has invented a program called Ares (Jared Leto) and found a way to bring him and others like him to the real world. Dillinger eliminates programs once they are no longer useful, but Ares wants to live. He defies his creator’s orders and decides to get Eve to help him. Will Ares find his purpose? I finally liked a “Tron” movie, which may mean that old school fans may not like the direction that the franchise is going. Alas, there is no random Cillian Murphy cameo as Edward Dillinger.
Leto has not been this human since “Dallas Buyers Club” (2013). Ever since he won the Academy Award, he has made some bad impressions with his method style in some stinker roles, including the Joker in “Suicide Squad” (2016) and “Justice League” (2021), a dubious CEO in the anticlimactic “Blade Runner 2049” (2017), sporting a laughable Italian accent in “House of Gucci” (2021), and the titular character in “Morbius” (2022) where it felt palpable that he thought that finally he would finally make a hit, but he just made vampires boring. With a string of disasters, it is easy to wonder if the Oscar was the aberration, but his talents are perfectly suited as a computer program stunned over the vagaries of life. While the performance is not transcendent enough to make moviegoers forget his alleged offscreen harmful behavior, he may finally achieve some praise in his day job that he has been desperately trying to cultivate.
Director Joachim Rønning, writer Jesse Wigutow and co story creator David DiGilio wisely show Ares’ first steps where his creator immediately makes him fight for his life upon gaining consciousness. Leto depicts the flashes of horror which he then stifles with the veneer of obedience once Ares realizes that his creator will toss him like a used tissue with one misstep. He constantly replays his user’s words and one operation with his team betrays that he values life more than his programming when he tries to rescue another program, Caius (Cameron Monaghan), which Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith delivering a cunty performance that may be the most consistently riveting performance in the film and takes killer fembots to a whole new level), his second in command, does not share. Though Ares and Athena are simultaneously entering the third dimensional world and experiencing the sensations of certain feelings for the first time, they are perfect foils in the way that they reconcile this new data with their programming. Athena becomes a zealot who engages in malicious, extreme compliance whereas Ares goes straight to mutiny.
Rønning establishes Ares’ motivation in a gorgeous sequence in which Eve’s memories wash over Ares, and he contrasts her as a user versus Dillinger, and it is a no brainer. Would anyone in the audience choose the actor who played Jeffrey Dahmer or is a regular cast member in “American Horror Story” or the actor who was at the center of a mature, emotionally textured love triangle in “Past Lives” (2023)? Side note: Lee is in two movies coming out this week. The other is “House of Dynamite” (2025). Lee is in her get money phase. Lee’s eyes well up with tears at the slightest provocation while simultaneously making Eve into a complete badass human who handles an army of AI in the flesh coming after her with style and vigor. Sarah Connor would be so proud. It is a brave performance because Cameron heroines tend to hew closer to their male counterparts in emotional range whereas Lee leads with her emotion and competence.
Also, the Eve and Dillinger’s backup teams are so different. Gillian Anderson plays a chilly, punishing Elisabeth Dillinger, i.e. Edward’s sister and the oldest daughter of the OG villain. Not since “Hannibal” has she played someone who clearly knows that she is on team dangerous except her character here keeps trying to offer advice and expresses disapproval at how Julian is risking and squandering generations of Dillinger work. Peters plays Julian as a thoroughly unlikable, but tragic figure who finds himself falling into the pit that he digs for Eve. When he finally slips, most may groan at the result since it is shameless begging for a sequel, but hey, don’t hate the player, hate the game. Eve has a cute team with decent camaraderie and different personalities. Seth Flores (Arturo Castro) is a bit nerdy and needy but likable. Ajay Singh (Hasan Minhaj) likes to talk crap but has the brains to back up his smack talking behind the monitor. Sarah Desjardins character mostly works alongside Ajay but is a bit ill-defined.
Fans of the franchise will be disappointed to discover that though the title references a beloved character, neither Tron nor Alan Bradley appears, but Bruce Boxleitner approves. Tron is more like a concept like Spartacus. There are a plethora of homages to the original, including Dumont’s name on some quotidian objects and a Bridges cameo in the grid from the first movie. “Tron: Ares” is so gorgeous that it is disappointing that Bridges is not sporting his wardrobe from “Tron: Legacy” (2010), which makes narrative sense, but when has this franchise ever let that stop them. It is a blessing that Sam and Quorra (Olivia Wilde) only appear in news clippings though that does prove how her character only existed to make Sam interesting. Master Control becomes a rank title, not a specific program’s name, but an achievement that a program can achieve.
Is “Tron: Ares” derivative of “Blade Runner” (1982), “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012), and the “Terminator” and “Star Wars” franchise with heavy-handed references to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” (1818) and “Pinocchio?” Yes, but it is cool and has a cohesive story so let’s sign a waiver. Facing mortality and corporate espionage with a Los Angeles kaiju like experience is fun, relatable and thrilling. Even if you hate the direction that they are taking this movie in, imagine listening to Nine Inch Nails for two hours in a dark theater. Sure, you are not going to get “Closer” (1994). It is a Disney movie, but it is so close to it in spirit, it is worth it.
“Tron: Ares” was really smart to recognize that exploring the good guys connection to the Grid was a dead end and shifted to focusing on life under villain rule. The film is a surprisingly poignant and affirming story about the preciousness and finiteness of life and the importance of not confusing commands and rules for purpose and meaning. I’m glad that I hung in there and did not back out after watching the first two movies. The franchise is no longer restricted to prepubescent boys.
