After 15 years of inactivity, Disney’s Tron franchise has finally returned with “Tron: Ares.” The sequel to 2010’s “Tron: Legacy” was announced, delayed, and reworked several times before its release on October 10, 2025. Disney fueled that anticipation with a global marketing campaign worth over $100 million dollars, promoting the film as a bold return to the dormant series. The final product, however, raises the question of whether the long delay was actually worth it, as “Tron: Ares” is indeed a visually impressive film, but lacks the narrative strength of emotional weight needed to justify its return.
“Tron: Ares” continues the story years after “Tron: Legacy.” ENCOM, the technology company at the center of the franchise, is now developing the “Permanence Code,” a program that allows digital entities to exist in the real world. Scientist Eve Kim (Jodie Turner Smith) leads the project, working alongside Julian Dilinger (Cameron Monaghan), the ambitious boss of a rival corporation. Together, they create Ares (Jared Leto), a sentient AI designed for high level tasks who can temporarily cross over into the physical world. When Ares begins to experience human sensations such as pain and emotion, he starts questioning his purpose and the ethics of his creators. Eve, the scientist, sees Ares as a symbol of technological progress, while Julian, the antagonist, treats him more as property. The conflict escalates as Ares gains independence, forcing both sides to confront the blurred boundary between human and machine.
Visually, Tron: Ares does excel. Its digital environments, lighting design, and costumes are detailed and carefully executed, The cinematography captures the neon world with precision, especially during action scenes, and the sound design enhances its immersive experience. The soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails is truly the highlight of the film, as it complements the tense atmosphere perfectly, giving the film a sharply industrial tone. However, these technical achievements are the movie’s only strengths.
Anyone who finished this movie can tell you that the same attention given to visuals seems absent from the story and characters. “Tron: Ares” had the potential to explore moral questions about AI, autonomy, and humanity. After “Tron: Legacy” hinted at programs developing real emotions, fans expected this sequel to deliver on those ideas. The film’s core theme, humanity versus machine, is treated too predictably. The plot follows the standard “AI gains consciousness” structure without much variation or surprise. Dialogue often states the obvious, with lines from Eve such as “Being human is hard. The things that make life great are the same things that make it excruciating, like love and loss.” So much of the plot is dependent on the viewers actively caring for the characters, but they lack any emotional depth. Ares is distant despite being our protagonist, Julian is a one dimensional villain, and Eve’s personal motivations, including her sister’s death, are barely explored. At a total of 137 minutes, the movie suffers from pacing issues. Long action scenes and visual effects sequences replace any meaningful interactions between characters. The result is a story that looks expensive but lacks all meaning, with little for the audience to actually connect with emotionally.
“Tron: Ares” stands out for its technical excellence but fails to engage on any narrative level. It is polished, loud, and impressive to watch, yet ultimately as empty as a music video or tech product showcase when it comes to actual content. Ironically, for a movie about artificial intelligence seeking humanity, it feels incredibly mechanical and detached. The ending clearly sets up for another sequel, but unless Disney focuses on character-driven storytelling, the franchise risks losing what little interest remains.
To give a final rating, “Tron: Ares” would be a 2 out of 5 stars; it is a visually stunning movie but weak in all other departments. It is a sequel few were waiting for, and even fewer will actually remember.
