It’s hard to avoid AI in 2025—even at the movies. Two years ago, strikes over AI nearly shut down Hollywood, and this past year, AI was used in two Oscar-nominated films. It’s been the subject of much debate in and out of Hollywood, so it’s only fitting that films would start giving us more pointed commentaries on its inevitable rise. However, just because it’s relevant doesn’t mean I want to surround myself with more of it. The Tron franchise has always been at the forefront of sci-fi in the not-so-distant future, and in TRON: Ares, the filmmakers have decided to tackle AI.
We’re years into the future from the original films, and this time, instead of entering the computer or the “grid,” as it’s called in the Tron universe, both Dillinger Systems and Encom are competing to be the first to bring AI into our world—though in very different ways. Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), the new CEO of Dillinger Systems, is working to create a disposable super soldier (a bit too similar to Mickey 17’s Expendables), while Encom CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) dreams of possibly ending world hunger with her fruit trees. But both companies face the same problem: anything brought out of the grid only lasts 29 minutes.
Believing Eve has discovered the permanence code needed to create functional military AI, Julian sends his Master Control security software, Ares (Jared Leto), and his second-in-command, Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith), after her. What follows is a series of car chases and fight scenes featuring Light Skimmers racing motorcycles and even a Recognizer hovering above Vancouver’s skyline. Add in the fantastic soundtrack from Nine Inch Nails, and you get some undeniably cool moments.
At times, TRON: Ares feels more like a 4D ride than a film, an experience that speaks to the strength of its visuals and sound design, but not to the story itself. The cinematography and world-building pull the audience into both the neon vastness of the Grid and the cold corporate world of Dillinger and Encom. It’s a wonderful display of technical achievement and makes for an exciting return to the universe of Tron.
The characters are reduced to archetypes that symbolize their causes, and even when given complex backstories—like Eve—the script removes their development. Greta Lee’s natural intensity provides Eve with moments of humanity as she portrays a leader torn between moral conviction and corporate pressure, but the writing reduces her to a symbol of “ethical innovation.” Ares could have been a profound exploration of intelligent, man-made life, but his obsession with Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” diminishes any hope for an organic investigation of these themes. Instead of examining creation and consciousness in a new way, the film relies on familiar imagery.
TRON: Ares does many things well, but overall, the result is an entertaining yet flat film. Its main goal seems to be a fun, nostalgic trip through the Grid, and it accomplishes that. Still, it’s hard not to feel it falls short of its potential.
