Neon Dreams & Emoji Beams: Why TRON: Ares (2025) Glows But Doesn’t Hit
- Dan Brooks
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
A highly sophisticated program, Ares, is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission.
Alright - buckle up, fellow cine-nauts. I just emerged from the darkened theatre of TRON: Ares, my retinas still buzzing from an over-dose of luminous blue grid trails and a soundtrack that punched my eardrums politely. And here’s the deal: yes, this thing looks gorgeous, yes, the sound gets you in the chest, but somewhere between the real world and the digital world something got unplugged.
So: what’s the story? In short: a super-smart program named Ares (hello Jared Leto) is sent from the digital Matrix-ish realm into our everyday reality on a “do‐or‐die” mission. The promise: humanity’s first real encounter with AI beings. Cool. Fresh twist on the old “human goes to the digital world” template that the franchise usually uses.
And yes, we get Jeff Bridges back as Kevin Flynn (bless him), plus the up-and-coming Greta Lee as Eve Kim, and Gillian Anderson in the mix (nice curve ball).
What I like:
First off - the visuals. Oh man. They went all-in on the neon, the light cycles, the grid lines bleeding into the real world. It’s like if Blade Runner had a long-lost cousin who loved Lobby music and went to Disneyland. The trailer teased it and the film delivers.
Second - the soundtrack. They roped in Nine Inch Nails (yes, that Nine Inch Nails) to score this sucker. Meaning there’s a pulse beneath the polish, a gritty electricity behind the chrome. That matters.
Third - nostalgic nods for the nerds: if you spent your childhood gliding light cycles in arcades, you’ll recognize the winks. They’re there. I caught them and smiled.
What I didn’t like:
Here’s where I lean back in my theatre seat and scratch my head. The story - compared to the promise - feels thin. We’re told: “Here are new characters, new mission, new world.” Fine. But then (whisper) we lose a chunk of the continuity I cared about. The second film? Barely referenced. Key characters from the legacy? Largely missing.
That’s like rebooting Star Wars by forgetting The Empire Strikes Back.
And the emotional stakes: zero to maybe. Because I didn’t really know these people. I didn’t have history with them. That means when the big moment hits, I cared more about the popcorn than the peril.
Also: The title says TRON, but TRON (as the person, the myth, the man) gets barely a cameo. I kept waiting for the “Ok where’s our hero?” moment. Maybe it’s hidden. Maybe I blinked. Either way: feels like false advertising.
Standout stuff:
One of the themes that stuck with me: what happens when our created programs cross into our reality? There’s a boundary between digital perfection and messy human beingness, and the film tries to explore it. Bonus points for trying.
Technique wise: the juxtaposition of slick digital design with earthbound grit (urban back-streets, police chases, real world consequences) gives it more gravitas than purely arcade sci-fi.
But - and yes there’s a big but - the film seems torn between “let’s honor the past” and “let’s go shiny new.” Sometimes that means it honors neither. The balance is off.
My take:
Look: I walked in expecting a ride. And visually it is a ride. Thrilling light trails, crunchy beats, and bold aesthetic choices. But then I found myself thinking: we’ve built a beautiful car - but where’s the engine? It’s like they won the style war and lost the story war. Jared Leto shows up as Ares and yes, he gets the shine (literally, suit glows like a Tesla on steroids) but the movie too often seems like “how many cool set-pieces can we fit into the real world before someone notices the narrative gap?”
For fans of the franchise: if you’re hoping for a seamless continuation of TRON → TRON: Legacy → now this, well, don’t hold your breath. The film opts to pivot, change character lineups, shift focus - and for that it loses some of the emotional anchor of the earlier works.
Now to be fair: if you come in expecting “a neon spectacle to watch and go home,” yeah - it’ll hit. But if you go in expecting “the epic next chapter of a beloved digital saga,” you might leave wondering why your soda tastes like disappointment.
Final verdict:
I enjoyed TRON: Ares for what it is - a high-gloss sci-fi spectacle with a killer soundtrack and visual flare. But I also left feeling there was more flash than substance, more design than heart, more ego (looking at you, Ares/Jared Leto) than franchise soul.
So yeah: Pretty but lacks all the storytelling of the franchise and takes a right turn to glorify Leto’s ego.
6.5 / 10
Hashtags:
Comments