‘Tron: Ares’ Review: Jared Leto Stars as Rogue AI in Disney’s Flashy Yet Flawed Sequel

Disney’s latest foray into the virtual world, Tron: Ares, brings audiences back to the legendary neon landscape of “the Grid,” but with an AI twist that clouds the distinction between what is real and what is virtual.

Directed by Joachim Rønning and fronted by Jared Leto, the long-awaited sequel is designed to enhance the legacy of the 1982 classic. But with all its dazzling looks and high-tech aspirations, Tron: Ares seems like it’s coded more for nostalgia than novelty.

Where the first Tron pioneered with its futuristic premise and innovative effects, this one, under the production of Sean Bailey, feels like a tribute to the past rather than an advance toward the future. The movie brings us dazzling 3D action sequences and minimalist designs but is bogged down by routine references to its predecessors and the greater 1980s looks. The overall effect is a picture that appears resplendent but cannot help but recycle more than it innovates within its own lore.

At its heart, Tron: Ares brings forth two interesting concepts. The first, and slightly discomfiting, is to consider what would occur if creations of the Grid, programs, cars, and AI life forms, were able to enter the real world. Instead of people being sucked into the virtual like in the previous movies, technology itself starts bridging the divide. The second concept is a welcome counterpoint: what if artificial intelligence, instead of being something to fear, might be a new kind of kindness? Encom CEO Eve Kim, played by Greta Lee, wonders, “What if its biggest malfunction is just benevolence?

” The film’s main character, Ares (Jared Leto), is not the villain but one made by one. His creator, Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), the cold-blooded head of a competing tech firm, wants to engineer Ares into a loyal, expendable super-trooper. Leto’s performance, with dark slicked-back hair and a high-tech red-and-black outfit, conveys the detached cool of an artificial man while suggesting the buried humanity beneath his programming.

Although his acting is deliberately held back, it pays off in the film’s slick, emotionally depersonalized universe. The visual style of the movie continues to be one of its best aspects. Rønning, who previously worked on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, adopts 3D technology wholeheartedly and makes the movie a visually engaging experience that’s sharp and smooth.

The soundscape, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (here credited as Nine Inch Nails), enhances the energy with thrumming bass lines and synths that pay homage to Daft Punk’s classic Tron: Legacy score while carving out its own sonic direction.

Assisting Leto is Jodie Turner-Smith as Athena, Ares’ second-in-command. With her authoritative presence and frosty demeanor that recalls Grace Jones, Turner-Smith exudes strength and command in a universe of strict binaries, light and dark, human and program. In their pairing, the two present an intriguing contrast: Ares’ desire for self-awareness versus Athena’s stoic allegiance to the system. One of the strongest scenes in the movie is a military demonstration, during which Dillinger demonstrates Ares’ capabilities by summoning him, and an enormous SWAT truck, into corporeal existence using glowing red lasers. But there’s a twist: anything brought in from the Grid can only survive in the real world for 29 minutes before it collapses.

To overcome this limitation, Dillinger hunts for the “permanence code,” a lost piece of data hidden by Kevin Flynn, Jeff Bridges’ original character, to prevent exactly this kind of power abuse.

Greta Lee’s Eve Kim is the moral anchor of the film, finding the code first and imagining a world in which it might be used for good, making food, houses, and solutions for humanity instead of weapons of oppression. Her positive side is a stark contrast to Dillinger’s avarice, establishing a philosophical and ethical conflict that pervades the film. As Ares starts to develop beyond his programming, gaining empathy and self-awareness, Tron: Ares quietly references iconic tales such as Frankenstein and Pinocchio. It raises the issue of what it is to be alive and whether or not artificial creations can have a soul. However, though the Palantiri theme is rich, the film sometimes does this at the cost of action scenes and franchise references.

The kinetic Light Skimmer pursues in flashing urban landscapes and the rebirth of legendary Recognizers deliver exciting spectacle, yet occasionally drown out Ares’ personal odyssey.

A quick but noticeable cameo is provided by Jeff Bridges, although his relaxed acting comes across as more “Big Lebowski” than Kevin Flynn. Gillian Anderson also turns up as Julian Dillinger’s mother, a soft-spoken voice of wisdom, cautioning her son of the ethical pitfalls of unchecked technological zeal.

Even with its philosophical aspirations, Tron: Ares can’t quite shake its corporate origins. Just like its predecessor Tron: Legacy, it condemns corporate greed while being part of Disney’s very own greed-based sequel agenda. The movie concludes with a few loose ends, designed to set up presumably another installment, temporarily diminishing its emotional impact.

Nevertheless, Rønning’s movie is worthy of praise for rebooting the Tron universe with a modern gloss and topical insights about AI and ethics. Leto’s acting as Ares, half-alien and half-human, is the film’s existential anchor. And while Tron: Ares won’t attain the pioneering innovation of the first, it’s certainly a visual feast to watch in 3D for full sensory experience. At the very least, it solidifies the fact that Tron is still Disney’s chicest and most cerebral sci-fi franchise. But maybe, as its AI hero, it’s time the franchise itself broke out of its programming and stepped into the world of reality.