--- title: "TRON: Ares: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/tron-ares/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/tron-ares" critics_score: 48 critics_reviews: 19 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # TRON: Ares (2025): what the critics said Critics' score 48 from 19 reviews: 5 positive, 5 mixed, 9 negative. Most critics come away from TRON: Ares unimpressed, and the reviews lean negative. What nearly everyone agrees on is the music: the Nine Inch Nails score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is singled out again and again, sometimes as the only reason to stay in the seat. The visual effects and the light-cycle chases draw steady praise as well, and several reviews find it cleaner and easier to follow than Legacy. The reservations gather around the story and the lead. Most find the AI plot recycled and the script glib, and Jared Leto’s performance is called charmless more often than not. Total Film and the Los Angeles Times both object to moving the action out of the Grid and into the real world. The spread is wide. The Telegraph, The Times and The Guardian give it the lowest marks, while HeyUGuys rates it warmly and The Hollywood Reporter alone defends Leto as subdued and affecting. ## The AV Club — Jesse Hassenger Rating B-. 7 October 2025. The film is a throwback blockbuster with beautiful visual effects, cleanly shot action, and a kickass soundtrack, but it is ultimately a pretty dumb movie whose ideas feel dated and whose lead performance by Jared Leto does not work. It works as escapism thanks to its sleek, eye-filling style and early-2000s vibes. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/tron-ares-review) ## The New York Times — Alissa Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 9 October 2025. The critic finds the film more enjoyable and comprehensible than its predecessor Legacy while retaining the series' neon aesthetic and action sequences. She notes Jared Leto's lack of charisma and the movie's failure to recapture the original's low-fi charm. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/movies/tron-ares-review.html) ## Radio Times — James Mottram Rating 3/5. 7 October 2025. The critic calls it a beautifully designed but slightly hollow blockbuster that feels like stepping into the future at times. Thrilling light-cycle chases and the atmospheric Nine Inch Nails score are praised, while a seen-it-all-before AI plot and humourless script are criticised. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/tron-ares-review/) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2025. The review highlights impressive visuals and 3D effects along with intriguing AI concepts but criticizes the heavy reliance on nostalgia, callbacks to prior films, and the story feeling like an exercise in franchise extension rather than fresh ideas. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/tron-ares-review-1236542140/) ## Empire — John Nugent Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 8 October 2025. The film is a lightweight, shallow sci-fi adventure with thin characterisation and themes, relying on flashy CGI and a strong Nine Inch Nails score for its appeal. It offers fun but forgettable futuristic fluff elevated mainly by visuals and soundtrack. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/tron-ares/) ## Los Angeles Times — Katie Walsh Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 9 October 2025. The critic praises the sleek visuals, industrial soundtrack, and style but faults the overly explicit script, lack of subtlety in its AI and Frankenstein-inspired themes, and shift to less appealing real-world action sequences. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-10-09/tron-ares-review-jared-leto-greta-lee-joachim-ronning-disney) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2025. The review notes that the film almost gets by on style points and vivid visuals but succumbs to an uninspired story and franchise tendencies. Striking set pieces and the propulsive Nine Inch Nails score are highlighted amid tired sci-fi tropes. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/tron-ares-review-jared-leto-goes-off-grid-in-bombastic-sequel-to-classic-ai-franchise/5209692.article) ## Little White Lies — Kambole Campbell Rating 3/2/1. 8 October 2025. The critic finds the film a high-style, low-substance sci-fi threequel that plays like a vapid neon album promo. Jared Leto cool-poses through it while the strong soundtrack cannot compensate for the hollow execution and unlikeable lead. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/tron) ## Total Film — Emily Garbutt Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2025. The review criticises the choice to move the story out of the Grid into the real world, resulting in a less compelling experience overall. It highlights how this shift causes the film to miss out on its core strengths. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/tron-ares-review/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2025. The review views the film as accepting AI takeover with a grimly appropriate corporate fatalism, best when it acknowledges its own silliness but mostly straight-faced and visually unremarkable. It sees the franchise's central question about programs' affinity for humans as exhausted and the overall vision depressing. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-tron-ares-doesnt-realize-its-depressing.html) ## The Observer — Wendy Ide Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2025. The film is an overbearingly futuristic, entirely synthetic spectacle with Jared Leto in messianic prat mode as an annoying AI super-soldier; it may appeal to fans of bright lights and speed but disappoints those seeking plot logic or substance. [Read the review](https://observer.co.uk/culture/film/article/wendy-ides-pick-of-other-films-tron-ares-good-boy-a-want-in-her-the-perfect-neighbor) ## Time Out Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2025. The film is dismissed as a drab, flavourless iteration of the once-cult sci-fi series that grasps for topicality but has nothing new or interesting to say. Nine Inch Nails' score and some capable action sequences are singled out as the only redeeming elements. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/tron-ares-review-2025) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2025. The critic finds the film a pointless threequel that is mind-bendingly dull, more a screensaver than a proper movie, with an irritating turn from Jared Leto and lifeless performances from the rest of the cast. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/07/tron-ares-review-gillian-anderson-sci-fi-jeff-bridges-jared-leto) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Rating 1/5. 10 October 2025. The shambolic film is so bad it makes one wish AI would destroy Hollywood, populated by aggressively charmless characters and bloated with unabsorbing non-plot despite one good idea about light cycles in the real world. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/tron-ares-review/) ## Financial Times Rating ★★★☆☆. 9 October 2025. A not-bad sequel that works as Imax spectacle with inventive chase sequences and grand spectacle, though plot is minimal; a pleasant surprise with optimism that may be a tonic. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/b3a43b89-0990-4989-861d-17f12763a407) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 7 October 2025. The critic finds the story familiar from countless sci-fi films but praises the pulse-pounding Nine Inch Nails score and Jared Leto's refreshingly subdued performance, which supplies an emotional hook and occasional humor. It is a marked upgrade from its predecessor with dynamic visuals and muscular action, a surprisingly entertaining popcorn movie that honors its roots. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/tron-ares-review-jared-leto-greta-lee-evan-peters-1236394401/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★☆☆☆☆. 7 October 2025. The uninspired sequel is bloodless and lifeless, a series of formulaic chases featuring seasoned actors who should have known better, with a startling opening but little else to recommend it. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/tron-ares-will-make-you-want-to-log-off-gpkxzl9rt) ## HeyUGuys — Linda Marric Rating 4/5. 7 October 2025. The film is a decent, heartfelt evolution of the Tron franchise that does not achieve a flawless balance of form and feeling. The critic singles out the industrial, pulse-pounding score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as the real triumph. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/tron-ares-review/) ## Collider — Ross Bonaime Rating 7/10. 7 October 2025. The film is a solid upgrade for the Tron series with simpler plotting, strong visuals, and an excellent Nine Inch Nails score that make it entertaining despite inherent goofiness. It makes the franchise feel more viable but still relies on thin characters and familiar tropes. [Read the review](https://collider.com/tron-ares-review-jared-leto-greta-lee-evan-peters/) ## NME — Matt Maytum Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 October 2025. Praises the score and visuals for making it fun, but criticizes the story as muddled and glib, more style over substance. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/tron-ares-review-nine-inch-nails-jared-leto-evan-peters-3898033) ## /Film — Witney Seibold Rating 4/10. 7 October 2025. Tron: Ares is a thoughtless sequel that is all plot and no heart, with an uncharismatic lead performance from Jared Leto. The critic singles out the electronic intensity of the Nine Inch Nails score as a highlight amid the film's many flaws. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1989345/tron-ares-review/) ## Polygon — Sam Nelson Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2025. The action sequences and soundtrack are dazzling and elevate the film, but the plot, characters, and themes are thin, recycled, and lacking ambition or depth. It prioritizes style over substance and feels like the least ambitious entry in the franchise. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/tron-ares-review-jared-leto-jeff-bridges/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond 7 October 2025. The critic finds the film entertaining with dazzling effects and an intriguing premise about AI and humans, praising Jared Leto's performance, but notes the script misses opportunities for deeper insight into the themes. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2025/10/tron-ares-review-jared-leto-greta-lee-robotic-reboot-1236571930/) ## Den of Geek — Don Kaye Rating 2.5 out of 5. 8 October 2025. The critic finds the score and visuals strong but the film soulless and perfunctory, with no real innovation or passion beyond the music. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/tron-ares-review-soundtrack/) ## The Wrap 7 October 2025. The critic dismisses the film as a generic, idea-free sequel that fails to engage with its themes, criticizing the plot, performances especially Leto's, while praising only the soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/tron-ares-review-jared-leto/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/tron-ares.md