Tron – Ares – Film (2025)

A highly sophisticated digital program, Ares (Jared Leto), is sent into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humanity’s first encounter with artificially intelligent beings. As Ares discovers his surroundings and makes his first contact with humanity, his awareness and consciousness begin to evolve. He finds an unexpected ally in brilliant technologist, computer programmer and Encom CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee), as she searches for crucial code written by Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges).

Tron: Ares more convincing than the previous one Tron – Legacy also for its adherence to contemporary themes such as the use of artificial intelligence.

The film begins with a CEO, already visibly unscrupulous due to operational differences with his mother played by Gillian Anderson, of the large technology company Dillinger (a name perhaps not by chance contrasted with that of the competitor and ‘better’ Encom) who creates from nothing, in front of a group of financiers and high-ranking military officials, as if with a sort of 3D printer, a tank that can even knock down walls and an android soldier with the warrior name, Ares, both ready “for all-out war at five minutes’ notice.”

Tron – Ares to an infinitely greater extent than the previous one Tron – Legacybut also the original, a classic from the 80s, is completely immersed in the present. Because the only possible future of this non-saga is precisely the present which tells us about wars unleashed in five minutes. In this sense it almost makes you think of an instant movie with the addition of the theme of artificial intelligence which is so much a part of our lives that we have become its guests and not vice versa. Tron’s “grid”, the network in which its system moves, literally leaves that virtual world to appear in ours which we believe to be real. An overriding of the field that brings with it a series of fascinating theoretical questions even if not entirely original. Because Ares, who – let’s remember – in Greek mythology is the god of war in its most aggressive and lawless stage, is security software designed only to protect the “grid” which however is now starting to ask itself questions.

The screenplay, in some ways basic, by Jesse Wigutow revolves entirely around this idea that sees artificial intelligence develop a conscience in software with a not-so-subtle reference to Asimov’s famous three laws of robotics. The interesting aspect of this evolution is the confidence that AI can become a force for good against the evil represented by human intelligence. Free will, even of software, is preserved since Ares, despite being aware of being, as is repeatedly repeated, “100 percent expendable”, chooses to respond to his evil programmer by rebelling and hindering him while his colleague Athena takes the path of blindest obedience and becomes his enemy, as is written in Greek mythology.

This clash, also in terms of acting, between Jared Leto and a very interesting Jodie Turner-Smith, is one of the most engaging parts of the film which has another strong point in the visual form that the Norwegian director Joachim Rønning (Maleficent – Mistress of evil e The girl of the sea), here in his most convincing proof, gives this third chapter marked by the color red. The entire film moves along this line and finds, as in the previous ones, the most evocative sequences in the story of the “grid” with, for example, the physical representation of a hacking program contrasted by the security program of the attacked system. A little more visible (Terminator?) instead the part of the motorbike chases in the real metropolis even if their execution is impeccable thanks also to the editing by Tyler Nelson on which, we discover in the credits where there is also the inevitable sequence that could open up to a further but useless sequel, Pietro Scalia also had his hands on. Thanks to them, the film has a faster pace than the previous ones, slowed down only by the forced inclusion of the character of Kevin Flynn played by Jeff Bridges, who however is always a pleasure to see again even when he philosophizes.

The soundtrack composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross deserves a separate review, as they chose to sign with their group Nine Inch Nails as well as appearing as executive producers. It is their electronic music, which resonates (positively) with the spectator, which offers an escape route for the spectator who is also led to relive certain atmospheres of very 80s video games which, in fact, were based on very thin stories. Like this one.
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