‘Tron: Ares’ Receives Awkward Reception as Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Revealed
Tron: Ares, the latest installment in the Tron franchise, has debuted with a 54% score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the second highest-rated film in the series.
The 2025 science fiction action film serves as a standalone sequel to 2010’s Tron: Legacy and features a star-studded cast including Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, and Gillian Anderson. Jeff Bridges returns briefly as Kevin Flynn.
Joachim Rønning directs, with a screenplay by Jesse Wigutow based on a story by Wigutow and David Digilio.
Tron: Ares premiered in Los Angeles on October 6 and will be released in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on October 10. Critics have given mixed reviews. Many praised the film’s visuals, the cyberpunk aesthetic, and the industrial score by Nine Inch Nails, noting that the music added energy and a fresh edge to the franchise. Some critics appreciated the action sequences and the film’s bold approach to expanding the Tron universe.
Tron: Ares isn’t without its flaws, but it pushes the franchise into an exciting new frontier with an industrial edge thanks to Nine Inch Nails’ propulsive score.
Nicolás Delgadillo
Visually stunning.It’ll leave you entertained. I wish I could feel more invested in the characters though.
Wendy Lee Szany
Director Joachim Rønning (“Young Woman and the Sea”) takes over the franchise, goosing the simple ‘good use of AI’ versus ‘bad use of AI’ plot with eye-popping effects-laden action scenes and a fantastic NIN score which responds to every emotional beat.
Laura Clifford
However, reviewers also pointed out several flaws. Many found the story weak and the dialogue unengaging.
Some felt the film relied too heavily on visual spectacle and music, leaving characters underdeveloped. Jeff Bridges’ brief appearance was noted as enjoyable but ultimately too short. Others compared the plot unfavorably to other sci-fi franchises, suggesting it borrowed ideas without fully committing to originality.
TRON: ARES is a gorgeously hollow cyberpunk shell, mostly just the echoes of its inspirations and some great Nine Inch Nails.
Sherin Nicole
An exhausting, overproduced, nauseating and tedious sci-fi action thriller. A long music video masquerading as a movie.
Avi Offer
Tron: Ares has high-quality visual effects but low-quality dialogue in a Terminator franchise ripoff story. The cast members are caught in the middle. Jeff Bridges shows up for five minutes in a sci-fi robe and acts like The Dude from The Big Lebowski.
Carla Hay
The Grid expands into 1.90. #FilmedForIMAX
— IMAX (@IMAX) September 4, 2025
Tickets are on sale now for Tron: Ares Early Access Screenings on October 8, the Tron IMAX Double Feature on October 8, and Opening Weekend October 10! pic.twitter.com/RwCgNRPCiP
Tron: Ares seems to deliver a visually striking experience with a strong soundtrack but struggles to balance story and character development. It has succeeded in pushing the Tron world into a more modern, industrial cyberpunk direction, even if it doesn’t fully capture the narrative strength some fans might have hoped for.
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