Tag Archives: gillian anderson

Tron: Ares Has Critics Pulling No Punches In Their Scathing Reviews

Posted on by
Reply

The original Tron, released in 1982, has gone on to become a veritable cult classic of the sci-fi genre.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for its most recent iteration, Tron: Ares, if critics’ reviews are anything to go by.

Starring Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters and Gillian Anderson, the new sequel has been heavily panned in early reviews, with some going as far as describing it as one of 2025’s worst big-screen offerings.

Here’s a selection of what the critics have had to say about Tron: Ares…

“The worst film of the year and a new low for Disney. The music’s great, but this Jared Leto vehicle is otherwise an ethically dubious, horribly written nadir in franchise slop.”

“The matrix of pointlessness is reloaded in this mind-bendingly dull sci-fi, more a screensaver than an actual film […] Tron: Ares (almost) comes to life just once – when Evan Peters gets a smack in the face from Gillian Anderson playing his mum, in an old-fashioned bit of analogue reality. That’s a bit of firm parenting you might feel like handing out to every producer involved in this film, and it’s sad to see the estimable Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith being made to look so lifeless.”

“So bad it makes you wish AI would hurry up and destroy Hollywood. [Tron: Ares is] a shambolic film populated by some of the most aggressively charmless characters ever seen in a blockbuster.”

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="YouTube" data-component-id="8883" data-component-props="{"itemType":"video","index":13,"contentIndexByType":1,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Disney","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_5niPa-d35gg88HaS7RrIw","cache_age":86400,"description":"Watch the brand-new trailer for Tron: Ares and experience it in theaters, filmed for IMAX, October 10.\n \nTron: Ares follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. The feature film is directed by Joachim Rønning and stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, with Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges. Sean Bailey, Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, Jared Leto, Emma Ludbrook and Steven Lisberger are the producers, with Russell Allen serving as executive producer.\n\nGrammy®-award winning rock band Nine Inch Nails composed the score for “Tron: Ares,” and today, the band dropped \"As Alive As You Need Me To Be\" —the soundtrack album’s first single and the first official music from the band in five years. Listen to \"As Alive As You Need Me To Be” and view the visualizer: https://nineinchnails.lnk.to/AAAYNMTB. The track is featured in the new trailer for “Tron: Ares.”\n \n“Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack),” featuring all original music by Nine Inch Nails, will be released on September 19 via Interscope Records. The release marks the first-ever film score by the pioneering band, although bandmates Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have composed 20 scores under their own names, winning two Oscars®, three Golden Globes®, a GRAMMY® and an Emmy® in the process.\n \nALBUM: https://NineInchNails.lnk.to/TRONAres\nSINGLE: https://NineInchNails.lnk.to/AAAYNMTB\nLYRIC VIDEO: https://youtu.be/-Sj-FmI5JfA\n\n► SUBSCRIBE to the channel to get notified when new Disney videos are posted: https://www.youtube.com/user/DisneysShows?sub_confirmation=1\n\n► SUBSCRIBE to Disney+ to stream all of your favorite Disney shows and movies: https://www.disneyplus.com/\n\nFollow on social media to get the latest news and announcements from Disney:\n\nTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@disney\nInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/disney/\nFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Disney/\nX: https://x.com/disney\nWebsite: https://www.disney.com/\n\nExperience more stories by subscribing: \n\n/ @marvel\n/ @StarWars\n/ @pixar\n/ @disneyplus","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YShVEXb7-ic/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Tron: Ares | Official Trailer","type":"video","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YShVEXb7-ic","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isMobile":false,"isAdsFree":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"68e6496fe4b0d98d3e52ec72","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/tron-ares-reviews-critics-scathing_uk_68e6496fe4b0d98d3e52ec72","entryTagsList":"ukfilm,gillian-anderson,jared-leto,tron,greta-lee","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"isShopping":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"16b0ecc6-802c-4120-845f-e90629812c4d","clickToPlayPlayer":"823ac03a-0f7e-4bcb-8521-a5b091ae948d","videoPagePlayer":"05041ada-93f7-4e86-9208-e03a5b19311b","defaultPlaylist":"2e062669-71b4-41df-b17a-df6b1616bc8f"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":13},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"68e6496fe4b0d98d3e52ec72","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"ukfilm","slug":"ukfilm","links":{"relativeLink":"news/ukfilm","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukfilm","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukfilm"},"section":{"title":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment"},"topic":{"title":"Film","slug":"ukfilm","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukfilm/"},{"name":"gillian anderson","slug":"gillian-anderson","links":{"relativeLink":"news/gillian-anderson","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/gillian-anderson","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/gillian-anderson"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/gillian-anderson/"},{"name":"jared leto","slug":"jared-leto","links":{"relativeLink":"news/jared-leto","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/jared-leto","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/jared-leto"},"relegenceId":2804070,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/jared-leto/"},{"name":"tron","slug":"tron","links":{"relativeLink":"news/tron","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/tron","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/tron"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/tron/"},{"name":"greta lee","slug":"greta-lee","links":{"relativeLink":"news/greta-lee","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/greta-lee","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/greta-lee"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/greta-lee/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"backfillRelatedArticles":[],"cetUnit":"buzz_body","enableIncontentPlayer":false,"bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0,"midArticleAdPartner":null},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

“Tron: Ares will make you want to log off. Gillian Anderson should have known better than to appear in this uninspired sequel. [The film’s title character, Ares is] a dead-eyed digital super-soldier played by the bearded charisma vacuum and scene-wrecking super-plank Jared Leto (and you thought he was bad in Morbius).”

“Tron: Ares is not a film. It’s an absolutely brilliant soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails with some visual elements getting in the way. The music is loud, aggressive, adventurous, soaring, gritty and emotive, everything the actual movie is not.”

“Like lead actor Jared Leto’s high-def cheekbones, it looks great, but the movie is saddled with callbacks to the earlier film (and the 1980s at large) that suggest it’s aimed more at Gen X than the Alpha kids who could launch the property into the future.”

Not all of the reviews for Tron: Ares have been negative – but the more forgiving ones are few and far between
Not all of the reviews for Tron: Ares have been negative – but the more forgiving ones are few and far between

“Without giving too much away, there is room for a Jeff Bridges appearance, and also a nostalgia-driven sequence that fans of the original Tron will love. What a pity the script itself flounders, hampered by the fact Hollywood has churned out numerous AI stories of late. Certainly, this lacks the cheekiness of, say, M3GAN. With the exception of an amusing riff about Depeche Mode (better than Mozart, according to Ares), it requires a much-needed humour injection.”

“Tron: Ares [is] a franchise entry that honours its roots while taking significant steps forward. It’s no sci-fi insta-classic, but there are worse things to be than a surprisingly entertaining post-summer popcorn bucket.

Tron: Ares arrives in UK cinemas on Friday 10 October.

Share Button