{"id":14435,"date":"2025-10-10T05:34:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T12:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/?p=14435"},"modified":"2025-10-15T16:44:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T23:44:14","slug":"tron-ares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/2025\/tron-ares\/","title":{"rendered":"TRON: Ares * Dazzling Visual Effects But Struggles To Land Its Emotional Core"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-14442\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TRON_ARES_KA_DIGITAL_1SHT_TSR_sRGB_V9-405x600-dda67a8.jpg?resize=119%2C176&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"119\" height=\"176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TRON_ARES_KA_DIGITAL_1SHT_TSR_sRGB_V9-405x600-dda67a8.jpg?resize=203%2C300&amp;ssl=1 203w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TRON_ARES_KA_DIGITAL_1SHT_TSR_sRGB_V9-405x600-dda67a8.jpg?w=405&amp;ssl=1 405w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 119px) 100vw, 119px\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Tron: Ares<\/em> follows a highly sophisticated security AI program named Ares who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a mission to find the &#8220;Permanence Code.&#8221; This code could allow digital programs and constructs to become permanent in reality, ending the 29-minute limit currently imposed by technology from rival companies, Dillinger Systems and ENCOM. After Ares questions his orders and goes rogue to help a human, a conflict ensues with his original creator, Julian Dillinger, and his lieutenant, Athena, who wants to use the code for military purposes.<\/p>\n<p>KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Rayce S. comments, \u201c<em>Tron: Ares<\/em> delivers dazzling visual effects and clever nods to its predecessors but struggles to land its emotional core\u2026 It has its strengths &#8212; the CGI and visual effects are top-tier, immersing viewers in a sleek futuristic world. Jeff Bridges (Kevin Flynn) makes a late appearance, bringing grounded energy that elevates the scenes he is in.\u201d Chase L. and his Dad offer up their honest reviews of the new &#8220;TRON: Ares&#8221; movie, after attending an advance media preview in New York City. See their full reviews below.<\/p>\n<p>Tron: Ares<br \/>\nBy Rayce S., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 16<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W_bVkV1gbCA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14436\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14436\" class=\" wp-image-14436\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/T300550-tst0003.comp_.vpapaix.kodak5217.v08.1-600x400-bf06395.jpg?resize=225%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/T300550-tst0003.comp_.vpapaix.kodak5217.v08.1-600x400-bf06395.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/T300550-tst0003.comp_.vpapaix.kodak5217.v08.1-600x400-bf06395.jpg?w=600&amp;ssl=1 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14436\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jared Leto as Ares in Disney&#8217;s TRON: ARES. Photo by Leah Gallo. \u00a9 2025 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>Tron: Ares<\/em> delivers dazzling visual effects and clever nods to its predecessors but struggles to land its emotional core.<\/p>\n<p>The storyline follows Ares a highly advanced program, sent from the digital realm on a very important mission into the physical world as he tries to understand human emotion.<\/p>\n<p><em>Tron: Ares<\/em> has its strengths &#8212; the CGI and visual effects are top-tier, immersing viewers in a sleek futuristic world. Jeff Bridges (Kevin Flynn) makes a late appearance, bringing grounded energy that elevates the scenes he is in. Jared Leto\u2019s portrayal of Ares adds intrigue, especially as he wrestles with the film\u2019s central theme &#8212; what it means to be human. There are also a few well-placed comedic moments that earn genuine laughs without trying too hard.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14437\" style=\"width: 229px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14437\" class=\" wp-image-14437\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tron_ares_dtrl2_v26oc_240ce_t_250707_g_r709f.089406-601x352-bfe1128.jpg?resize=219%2C128&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"219\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tron_ares_dtrl2_v26oc_240ce_t_250707_g_r709f.089406-601x352-bfe1128.jpg?resize=300%2C176&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tron_ares_dtrl2_v26oc_240ce_t_250707_g_r709f.089406-601x352-bfe1128.jpg?w=601&amp;ssl=1 601w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 219px) 100vw, 219px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14437\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L-R) Jared Leto as Ares and Jeff BRidges as Flynn in Disney&#8217;s Live Action TRON: ARES. Photo by Leah Gallo. \u00a9 2025 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The film\u2019s biggest flaw lies in its characters. Despite the attempts to build emotional stakes, most of the cast of characters feel underdeveloped. They lack depth which makes it hard to connect emotionally to them. \u00a0Even in moments meant to evoke sadness or triumph, the emotional impact doesn\u2019t land.<\/p>\n<p>The pacing also fails at the end. The story builds intriguing concepts and ideas, but the ending feels rushed and unresolved. The movie is not bad but it\u2019s not great either. It\u2019s worth watching for fans of the franchise or those drawn to high concept sci-fi but don\u2019t expect it to be a deeply moving experience.<\/p>\n<p>The theme of this movie is about understanding what makes a being human and this is mainly portrayed by Ares as he navigates his purpose. The film has stylized sci-fi combat and mild to moderate profanity.<\/p>\n<p>I give<em> Tron: Ares<\/em> 2.5 out of 5 stars and I recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. This film releases in theaters on October 10, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Tron: Ares<br \/>\nBy Chase L. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 11<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZgddbpUEiGI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14438\" style=\"width: 229px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14438\" class=\" wp-image-14438\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/T3-10243_R-600x400-bf06395.jpg?resize=219%2C146&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"219\" height=\"146\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/T3-10243_R-600x400-bf06395.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/T3-10243_R-600x400-bf06395.jpg?w=600&amp;ssl=1 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 219px) 100vw, 219px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14438\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hasan Minhaj as Ajay Singh in Disney&#8217;s Live Action TRON: ARES. Photo by Leah Gallo. \u00a9 2025 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Chase L. and his Dad offer up their honest reviews of the new &#8220;TRON: Ares&#8221; movie, after attending an advance media \/ influencer preview in New York City.<\/p>\n<p>How does this latest installment hold up to its predecessors? Jump on a light-cycle and join us on the Grid for this post screening review! &#8220;TRON: Ares&#8221; follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind&#8217;s first encounter with A.I. beings.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;TRON: Ares&#8221; is in theaters now!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TRON: Ares follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind\u2019s first encounter with A.I. beings.<br \/>\nKIDS FIRST! Film Critic Rayce S. comments, \u201cTron: Ares delivers dazzling visual effects and clever nods to its predecessors but struggles to land its emotional core\u2026 It has its strengths &#8212; the CGI and visual effects are top-tier, immersing viewers in a sleek futuristic world. Jeff Bridges (Kevin Flynn) makes a late appearance, bringing grounded energy that elevates the scenes he is in.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4949,15],"tags":[1682,1001,9779,7724,9791,9784,9780,9788,35,4800,7216,8267,9782,9783,4801,9785,9787,713,6425,9792,47,556,9786,9793,9790,9794,9781,9789],"class_list":["post-14435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feature-film","category-feature-film-reviews","tag-action","tag-adventure","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-arturo-castro","tag-bonnie-macbird","tag-cameron-monaghan","tag-cyberpunk","tag-david-digilio","tag-disney","tag-emma-ludbrook","tag-evan-peters","tag-gillian-anderson","tag-greta-lee","tag-hasan-minhaj","tag-jared-leto","tag-jeff-bridges","tag-jesse-wigutow","tag-joachim-ronning","tag-jodie-turner-smith","tag-paradox","tag-sci-fi","tag-science-fiction","tag-sean-bailey","tag-sean-bailey-prooductions","tag-steven-lisberger","tag-tron-3","tag-tron-ares","tag-wigutow"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paS5I2-3KP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14435"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14458,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14435\/revisions\/14458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}