Dazzling but glitchy Disney Sci-Fi revival

Their digital-human dance unfolds against the backdrop of corporate greed, existential rumination, and the eternal question, what happens when code starts feeling things? Ares oscillates between philosophic musings and old-school sci-fi bravado, but it never fully decides whether to dazzle or to think. Still, as popcorn spectacle with a PhD in aesthetics, it does both just enough to keep the grid glowing.

- Troy Ribeiro

Forty-three years after the original Tron zapped audiences into the digital ether, Tron: Ares arrives as Disney's glossy attempt to reboot a franchise that refuses to log off. Directed by Joachim Rønning, the film is an ambitious, occasionally overclocked exploration of AI, morality, and legacy, all wrapped, of course, in retina-searing light and thundering synths. Rønning's affection for the franchise is clear: he preserves its neon DNA while trying to inject fresh emotional circuitry. The result is a film that looks stunning and hums with energy, but sometimes feels like a glorified system update, necessary perhaps, but not revolutionary.