Tron: Ares just crashed the Grid—critics call it “extremely dumb” with a “terrible plot,” but fans are glowing up the neon! 🌐

Jared Leto struts as an AI assassin breaching our world, chasing a code that could rewrite reality. Stunning visuals and NIN beats pulse like a heartbeat, but does the story derezz into chaos, or light-cycle to glory?

Plug in before the verdict drops—your move, users? 👉

The neon veins of Disney’s Tron universe pulsed back to life on October 10, 2025, with Tron: Ares roaring into theaters on a wave of IMAX hype and a Nine Inch Nails soundtrack that could wake the dead. Directed by Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), the third chapter in the 43-year-old franchise catapults audiences into a digital-real world mashup, where a rogue AI program named Ares (Jared Leto) breaches the Grid for a high-stakes heist involving the “Permanence Code.” Starring Greta Lee as the idealistic Encom CEO Eve Kim, Evan Peters as the slimy tech heir Julian Dillinger, and cameos from Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn and Gillian Anderson as a no-nonsense matriarch, the film promises spectacle on steroids. But as the opening weekend tally creeps toward a projected $40-50 million—respectable but no Legacy-level smash—early reviews have split the user base like a light-cycle duel. Critics torch the script as “extremely dumb” and riddled with a “terrible plot,” while fans rave about the visuals and beats, igniting accusations of bias and boosting audience scores to 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. In a post-Oppenheimer era of cerebral sci-fi, has Tron: Ares derezzed into nostalgic oblivion, or is it the escapist jolt Hollywood needs?

The Tron saga kicked off in 1982 as a groundbreaking CGI fever dream, zapping programmer Kevin Flynn (Bridges) into a corporate-controlled digital arena for gladiatorial games and counter-hacking hijinks. Its 2010 sequel, Tron: Legacy, amped the spectacle with Daft Punk’s electro score and Sam Flynn’s (Garrett Hedlund) Grid rescue mission, grossing $400 million worldwide despite mixed word-of-mouth. Ares soft-reboots the lore, ignoring much of Legacy‘s emotional core to focus on AI ethics: Dillinger, grandson of the original’s villain, engineers Ares as a super-soldier to seize Encom’s code, which could let Grid programs manifest permanently in “meat space.” Eve, a Flynn-inspired innovator, counters with benevolent visions—materializing orange trees in barren snowscapes as harbingers of utopia. Rønning’s direction leans hard into sensory overload: Hard cuts dissolve into pixelated transitions, zooming from TV screens to real-world reflections, all scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s industrial throb that syncs bass drops to disc throws.

Venice Film Festival buzz on September 1 set high bars, with Rønning’s sleek aesthetic earning festival nods, but stateside critics wasted no time swinging the derezzer. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw unloaded first on October 7, dubbing it a “pointless threequel” with a “leaden cameo” from Bridges and Leto’s “irritating” hipster AI strut— a “mind-bendingly dull sci-fi” that only sparks when Anderson slaps Evan Peters’ Julian in a rare analog reality check. The New York Times piled on October 9, quipping “Who Needs Logic When You Have Neon?”—praising the eye-candy but lamenting an “overly elaborate” plot where warring CEOs drone about rebooting icons for profit, oblivious to the franchise’s counter-culture roots. IGN’s October 7 verdict stung hardest: A “near total failure” that misreads Tron‘s essence, swapping Flynn’s relatable underdog hack for “warring billionaire CEOs” in a tone-deaf sermon on tech benevolence— “oblivious” to why the original resonated. Variety echoed the chorus on October 9, calling it a “buggy upgrade” where “great ideas” about AI benevolence clash with “fetishistic” nostalgia, squandering chemistry for sequel bait and ending in “nonsensical loose ends.” Screen International’s Tim Grierson summed the script gripes: “Creativity in service of a story with scant signs of life.” Rotten Tomatoes crystallized the divide at 55% “rotten” from 75 reviews, with consensus: A “sensory feast” that’s “gorgeous to behold but too narratively programmatic to achieve an authentically human dimension.”

Not all lasers fired red. Roger Ebert’s October 10 paean hailed it as “spectacularly designed, swiftly paced, thoughtfully written,” with Rønning directing “within an inch of its neon-hued life”—a 3.5/4 star glow-up that flips Eve’s biblical nod into a paradise-builder arc. Associated Press’ Mark Kennedy gave 3/4 stars, spotlighting Leto’s “rock star strut” in a skintight suit and Lee’s “human action heroine” steal— a fresh 2025 vibe amid the glow. Rotten Tomatoes’ first-reviews roundup on October 7 flagged “striking visuals, solid action, and a phenomenal soundtrack,” with GamesRadar+ noting NIN’s beats “match or surpass” Daft Punk’s legacy—one of the few areas where the threequel doesn’t derez. Forbes tallied the 55% RT score on October 8, but audience early birds pushed Popcornmeter toward 87%, praising IMAX immersion: “Thrilling, pulse-pounding, visual spectacular,” per Hollywood Reporter’s premiere reactions, where one tweeter crowned NIN the “real star.”

Social media’s Grid is a battlefield. Reddit’s r/movies review thread exploded to 1.8K upvotes and 1.3K comments by October 7, with users calling it “a pretty dumb movie with beautiful visual effects, cleanly shot action, and a kickass soundtrack”—escapism that “works” in our bleak 2025 reality, though some griped the summary “pretends the first two movies don’t exist.” r/boxoffice mirrored the split, with 189 votes debating RT’s “rotten” tag: “Disney films are just commercials for merch,” one quipped, while another defended Leto’s push to “make Tron Ares happen.” On X, @iamjstevenson (October 13) skipped it over “terrible reviews” but emerged surprised: “Actually GOOD… What’s with the 32 point difference?”—echoing @TonyYnotbFreman’s anti-woke bias callout in a YouTube rant. @Efetterman (October 13) summed: “Looks great, incredible score, terrible plot holes.” @GoldenAgeReview’s 4.5/5 gush (October 13) lauded the “visually and musically stunning” successor to Legacy, while @BitingNews (October 12) snarked Disney’s “flop” lacks “bearded trans women.” Letterboxd logs paint a cult vibe: “Audiovisually resplendent chase movie… downright TERMINATOR-esque,” but “script a bunch of expository gibberish.” IMDb users (6.7/10) defend: “Fun nice mindless movie… despite mixed reviews.”

Performances polarize the code. Leto’s Ares—strutting in red-black armor, crumbling after 29-minute meat-space jaunts—earns “well” from AP but “irritating” from Bradshaw, with one Letterboxd quip: “If only the real Jared Leto crumbles to dust after 29 minutes.” Lee’s Eve shines as the “show-stealer,” her code-summoned orange tree a poetic flip on Eden. Peters’ Julian chews scenery as the ancient-civ-obsessed mogul, while Anderson’s smackdown steals scenes. Bridges’ white-robed Flynn? A “leaden” whisper of nostalgia.

Technically, it’s Grid-perfected: Unreal Engine-fueled Grid chases in IMAX 3D pop with ray-traced neon and haptic rumbles, per Plugged In’s October 10 nod to “stylish action” light on bugs (mild violence, sparse language). NIN’s score—ethereal dread laced with folk riffs—eyes Grammy gold, syncing to disc discards like a heartbeat. Runtime clocks 1:59, tight for spectacle but bloated for plot.

Box office stakes? Disney’s $150 million bet eyes $400 million global, but Joker: Folie à Deux‘s holdover and family fare like Moana 2 (November) loom. Analysts peg a $200 million floor via merch (light-cycles at parks) and VOD, but flops like Lightyear ($226 million) haunt. Awards? Leto and Lee whisper Oscar nods, echoing The Wrestler‘s redemption arc.

Context? 2025’s AI boom—Ex Machina echoes in Ares‘ benevolence glitch—clashes with franchise fatigue: Legacy‘s $400 million masked narrative gripes, now amplified in a post-Barbie meta era. Risks: Rønning’s sequel bloat (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) and Leto’s polarizing vibe (Morbius memes). Positives? A24’s indie polish inspires, but Disney’s IP churn (Indiana Jones 5‘s $384 million underperformer) demands hits.

As October’s servers hum, Tron: Ares forks the path: Critics’ “dumb” derez or fans’ neon revival? X’s @eucheon (October 12) skipped work for IMAX: “Story kinda meh but music and effects amazing.” @WedgeWalkr (October 12) defended amid shill slurs: “80’s kid who liked it.” The Grid endures—plot glitches and all. Nail the spectacle without the snooze, and it’s legacy code. Fumble the human spark, and it’s just pretty pixels. Users, end program?