TRON: ARES
(12A) 120mins
★☆☆☆☆
Tron: Ares feels like it was written by Artificial Intelligence
AI is already integrating itself into many aspects of our everyday lives.
And after two hours spent watching Tron: Ares, you might wonder if was put in charge of making it.
A huge special effects budget, credible cast and thumping soundtrack from rockers Nine Inch Nails can’t save this piece of cinematic cyber-terrorism.
Ares () is the first ever being to cross over from the digital to the real world and meet mankind.
He has been created by techno baddie Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), head of futuristic software firm Dillinger Systems, who has coded him to be the ultimate controllable soldier.
He is meant to have no emotions, but after some brief encounters with humanity, Ares starts to experience empathy.
The big problem with Ares — aside from Leto’s flat and uncharismatic portrayal — is that dastardly Dillinger can’t make him last any longer than 29 minutes in the real world before he crumbles into pixelated dust.
Weaving in threads from previous Trons (the 1982 original starring Jeff Bridges and 2010’s Tron: Legacy), most of the action revolves around a race against time to secure “the Permanence Code”.
This will allow Ares and all other AI beings to exist for ever and “secure the future”.
So Dillinger wants to find it before rival firm Encom, led by gaming nerd Eve Kim (Greta Lee).
The non-stop thundering industrial rock score is great but can’t fill the voids in this painfully thin plot.
reboots her Margaret Thatcher mode as Julian’s mother Elisabeth.
And AI assassin Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith) snarls credibly.
Director Joachim Ronning (Pirates Of The Caribbean) attempts to be groundbreaking but is not very successful.
An abundance of strobe lights in “the grid” make it look more like somewhere you might have played Laser Quest in 1990 than a dystopian digital enclave.
And glowing flying motorbikes look like a small child’s depiction of the future.
Nostalgic nods to the past including floppy discs, Rubik’s cubes and Ares declaring a deep love for ’80s electro band Depeche Mode add nothing and are inserted clumsily.
The kindest thing to do on this wearisome watch would be to press ctrl-alt-delete and sign out.
LAURA STOTT
I SWEAR
(15), 120mins
★★★★☆
I Swear is charming, funny, and profound
FEW films balance heart, humour and humanity quite like this beauty directed by Kirk Jones.
It tells the extraordinary true story of John Davidson, a Scottish man with who, against all odds, became an unlikely national figure.
What begins as a hilariously awkward royal encounter blossoms into a deeply affecting portrait of resilience and self-acceptance.
Robert Aramayo () gives a career-defining performance as Davidson, embodying both his vulnerability and charm. His portrayal never feels like imitation – instead, it’s full of warmth, wit and authenticity.
Newcomer Scott Ellis Watson also shines in earlier scenes, capturing the confusion and courage of young John.
Maxine Peake, as compassionate mental health nurse Dottie, brings much-needed tenderness to the tougher moments.
Together, they create a friendship that becomes the beating heart of the story.
While I Swear ticks many of the “cosy British drama” boxes, it stands apart in its treatment of disability. It laughs with, not at.
The final act, featuring real performers with Tourette’s, feels both celebratory and quietly revolutionary.
Charming, funny, and profound, I Swear leaves you smiling through tears.
Film news
Heat 2 has been announced, with Michael Mann directing.
Roald Dahl’s twisted tale The Twits has been made into a Netflix animated movie.
Jason Bateman will direct Tom Holland in an adaptation of John Grisham’s The Partner.
NIGHT OF THE ZOOPOCALYPSE
PG), 91 mins
★★★☆☆
Night Of The Zoopocalypse follows a gang of creatures who face down a nocturnal Zombie invasion
AS a starter scary movie for small ones, this Canadian animated adventure about a gang of creatures who face down a nocturnal Zombie invasion delivers glowing-eyed good fun.
When a meteor crashes into Colepepper Zoo an alien virus is released turning many of its animal residents into neon-tinged, unpredictable versions of their original selves.
An unlikely break-away crew including kind wolf Gracie (Gabbi Kosmidis) and fierce lion Dan () must put aside their preconceptions about each other as hunter and prey to avoid being struck by the scary space drool and ultimately to survive and save their friends.
Despite initial reservations about herd hierarchies and warnings that “carnivores need to stay in their cages” the unlikely tribe, which includes a wise-cracking monkey and a cute hog, pull together to see off the threat.
Perhaps not always the most sophisticated animation, but there’s plenty of carefully considered appetiser frights and some laugh-worthy one-liners.
Action and characters do skew towards basic but for a beginner horror its spooky moments fulfil the brief.
