Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
🎬 In this FilmSpeak video essay, we discuss. why Tron Ares is a disaster and broke me. Not simply the worst Tron movie but the movie that killed the Tron franchise.
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TRON: Ares didn’t just disappoint me as a fan of TRON: Legacy—it genuinely broke me. As someone who has spent years championing this franchise, this world, this aesthetic, this philosophy… Ares is the moment where Disney officially pulled the plug. A vapid, schizophrenically paced, exposition-stuffed in-between-quel that nobody asked for, TRON: Ares didn’t just stumble—it killed the franchise in broad daylight with poor box-office, lukewarm reactions, and a total failure to deliver on the promise of a true Legacy sequel.
Instead of continuing the narrative and themes Joseph Kosinski set up—AI consciousness, digital transcendence, the collision between human and machine—Ares feels like a Frankenstein’d script rewrite desperately trying to decide whether it wants to soft reboot, reboot-quel, or pretend Legacy never happened. What we get is a cluttered, overstuffed, underdeveloped mess with too many characters, no emotional real estate, and a tone that veers from defeatist AI fear-mongering to hollow techno-spirituality.
Even the film’s biggest draws—Jeff Cronenweth’s cinematography and a Nine Inch Nails score—can’t save it. In fact, as much as I love the NIN score on its own, in context it’s strangely oppressive, directionless, and completely out of sync with the images onscreen. For a movie preaching about “soul,” “connection,” and the intangible spark of life… there is shockingly none of it in the film itself.
This is a video about heartbreak, about missed opportunities, and about how a studio completely misunderstood what made TRON special in the first place. It’s about how TRON: Ares became the direct-to-DVD-feeling in-between-quel that derailed a franchise that deserved better. And it's about what this failure means for Disney, sci-fi worldbuilding, and the future of TRON—if there even is one now.
Griffin (@griffschiller) gives you his Tron Ares review and analysis explaining why Tron Ares sucks, why Tron Ares failed, why Tron Ares is the death of the Tron franchise and why Tron Ares is a bad movie. Enjoy this Tron Ares ending explained and breakdown!
#tron #tronares #videoessay #jaredleto #tronlegacy #movie #film #filmtok #analysis #podcast #moviereview #explained #endingexplained
Edited by @ThatOneDoesntCount
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🎞 About Tron Ares 🎞
A highly sophisticated Program called Ares is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. Starring Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges.
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▶️ About FilmSpeak ◀️
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🎬 In this FilmSpeak video essay, we discuss. why Tron Ares is a disaster and broke me. Not simply the worst Tron movie but the movie that killed the Tron franchise.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE: youtube.com/filmspeak?sub_confirmation=1
TRON: Ares didn’t just disappoint me as a fan of TRON: Legacy—it genuinely broke me. As someone who has spent years championing this franchise, this world, this aesthetic, this philosophy… Ares is the moment where Disney officially pulled the plug. A vapid, schizophrenically paced, exposition-stuffed in-between-quel that nobody asked for, TRON: Ares didn’t just stumble—it killed the franchise in broad daylight with poor box-office, lukewarm reactions, and a total failure to deliver on the promise of a true Legacy sequel.
Instead of continuing the narrative and themes Joseph Kosinski set up—AI consciousness, digital transcendence, the collision between human and machine—Ares feels like a Frankenstein’d script rewrite desperately trying to decide whether it wants to soft reboot, reboot-quel, or pretend Legacy never happened. What we get is a cluttered, overstuffed, underdeveloped mess with too many characters, no emotional real estate, and a tone that veers from defeatist AI fear-mongering to hollow techno-spirituality.
Even the film’s biggest draws—Jeff Cronenweth’s cinematography and a Nine Inch Nails score—can’t save it. In fact, as much as I love the NIN score on its own, in context it’s strangely oppressive, directionless, and completely out of sync with the images onscreen. For a movie preaching about “soul,” “connection,” and the intangible spark of life… there is shockingly none of it in the film itself.
This is a video about heartbreak, about missed opportunities, and about how a studio completely misunderstood what made TRON special in the first place. It’s about how TRON: Ares became the direct-to-DVD-feeling in-between-quel that derailed a franchise that deserved better. And it's about what this failure means for Disney, sci-fi worldbuilding, and the future of TRON—if there even is one now.
Griffin (@griffschiller) gives you his Tron Ares review and analysis explaining why Tron Ares sucks, why Tron Ares failed, why Tron Ares is the death of the Tron franchise and why Tron Ares is a bad movie. Enjoy this Tron Ares ending explained and breakdown!
#tron #tronares #videoessay #jaredleto #tronlegacy #movie #film #filmtok #analysis #podcast #moviereview #explained #endingexplained
Edited by @ThatOneDoesntCount
Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCAlhR6RxXQux2LWok1cIL6w/join
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
🎞 Chapters 🎞
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
🎞 About Tron Ares 🎞
A highly sophisticated Program called Ares is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. Starring Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
▶️ About FilmSpeak ◀️
Welcome to FilmSpeak hosted by Griffin Schiller, where the conversation continues after the credits. If you'd like to become a part of that conversation, consider subscribing for more thoughtful and exclusive insight, analysis, and interviews behind YOUR favorite movies!
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
❗️ My YouTube Gear 📺 ❗️
Camera 🎥: Sony a7iii ➡️ amzn.to/3poCJaz
Microphone 🎙: Shure SM7B ➡️ amzn.to/3jVWYeO
Lights 💡: Elgato Key Light Air ➡️ amzn.to/3prCFXy
Tripod: Joby Gorillapod ➡️ amzn.to/2NbC5QQ
Live Stream Capture Card: Elgato Cam Link 4K ➡️ amzn.to/3s5TwRP
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Follow FilmSpeak on Social Media
► Visit FilmSpeak's Homepage: filmspeak.net
► Twitter: twitter.com/_filmspeak
► Instagram: instagram.com/griffschiller
► Facebook: facebook.com/FilmSpeakOfficial
► TikTok: tiktok.com/@filmspeak
