I picked up Tron Legacy the other week on blu-ray. An absolute treat for the eyes. Beautifully rendered and with amazing designs throughout. Interesting to see Jeff Bridges as his young self again, synthespians may be the way forward, but there was still a mask like look to the face, cgi cant quite recreate the micro-expressions and tiny facial tics that pass across our face as we move. I watched the original Tron soon after and was absolutely apalled at how badly it had dated. One thing that had stoof the test of time well though was the Lightcycle and it was gratifying to see it reborn in the sequel. I still have the Tomy toy from the first film, one of the few toys to be produced for the film, a ripcord driven vehicle of the same type as Kenner SSP with a large rubber tyred wheel at the back. Needless to say, ive never had the courage to let her rip and risk smashing the bonnet open! The latest series of toys include the obligatory lights and sounds, but the design and manufacture of Flynns new bike are stunning. Made to hold a figure and light up in response to having the pilot installed, its a simple push along toy, but it matches the clean lines of the film exactly.
Another famous future bike is from the anime epic Akira and is Kanedas motorbike. This ceramic engined beast is about 12 inches long and made by Macfarlane. Given the amount of detail lavished on it, it doesnt do much, steering is static and theres no moving parts except the wheels.
Bandai on the other hand managed to do a much better job with a small 3 inch diecast some years earlier, including removable engine access, fairing and full steering. It even came with an 00/H0 Kaneda figure reminiscent of the old Britains bike riders.
Too right Wote. Tron was groundbreaking and Disney did a great job way back in the Early eighties. In so many ways prescient and a glimpse at a future where we are all digitalised. War Games, although far less stylish, was a similarly predictive picture with a foretaste of bedroom hacking and a computerised world. For some strange reason War Games is on UK TV at least once a year but I can't remember the last time TRON was on. The new film, Legacy, is another milestone but like you Wote, I disliked the CGI Flynn. Wonder what Derek Meddings would have made of modern CGI?
ReplyDeleteI remember owning the original Lightcycle toy when I was in high school. It and many of my other models and toys disappeared after I joined the Army. I remember visiting home after a stint overseas and finding my old room virtually empty.
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