After sitting through the lame RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN panel for an hour (more on that later) I thought there was nothing that could save my sanity short of a nail driven into my skull. However, just as the talent table cleared out and the anxious audience made it's way toward the exit, our host got back on the mic and told us Disney had a little something special to show us. The lights dimmed, the Disney logo appeared, and then everything went digital.... and neon. Cue the teaser for TRON 2
The camera slowly lowers on to a brightly lit runway, engines rev, the crowd cheers. A man dressed in a glowing blue spandex suit hides against a wall. He avoids his green challenger, mounts a two wheeler that just materializes beneath him, and starts the game. Two neon light cycles explode on to the screen, pimped out with the latest technology and the faintest touch of that old school arcade atmosphere.
Sadly, I couldn't get SPEED RACER out of my mind as I watched the cycles rip through the CGI terrain. It was still cool to see technology catch up with the film's concept though. Cycles were turning on a dime, there were some unfriendly nudges, the playing field was multileveled and included steep ramps, lots of color, and transparent floors. The cycles themselves seemed to be glorified versions of the bat-pod and perfect for a flamboyant biker gang. They were like the ones below but 800 million times better.
We break away from the action to join one of the players in the real world. Kneeling in what seems like a penthouse size bedroom, dressed in the finest monk apparel is Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) from the original film. A little concerned when his electronic counterpart, Clu, loses track of his opponent in a tunnel, he now searches for a way to cut him off with a light wall.
And cut him off he does. Appearing from atop a soaring digital mountain, Clu pounds down directly in front of the other player and immediately puts up a wall. A sweet slow motion crash into the wall is shown and the sorry son of a bitch goes sailing across the grid. Clu dismounts his cycle, walks over to the fallen player, and takes out what seems to be a mini, folded-up version of his light cycle. "This is just a game." says the downed dude. "Not any more." replies Clu and thrashes upon him with great vengeance. Lights on, clip over.
The cheering stops and you realize just how cool it was to see the coolness of the 1982 film, which was so far ahead of it's time, finally catch up with itself.
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10:55AM on 07/28/2008