Knight Rider, a.k.a. the “2-hour Ford commercial”, sucked (mostly).
Feb 17, 2008 TV
Granted, it is still on as I type this, but with half an hour left, it had better pick up. I had such high hopes for this movie. As a kid in the 80’s, Knight Rider was a part of my life. I had the bed sheets. I had the racing set. I had the K.I.T.T. bigwheel. I even sat in the actual K.I.T.T. at an auto show (where I also got Elvira’s autograph, but that is another story)! So going into this, I was hoping that they would have gone all out for such a remake. For the most part, they failed.
First of all, the acting is horrible. I know this is a tv-movie, but we are dealing with a television classic that demands a little respect. Val Kilmer is an ok voice for K.I.T.T., but it is hard to compare it to the original guy (only known to me as Mr. Sweeney) . The rest of them are forgettable.
The music almost feels like it is trying to be too modern. The opening theme song was a pretty good version of the original, but the constant techno music during the action scenes was a bit much.
Every commercial break during the 2-hour presentation featured a Ford commercial starring the actors in the movie. That just feels so cheap!
**EDIT**
The movie is over. The final action sequence was pretty badass (The SUV crashing into the side of K.I.T.T.). I have to admit, that redeemed a lot of the movie. Also, David Hasselhoff showing up for the funeral was a great touch. So I guess it wasn’t as bad as I originally made it out to be.
I think the best was to summarize it is this. Thee story leading up to the final action scene was slow and predictable. But the last quarter was almost like watching the Knight Rider I know and love. I think if they made this into a series where each week, Mike and K.I.T.T go on a mission, Kit does a “turbo-boost” and other cool stuff that only he can do, we will have a winner on our hands.
Also, we need more ‘Hoff.
Tags: , elvira, hoff, k.i.t.t, knight, knight rider, val kilmer
