Knight Rider (2008) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

USA 2008
Director: Steve Shill
Cast: Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Val Kilmer, Bruce Davison, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, David Hasselhoff
Rating:
Release Date: 17 February 2008
Running Time: 1 hour 20 minutes (no commercials)

The Movie Review

Knight Rider film still 1


KNIGHT RIDER
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KITT is back...not on the regular track though, not also on the track of movies-based-on-TV-series that we often see nowadays on cinema, but on the right track as a TV movie that serves as an introduction to the upcoming (planned) Knight Rider series.

You see, after several popular TV-shows that have been made as movies in theater such as Miami Vice, Starsky and Hutch, Transformers and The Dukes of Hazzard, and those movies proved to be profitable, several filmmakers of course would try to make another one that could be their cash cow. This time however, the producer and the filmmakers of Knight Rider were wise enough to let this movie just to be aired on TV (by NBC TV network) instead of putting it on theater. Because from the quality standpoint, Knight Rider is a so-so for a big screen movie, but could be considered as decent for TV viewers, thus quenching the thirst of the fans to see KITT making its move on the street.

Those of you who are not familiar with those terms might have to know a little bit or two about them. Knight Rider is a popular TV show that was aired back in 1982-1986. It was headlined by David Hasselhoff who starred as Michael Knight, the invisible arm of justice. KITT is Michael's car, and stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand. In Short, KITT is a freakin' cool totally kicka$s car that could talk and does pretty much awesome things beyond normal imagination.

In Knight Rider, Hasselhoff no longer roles as the one behind the wheel. Now, Justin Bruening is Michael Knight or Mike Traceur. The story starts when KITT's creator, Charles Graiman (Bruce Davison), is being threatened by a group of mercenaries who wants Charles' Hard Drive. A hard drive that contains the information to control the U.S. defense network, that if falls to the wrong hands could easily cause wars between nations. When the mercs get to Charles' garage, KITT is discovered. However KITT manages to escape and luckily the car was already programmed to immediately search for and protect Charles' daughter Sarah Graiman. For Sarah (Deanna Russo) is the only person besides Charles who knows the password for that defense system and soon will be the next target of the mercs. After finding Sarah, KITT's next assignment is to find Sarah's long time boyfriend Mike Traceur, much to Sarah's girlish disapproval. Mike, who is a regular ex-military guy with no job and serious debt to pay, is eventually found at a casino, uselessly gambling to pay for his debt. When Mike realizes the danger Sarah is in, Mike, who is actually a very responsible man, try to help Sarah and get acquaintance for the very first time with KITT. And so their adventure begins...

As a fan myself, who almost never missed Knight Rider, it's the opening music that's really touching. Going sentimental for remembering the good 'ol 80s, anyway, yes the music is still the same, although "rock"-ed a little bit. But everything in KITT, which is now Knight Industries THREE Thousand, has been tuned-up with the latest technology, the power of computer database and wireless gadget. And more about KITT, as the talking car who has its own artificial intelligent, KITT's voice is almost as if it was voiced by the same actor, instead it's the voice of the famous Val Kilmer.

However speaking of the movie quality, Knight Rider only offers the regular TV show quality. It decently and cautiously combines suspense, drama, love, comedy and mostly action in a quite balanced proportion. Fortunately Justin Bruening's Michael Knight is a more suitable character for the Millennium, instead of the laid-back Hasselhoff. Still the star of the movie is KITT's awesome capabilities and with the help of good special effects (like when KITT's being shot at), KITT is still cool.

As I have stated before, KITT is decent and even good enough for TV viewers, in a sense that they are fans of the original series, but for viewers who don't have any clue about this action series before, well...Knight Rider is totally so-so.

© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com