"Knight Rider" Knight Rider (2008)

Director:

Steve Shill

Writers (WGA):

Dave Andron (written by)
Glen A. Larson (characters)

TV Series:

"Knight Rider" (2008)

Original Air Date:

17 February 2008 (Season 1, Episode 0)

Tagline:

An Icon Reborn.

Plot:

When a group of ruthless mercenaries kill a reclusive scientist, his creation, a new model of artificially intelligent supercar, escapes to find his daughter and recruit a ex-soldier to thwart them.

Plot Keywords:

Car | Ex Soldier | Mercenary | Escape | Debt

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Justin Bruening	...	Mike Traceur
Deanna Russo	...	Sarah Graiman
Sydney Tamiia Poitier	...	Carrie Rivai
Bruce Davison	...	Charles Graiman
David Hasselhoff	...	Michael Knight
Greg Ellis	...	Welther
Chris Mulkey	...	Sheriff Ramsey
Wayne Kasserman	...	Dylan Fass
Jonathan Chase	...	Kevin
Susan Gibney	...	Jennifer
Kevin Christy	...	Belle
Jack Yang	...	Cross
Kevin Dunigan	...	Smoke
Jelly Howie	...	Woman in Bed
Hope Riley	...	Amber

Runtime:

120 min (including commercials) | Netherlands:110 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-14

Filming Locations:

California State University Northridge - 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Dutch Oven

Trivia:

This film effectively removes all previous "revivals" - Knight Rider 2000 (1991) (TV), Knight Rider 2010 (1994) (TV) and "Team Knight Rider" (1997) - from the Knight Rider "timeline".

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the first chase, when KITT displays the "Knight Industries 3000 Field Tests" screen, The last item shows "High Velocity Breaking Index" where "Braking" is likely meant. Capitalization is also inconsistent throughout the display, i.e. "Nanoskin modification speed test".

Quotes:

K.I.T.T.: You would not be pleased if I dropped food on you.
Sarah: [Mike is being rude to K.I.T.T] Do unto others.
K.I.T.T.: [pulls up the verse she is referring to on the computer] From the book of Matthew - Chapter 7; Verse 12.
Mike Traceur: This is intolerable.
Mike Traceur: [KITT does a 180, tossing everyone around in the car] Sorry, I'll pick up the chip!

Movie Connections:

References Knight Rider 2000 (1991) (TV)

How did this script get a greenlight?

I was looking forward to the remake of Knight Rider. I remember liking it as a kid. I remember the cool car and David Hasselhof as the ultra suave Michael Knight. I'd been reading here about the two hour pilot, and although it had received some poor reviews, I wasn't daunted. I'm pretty lenient when it comes to TV and movies. As long as it's free and I'm mildly entertained I'm fine.

I'm very unhappy to report that Knight Rider 2008 is beyond awful. Although the lead Justin Bruening is major eye candy, he has zero charisma. I mean, I can go with a bad plot if there's a decent looking guy to oogle, but if I have to concentrate on some guys cut biceps to block out a downright horrid silly **stupid** plot, there's something tremendously broken. Did anyone buy, for even a second, Deanna Russo as a Stanford prof? What was the purpose of Carrie the lesbian FBI agent? Why show Mike in bed with two women?

I'm utterly puzzled how such a amateurishly written screenplay could have received a green light. Who could of possibly said "Yeah, this is great, let's do it!" Uh... third graders? The plot was so thin, so ridiculous and frivolous that it had to be filled in by countless shots of the car driving through scenic desert. The only thing I can figure is... well, I can't figure out any reason why this screenplay made it through. And I'm not complaining about the change in car, the Ford Mustang was fine by me. The voice of Val Kilmer for KITT is fine. My gripe is that this could have been an awesome remake and they blew it.

Bottom line, there is no excuse for how horrible this remake was. None.