Le retour de K2000

I actually didn't much like the first half of the show. Having watched the original 1982 series, I immersed myself in the dynamic between Michael and KITT as they solved the cases, and only just in the last few episodes did I feel that same magic happen between Mike and KI3T. There were still plenty of moments I enjoyed, and the other side characters are all great. It was just starting to get good, and it goes and gets cancelled without even a second season. Such a shame. It's a worthy watch, if a little over the top as far as the showy tech and special effects go.

I've seen a lot of hate on this show, and honestly a lot of it is just people going "not muh" and touting the 1982 series as so much better. You know why the original seemed so much better? Characters were given room to grow, and that takes a lot of production. Knight Rider 2008 had just barely begun tapping into that potential, so of course to many it's going to fall short. This is a suitable sequel series to the original, I'm just sad it had gotten cancelled after 17 episodes.

This is as an impressive reboot. The original was b rated and loved it anyways. This version was great too in the same manner

I wondered about this show. First of all, I was rather disappointed about the car. I mean, discarding the stylish Trans Am for a mere Mustang? Just doesn't do the job. After watching KITT for a while, it turns out he can even transform in three forms, which is quite senseless and most of the time it does not even make sense... The voice of KITT is rather boring and toneless.

Then the new intro song. Normally I like remakes with a bit of a rock twitch, but this one? Rather disappointing.

Then the more important things: The stories. I watched several episodes, as I want to give it several chances, but it does not really seem to get better. The stories are rather flat and chaotic and even quite repetitive to some lengths.

The acting is most of the time either overacted, or on the contrary missing livelihood in mimics and body language.

The special effects are really well done. Alas most of the time, they do not add to the story. On the contrary even, they are too often a way to show off with the CGI capabilities.

In some fist fighting scenes, the stand-ins didn't even look like the original actors. Different size, different body mass, different colour of hair, different hairdo. Normally I do not complain about such things, but here it's embarrassingly obvious at times.

Long story short: they better had spent less money on the effects and more money on decent writings and talented actors.

So if you liked the Old Knight Rider..When it was first proposed to Universal Studios They had the Pilot and 2 episodes..Universal denied the series due to the cost of the New 3rd Generation Firebirds..Just before they Cancelled it ..There was a Horrible Train accident in the General Motors Train yard in Van Nuys CA..Over 200 new Firebirds were Damaged..Last minute Universal Studios bought the cars and Knight Rider went on for 6 seasons..I'm guessing the new Knight Rider series went thru the same problem..Mainly going thru the Recession I know Ford Motor Corp.helped out..Doing a Motion Picture is a one time Vehicle Expense..When you have a TV series that is based on Cars ..it gets CRAZY Expensive...insurance/ stunt drivers/ permits..etc..Too Bad i really liked the New Series..

Mike is your average male heroic lead in a Hollywood production... he has no trouble with the ladies, he's defiant but wins for the good guys, and he can handle himself. Is there nothing else to him? Well, he seems to have a crush on Sarah, and the audience is meant to hope they'll get together. It'd help if the characters in this weren't so crudely drawn, nearly being caricatures. The dorky(yet hot) chick, the nerdy guy, the tough-as-nails boss, and I could go on. Acting-wise, we're not much better off. Anyway... aforementioned descendant of The Hoff is this generation's(yes, we're ignoring the '91 TV-movie... everyone is) driver for K.I.T.T., an ultra-modern car graced with its own AI, the voice of Val Kilmer, and occasionally a sense of humor. Ah, if only the funny moments of this were intentional. On the plus side, it doesn't take itself seriously, with comic book-style "villains" and plans, not unlike the vastly superior Alias. For the concept, this could(and should) have far more vehicular stuff, but what there is, is quite cool. The remixed opening theme beats the original, at least in my mind. One does have to wonder why half the one season this got did not have any faces in the credits... were they unsure if they'd stick with the cast? Technology leaps since the 80's show are taken into account. The dialog is OK. This has some nifty plots, if it is overall low on memorable content. The action is reasonably choreographed and executed. Cinematography and editing are fast-paced and at times suffers from the current infatuation with hand-held photography. At its best, this is dumb fun that you can get into quickly, and do not have to think about. But as far as that goes, you can do an awful lot better. I recommend this to those who must get into any entry in this franchise(at least it's not TKR). You shouldn't have trouble finding the episodes... they all awkwardly work in the word Knight into the title. 6/10