A television block known as the Action Pack ran through most of the ‘90s and attempted to introduce new shows and revitalize or create spin-offs of old franchises, mostly with a series of television movies that, if successful, would result in the properties being picked up as regular shows. The most successful outings to come out of this endeavor were Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, but I’ve always had a soft spot for TekWar and Vanishing Son. One of the most confusing programming choices viewers received from this televised mixed-bag was Knight Rider 2010, an ambitious project that had almost nothing to do with the original show but was determined to carve its own path in a post-apocalyptic world.
This film was a replacement, not even on the initial schedule. The plan was to do four movies with most of the properties, but Midnight Run’s main star wanted to do another project, so that series was only going to have three. This explains why Knight Rider 2010 was one of a handful of Action Pack productions that only received one installment, even though it clearly sets up for more adventures. The company brought on writer John Leekley, who worked on excellent shows like Kindred: The Embraced and HBO’s Spawn, but they also brought in the director of Free Willy 3: The Rescue, so the quality is a bit up in the air.
The story follows a smuggler named Jake McQueen (Richard Joseph Paul) and his brother Will (Michael Beach), a Marshall who is attempting to bring him into custody. In this post-apocalyptic setting, however, most are still controlled by major corporations and one called Chrysalis has their eyes set on Jake. One of their employees – and by coincidence his former lover – Hannah Tyrie (Hudson Leick), is tasked with making sure the expert wheelman works with them, but things quickly go awry. Now Jake must take his new car, accompanied by an additional onboard AI, and bring the fight to the evil company with a little help from his friends.
Many of the actors in this movie are quite interesting and their performances are a bit mixed, but it’s hard to call it bad other than a few flat deliveries, mostly from the main star. A few people in the film went on to have solid careers or had already done some excellent work. Hudson Leick is stunning as Hannah and her potential was already present even here, though she was currently being billed as Heidi at the time, causing some small confusion. Even if the lead couple doesn’t quite have the chemistry down, it’s easy to see she’s putting in some effort.
The bad guys are also enjoyable, but feel like they were hamstrung. The whole plot of harvesting people isn’t given enough time to make it count and Brion James (Blade Runner, The Fifth Element) was a solid choice for Jared, but he’s saddled with an odd voice and not enough screen time. The head of Chrysalis is nosey, to the point of being outwardly creepy, spying on his employees and mentioning their undergarments. He’s always worried about viruses and germs and there is a wonderful payoff to that when he meets his end. Then we have Robert Lee, the cyborg henchman played by Mark Pellegrino who people will recognize from Supernatural, Lost, and Far Cry 5, but the fun piece of trivia here is that he’d go on to be in an episode of the 2008 Knight Rider series as a different character. In this, he’s easy to hate but gets taken out way too easily and I hope he would have been a returning fixture if things had gone differently.
The script had some problems, but much of the dialogue was fine. Our new AI voice has some nice quirky lines, “out of bullets, cowboy,” and there is some fiesty innuendo being traded back and forth between characters, “I’m a woman, I know where my Venus is supposed to be,” but most of the problems feel like the end product was cut down a ton.
Supposedly, the original scripts were closer to the original show and characters had different names, making references to the lore. It also appears that several parts had to be shaved down for time, which explains why the first half of the 86-minute program feels like it almost takes too long while the rest rushes with no time to breathe. The final conflict needed much more, even if they had no plans to return to these villains when the show was picked up.
These cuts cause some small logic problems and a few of the jumps seem unnecessary, like there was more purpose behind these decisions, but cutting the fat out made everything seem wonky. The movie had its share of issues before hitting the editing room. Characters like Kabuki (Una Damon), the Asian girl boss with the interesting hair, and Johnny (Nicky Katt), the rock and roll sidekick, feel tacked on to use in later stories. McQueen grows on audiences, almost pulling off the tough loner with a heart of gold, but people wanted someone closer to David Hasselhoff. Still, he could have improved had these continued, and his archetype certainly fit the “one man can make a difference” mantra of the original show.
There are also some goofy moments, mostly involving cyberspace and a couple of jokes that just don’t hit. We see a lot of bloodless violence, being a made-for-TV movie, which can pull some people out of the experience. Some of the sets look neat for 1994 considering the budget, but many of the outdoor locations and towns feel cheap and empty, making the scope of the world incredibly narrow.
There are enjoyable action scenes, but not enough and certainly too few featuring the cars. One of my favorite parts was the crew assembling and modifying the new ride, a customized Ford Mustang using components from other Ford vehicles. Though this looks like something straight out of Mad Max, that wasn’t always the plan, and promo photos of the car with less “apocalyptic” features were apparently released before everything changed. The main enemy car looks like a cousin of the Cybertruck and sticks out a bit, but it’s the perfect combat kart for a character we’re supposed to loathe.
I enjoy Knight Rider 2010 for what it is and how it tried to blaze its path, but the truly enjoyable parts may not be enough for most people to hunt this one down. I had to go looking for it, as it is strangely not streaming anywhere at the moment, somehow, not even Tubi. This movie seemed to be quickly forgotten after it failed to spawn sequels or a show, which is probably why there isn’t more about it on the internet. The Knight Rider name could only take it so far down the road, but some people still remember it fondly. Besides, it’s still probably not the worst thing to come out of the Action Pack, remember The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space?
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