I'm at a loss for words...no not really

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ck37
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I'm at a loss for words...no not really

Post by ck37 » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:38 am

Okay Just watched it on Hulu.
I guess it helps when you have less commercials so I was able to get a better flow of the story.
Anyway, my little review. Being fan of the original like most of the demographic that watched last night, I have to say they hit on some good stuff and failed on others.

Things that I felt didn’t work:

CGI: you know does anyone get in Hollywood, we as audiences are not impressed with subpar CGI? the bar has been raised folks and to give us really bad CGI takes away from the personal connection we would like to have with the car, characters etc.
Is it so much cheaper to shoot green screen driving shots throughout the desert? I mean, the original didn't do that why revert to CGI. It looks tacky and non realistic.
Oh this morphing thing, okay cool concept in theory, but its not working look wise. It looks like some magic spell from Harry Potter.
Also no need to CGI the damn car when its driving down the strip. jees people, some reality would be nice.

Lastly the airplane shot was a travesty.

Music: Did they steal the Soundtrack from the OC and throw it in last minute? there was no passion in the music. No feeling of anything. The music hardly matched half of the scenes and when it did, it was only acceptable.
As for the theme, use the one in the commercial, PLEASE! This was wrong. Also its okay to incorporate the theme or variation of it during scenes of action etc. It gives the scenes a sense of ownership.
Product placement: Okay this has been beaten to death. I think NBC learned their lesson and hopefully Ford did as well. but if not here it is...WE ALL KNOW ITS A MUSTANG. THE SECRET IS OUT. And for all the folks comparing transformers product placement to this, no comparison, this is far more blatant.
Interior of the Car: I actually like the mustang in this. Looks great! but the interior....Okay simplicity is fine but the car looks like it has one big iphone in it and thats it! My Acura looks more high tech. Looking at it in action I say get rid of all that aluminum and replace it with all touch screens. like one big iphone (since they like it so much :)) Because looking at all that imagery on the one screen is a bit much. Plus there is so much wasted space. That would tie in the old KITT look to the new KITT nicely. Oh, the gauges look like they copied a Honda civic. The outside of the Car is important, but the inside of the original KITT is what made a lot of the audience go WOW. Don’t loose that.
Maybe hire apple to design it for you. Because right now it looks like Dell did it.

Lesbo naked in bed, threesome etc. No need, it did nothing for the story characters etc. Not a prude in the least here, just was a waste of screen time.

KITTS abilities: Okay no turbo boost, fine doesn't bother me really. but is the only way KITT could stop that SUV was getting in front of it? no microjamming no nothing? Damn, old KITT could have done that. I mean I get its a cool effect, haven't seen it before, but a better reason for getting in front of the car would have made the scene work better.

Okay the GOOD! (well some of it)

The Car: I liked the mustang in it. it looks powerful yet vulnerable in a hero way. no doubt its a sharpcar. I think overtime it will really grow on people. just fix the interior.

Actors: overall good. Justin has charisma. He doesn’t take himself so seriously which is good. I think the worst thing they could have done with his character is throw him in bed with two girls. Overall, he has what makes knight rider work.
Deanna, she has her moments where she is connected and others where she is a bit off, mainly in the car. But hey, its hard to act to something that is not there. I mean look at Star Wars, the newer ones, how many performances were off? when you have to create and act with nothing giving you anything to bounce off of it takes a toll. She is charming but I think given time she will really own this character.
Sydney. Okay role wasnt that deep, don't know how she knows Graiman, she never got any back up from the FBI for two days. She just sat in the house and waited for something...Poor Sydney, I feel for you. It’s hard to make a role your own when you have little to play with.
Bad Guys, The British Guy was good. He added some weight to the bad guy gang. He looked like a killer. The others were okay I guess but you would think something so powerful as this technology would want this black river company to pull out all the stop to get it. It just felt very 80's with how the bad guys were placed in the show.
Graiman: Bruce Davison ads weight to anything he does. I'm glad he is in it. But with the long hair he reminds me of the professor from back to the future.
The Mother: Okay overall. It’s not the performance here because she didn’t have much to do but how she was placed in the story. You knew right when Sarah tells mike to cherish his mother she was going to die. Oh did Michal Knight abandon them and leave them with nothing? I mean I’m sure FLAG paid Michael and he could give something to his family.
Val Kilmer: I liked him in it. As KITT their is that air about him where he feels and acts superior but wants to learn more about human nature. One thing he lacks.
The HOFF: He added heart to the film. He felt the most grounded out of all the cast.
To the Director: Here you have Michael Knight, and that's how you direct the scene? *?$#, His character left his child, the mother of his only son is dead, never seen the kid until now I guess, and Mike seems more enamored by this man than pissed off? I mean come on...Dawsons Creek has more drama than this.

Overall it was fun to watch. It’s not Lost, Alias, CSI, or the Wire. It has potential for sure to be something good but I think some major overhauling will need to take place. For one better directing. I would have liked to see Doug Liman direct this film or someone who knows how to direct action with solid characters because NBC needed to raise the bar on Knight Rider, and I think Doug would have done the film more justice. Also Either have your SFX /CGI team do a better job or hire some company that can. Unacceptable if you ask me in this day in age. It’s better to have less CGI but make what you have good , rather than have a lot of it and have *?$# CGI. Yes story had a lot of holes, but overall okay. And to no fault of David Andron, I'm sure without the strike we would have seen a tighter story. But see here lies the problem. The audience doesn't care or take into consideration that the strike affected this. They see what they see and judge.

Hopefully NBC doesn't take the ratings and think the show is good and leave it as it is, but sees the mistakes and makes a better show for the series.

Just my 2 cents.

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Kaine
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Re: I'm at a loss for words...no not really

Post by Kaine » Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:24 am

in defence of the SUV scene:

KITT was in danger of being hacked and there was propably no time for microjamming once he was reactivated. also it was not KITT's but Mike's choice, and by that point he wasn't aware of most of KITT's functions. so while i agree that in a regular case there would be a ton of other possibilities to stop the SUV in this very moment blocking the way like Mike did was a choice i can agree on.

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