Houdini's Magic Movie Ticket

I liked it. I liked the car, the technology, Val Kilmer's cool voice, and the appearance of David Hasselhoff at the end. The special effects were great, too. And the bad guys held their own. The scientist was OK. But there was a lot I didn't like. The female lead, who was supposed to be a professor of a subject relating to the new, complex field of nanotechnology, did not seem that intelligent. You get a different vibe from someone who studies science and is very smart than you get from your average person. And the female lead seemed very normal. Maybe it was casting, or maybe it was direction. Maybe still, she didn't think to come up with a few personality quirks to highlight how incredibly brilliant she's supposed to be (given that she's the daughter of the guy who built KITT!).

There was a cop lady who seemed rude to me. I didn't like her hairstyle. She seemed full of herself. You'd think they'd try to make as many aspects of a show appealing as they could. If they want to create conflict or something interesting, that's fine. But her attitude and appearance just seemed negative for no good reason at all.

The lead, the new driver of KITT seemed ambivalent, like I read about why Jason Bourne is so cool. Apparently today's generation is similarly ambivalent. But I was really looking forward to someone with charisma and incredible energy. Like, "Yes, with this car anything is possible!" Instead it was like, "One man can make a difference? Nah,... no thanks... um, uh... noo..... oh gee ok." Fine for the film, but I think it might have hurt the series. But of course, the main character could develop charisma as time goes on.

Val Kilmer rules! If he was part of the show, I think I'd watch it. But why would he do TV? Maybe for a change of pace... He's calm, cool, and collected. Everything you'd expect from a genius who lives inside the best car in the world. Clean interior, fresh air, crisp sound.

The commercials in between parts of the show were a bit much. It was like, "Do you like this movie? Buy a FORD! Buy from FORD! FOORRD!"

All in all, I think the film did a good job, and was smooth and polished in some areas, though not all. I guess since it technically was just a show, and some shows take a while to find their groove, I should cut it some slack. Definitely worth a watch!

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