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Parents' Guide to

Knight Rider 2000

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Kitschy '90s made-for-TV movie has action violence.

Movie NR 1991 95 minutes
Knight Rider 2000 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Knight Rider 2000 Movie: Scene One
  • Knight Rider 2000 Movie: Scene Two
  • Knight Rider 2000 Movie: Scene Three

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What's the Story?

In KNIGHT RIDER 2000, it's the year 2000, and Thomas Watts (Mitch Pileggi) has been released from a private prison where he was kept in frozen suspension, as is now the policy toward criminals. Once out of prison, he assassinates Mayor Cottam, and barely escapes a shootout with rookie cop Shawn McCormick, who finds a real gun on the scene after the shootout, which is odd, because guns have been banned and the police have been disarmed from packing anything stronger than stun-guns. In the aftermath of the assassination, representatives of The Knight Foundation offer a solution: The Knight 4000, promised by representatives Devon Miles and Russell Maddock as being the high-tech advancement of the KITT car from the 1980s. Before committing to using this new vehicular weapon in the war against crime, city officials would like to see a prototype first. Meanwhile, Shawn begins to uncover a conspiracy in which Watts, under an assumed name and heading an organization in favor of rearming the police (with obvious allies among the cop rank-and-file), is getting guns into the hands of criminals in the hopes of bringing back guns. Watts shoots and presumably kills Shawn, as she's betrayed by her partner and colleagues in the police department, but is brought back to life using a risky surgical procedure that also includes a memory chip used by the old KITT car. Meanwhile, Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) is reluctant to rejoin Devon and Knight Industries, as he's taken to fishing as he tries to reclaim his identity from his crime-fighting past, but circumstances lead him to join forces once again with the charmingly pompous KITT, who now embodies a '57 Chevy, as they help Shawn, Devon, and Russell in their quest to foil Watts' devious scheme.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

For fans of bad TV and cheesy made-for-TV movies from the era before The Sopranos heralded the so-called "Golden Age of Television," here's a goofy slice of questionable nostalgia. Knight Rider 2000 is a good barometer to show far television has come since the days when David Hasselhoff and a pompously-charming talking Trans-Am drove around LA busting bad guys, with the crime of the week solved by the end of the episode, two episodes tops. It's hilariously bad and corny, but not without some self aware humor to let the viewer know that the movie's creators are (mostly) in on the joke as well. It's set in the year 2000 (hence the title), and there's a genuinely funny reference to one "President Quayle" (best for parents alive at that time and history buffs of all ages), and a couple other references to contemporary (at the time) figures and events that show a spark of satire.

That said, the referential humor is easily overshadowed by scenes in which the "Knight 4000" takes the car chase to the next level by floating down the canals of the San Antonio Riverwalk. Or the barely-concealed smiles and laughs of the Banana Republic and Guess?-clad locals at the mall while Hasselhoff and bad guy/Hunter Thompson doppelganger Mitch Pileggi punch, kick, and headbutt their way across the mall's upper level. Or any scene that requires anything resembling emotional range on the part of the actors. Yes, it's bad, but yes, it also has some entertainment value and is enjoyable if only because they just don't make this kind of stupid escapist entertainment anymore. But it probably shouldn't evoke nostalgia -- quite the opposite. If anything, it should make one feel glad that television is less of the proverbial "vast wasteland" that it was 30 years ago.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about action violence in older made-for-TV movies like Knight Rider 2000. How is the violence in this movie indicative of the violence that was in '80s TV shows like Knight Rider?

  • The movie is set in the far-off future of the year 2000. How does the movie show what "the future" is like, and how is humor used to make comments on contemporary (at the time) leaders and current events?

  • Years after its release, why do you think some might enjoy this movie? Is there entertainment value, a quality of it being "so bad, it's good?"

Movie Details

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