Better Late Then Never

An absolute waste of money

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Obviously, this grandly made for TV movie stars, well, the camera mostly stays on Ben Murphy as Sam Casey; supposed Harvard grad who gains awesome power to disappear, much like the audience's interest. I thought Ben really stunk it up as Prof. McCadden in Being from Another Planet , the only other film (than goodness!) I've seen him in, but this one is less agonizing as say repeatedly rubbing your hand to a bloody pulp on sharp coral. Honestly, this really cool title Riding with Death is far from it, but watch it enough, it's actually so crappy and bad that you just have to laugh!What are you in store for? Well there's our Harvard alum trucking a highly volatile chemical, less than honorable doctor highly anal over patent papers, one really not so great gal Abby (nice tissue toss Abby!), spies doing bad deeds in front of corporate buildings or in restaurant parking lots, really hilarious amateur night, race car event in Ontario(?), less than helpful gas attendant, that elusive Robert Denby who likes to make things go kablooey!, Riding with Death is aptly named as your senses take in the stimuli and cry in horror. Also, Jim Stafford aka Buffalo Bill is the most stereotypical yokel who hootenannys and YEE-HA's at any chance, that he actually steals the spotlight from Ben Murphy (not that hard a task). Lots of mumbling, nonsensical plot, and you have yourself one laugher. Mike and the bots were right: what's the deal with New England journalism?

(spoilers) That was my favorite scene of this groovy 70's cheese fest, when Murphy's doing the stupid flashback to when the accident(He wet 'em!)first made him invisible. He's wearing bandages around his head, and there's no holes in the bandages for him to breathe through! Not that Murphy really needed any oxygen to his brain to make this lame movie. He and the really annoying cracker Jim Stafford had to be two of the stupidest people I've ever seen. How could this guy be a secret agent? he doesn't have the brain cells to be a counter worker at McDonald's. Then there's the (she's some gal) oh-so-perky Abbey, and Leonard Driscoll who never stops washing his glasses. Round this out with not one but TWO incomprehensible plots, having to listen to the grating Stafford actually sing several songs and howl like a deranged dog, and two of the lamest villians to ever be put on celluloid, and you have the glory and wonder that is Riding With Death. And remember, Death does not pony up for gas-so you're pretty much on your own when viewing this meatball.

Some spoilers.After many, many viewings of the MST3K version of this film, I'm still in a fog over just why Robert Denby does the things he does. Why did he blow up that jet? Does he work for a rival defense contractor? Why does he want to crash the Baxter Special? After all, he has the full backing of the Baxter company CEO, so who's behind this plot and why? Why would he go through all the trouble of being on the racing team, couldn't he just sneak into the garage some night and lace the car with deutrium? If he's a professional sabatuer, then who's paying him to perform these acts? If anyone has seen the uncut version of this prime time special... I mean feature film, could you please clear this up.The most compelling reason to watch this film are the laughable attempts to splice the two films together. Most hilarious are the scenes where Abby's watching the monitor (I kept thinking of the creepy Army guys in "Attack of the the Eye Creatures," who use similarly implausible technology to spy on smooching teens). Notice how the dialogue track doesn't match her lip movements in some shots. Seems they culled dialogue from yet another episode and patched it over the video of Abby watching the monitor. Just precious.

Ben Murphy, Mr. Mellow, stars in a TV show that somehow is a movie. I laughed the whole way through although this was a semi-serious movie. The plot was hopeless and the actors were unintentionally funny. Buffalo Bill or whatever his name was, was a sorry excuse for an actor who was Ben Murphy's extremely hickish trucker buddy. If you liked dukes of hazards, you may love this movie, but I would strongly suggest not to watch it. I give it a 2 out of 10