Riding The Bullet (Stephen King feature)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B     Extras: B-     Film: B

 

 

Riding The Bullet (2004) is a Stephen King feature that began its life as a short story in the form of an e-book. From there it progressed and was eventually developed for theatrical purposes, I’m guessing.  But somewhere along the line it fell short of its goal and wound up being a USA Network original movie.  It now seems to be hitting the peak of its attention since hitting the DVD market.  When it originally aired I either hadn't taken notice at all, or I just happened to let the knowledge of it slip out of memory.  In any case - I was originally dreading having to sit through this film in its entirety before I could begin my review.  When I actually sat down in front of the tube I was actually pleasantly surprised when I found myself enjoying the movie in some sense.  It wasn't perfect, and it most definitely isn't a horror picture (though the box art does everything it can to lead you into believing that that‘s the case).

 

I don't really know why I thought I'd end up hating the movie so much.  I have enjoyed several King adaptations over the years; even some most others despised for the most part... I have something of a soft spot for Sometimes They Come Back (though even I thought that creating two sequels was a bit much - especially considering the territory that the third movie wandered into).  But the real reason for my misgivings of dread was most likely due to being presented with a false image of the movie - attributable to misleading artwork and possibly a poor advertising campaign.  Sad but true.

Anyway - the movie isn't half-bad.  It follows a kid during the fall of 1969 as he tries to reach his mother in the hospital, not knowing the exact circumstances and wondering all the while if she‘s going to live or not.  Some strange things happen along the way, as the teen hitches his way to his mom and meets some odd travelers along the highway.  All the while he’s having flashbacks, seeing false eventualities, and having hallucinations of a second self.  All of this sometimes works against the movie and only slows it down.  If you're able to look past this stuff, there are at least some decent elements of a story dwelling in here.

The film’s image quality is pretty good and is presented in anamorphically enhanced widescreen - a little odd because, as mentioned earlier, this wound up being a television production.  But, as the box states, this DVD version is the theatrical cut.  I wonder if it actually did see any theatrical release, even if it was very limited.  In any case, there’s always the possibility that the USA Network originally presented the movie in HD.  The sound quality is also good, with the standard Dolby 5.1 mix being available. All in all - you get a decent, but standard, presentation.

Aside from the main feature, you'll find a few bonuses lying about on the disc.  Personally, I wasn’t especially interested in them, as they're standard fare for just about any DVD release these days, and the movie didn't grab me enough to make me need to know more.  But in any case, you've got a cast and crew commentary track, a couple of galleries to choose from, a trailer, and a comparison between the film and the original storyboards.

If you're a fan or Stephen King's library of works, or if you enjoyed stuff like The Green Mile, Kingdom Hospital or some of the other recent productions based upon his titles, you might want to check this one out.  Mr. King even makes an amusing cameo as a hippie driver along the way.  I'm sure not everyone will like Riding The Bullet as much as I did, and even I feel a bit mixed about it.  It was however a good time killer and probably worth spending a few bucks for on a rental.  In the end it's you're call, but you could do worse than to see this one at least once.

-   David Milchick