Movielogr
Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982)
Directed by William Dear
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Overview
Lyle Swann is a successful off-road racer who mistakenly gets sent back in time 100 years. When a band of outlaws robs Swann of his motorcycle, he’s forced to outfox the gangsters and give in to the seductions of a gorgeous local lady. With only his smarts and a map from an Exxon station, Lyle must try to make it out of the Old West alive and find a way back to modern times.
Rated PG | Length 94 minutes
Actors
Fred Ward | Peter Coyote | L.Q. Jones | Tracey Walter | Richard Masur | Belinda Bauer | Ed Lauter | Chris Mulkey | Macon McCalman | Jonathan Bahnks | Laurie O'Brien | Bruce Gordon | Susan Dear | William Dear | Ben Zeller | Tommy Leyba | Ernie Quintana | Miguel Sandoval | Reginald Johnson | Philip L. Mead | Manny Smith | Ray Valdez | Sam Chadwyck | Rusty Dillen | Joseph V. DiPrima | Audie Edmondson | Buddy Edmondson | Raleigh Gardenhire | Christopher Garrett | Luce Rains | Luke Jones | Curtis Plagge | Robert Dunbar | Gibbeaun Monkette | Andrew Hines | Michael Nesmith | Alan Swain
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/15/2011 | Computer | Streaming | Video on Demand | 1.5 stars |
| (Average) 1.5 stars |
Viewing Notes
The scene is 1980 at a depressing cafe in Hollywood. One writer says to another writer, “Hey I have an extremely mediocre Western script and I don’t know what to do with it.”
The other writer replies, “Well I have a half-assed idea for a time travel movie set in the world of dirt bikes and high technology.”
Writer One, “Problem solved: we’ll mix the two like peanut butter and jelly and make it nowhere near as tasty!”
And thus, TIMERIDER: THE ADVENTURE OF LYLE SWAN was born…probably…mabye.
The TIMERIDER title implies that there will be more time-riding than mistakenly going back to 1877 and fumbling your way around until a Wilford Brimley starter kit fumbles his way to bringing you home. BACK TO THE FUTURE may not have had a ton of time travel, but at least it made up for it with style, humor, and characterization instead of backlot, stock heroes and villains hamming it up on backlot, stock sets.
Everything is thin and bland in this movie, from the actors to the premise and to the dialogue. Add Michael Nesmith from The Monkees crafting the worst soundtrack I’ve heard since the non-traditional bits of Leonard Rosenman’s STAR TREK IV soundtrack and you have what is a fine example cinematic give-up. TIMERIDER is the biggest meh-ed up excuse for a sci-fi movie I’ve laid eyes upon since JFK was born; there’s just not much reason to watch and I’m not sure anyone involved cared either.
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