Timerider – Die Abenteuer des Lyle Swann (1982)

Timerider – Die Abenteuer des Lyle Swann: Directed by William Dear. With Fred Ward, Belinda Bauer, Peter Coyote, Richard Masur. A maverick motorbike racer wanders into a top-secret time-travel research test site which unintentionally teleports him to the mid-1800s and ends up having to fight violent outlaws for his survival.

“Lyle Swann, a motocross rider who got lost while racing in the Baja 1000, stumbles across a top-secret research testing site running a series of experiments regarding backwards time travel in the middle of the desert. He unknowingly breaches the unsecured launch pad holding the test subject just in time for the blast-off to become an unwitting hitcher to the mid-1800s where he then comes across some bandits who becomes fascinated with his custom-built off-road motorcycle and decides to kill him just to get their hands on it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMr. John Hateleyu0026#39;s motorcycle stunts are just awesome. Those shots never gets old, even if those can be considered tame now by 2010+ standards, those scenes are just pretty rad. It still packs considerable entertainment adrenaline to punch some bad hombres. Such scenes gets a boost from the groovy electric-guitar and synth-heavy soundtrack courtesy of Michael Nesmith which serves to amplify William Dearu0026#39;s brisk pace in handling those said action-packed sequences.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis flick features some of Hollywoodu0026#39;s most underrated character actors who are very much aware that all theyu0026#39;re making is a popcorn-and-drinks-while-watching-it kind of a movie. Mr. Fred Ward as the titular character, the quintessential manu0026#39;s man, who belongs to that group of American actors exudes that understated charisma and have managed to hover successfully and stay relevant on the Hollywood radar while the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenneger ruled the action genre roost. Thereu0026#39;s also the late Ed Lauter as Padre Quinn, the shady village priest who is into the buy-and-sell business and peddles blessed water as a means of addressing the increasingly faltering faith of his congregation, LQ Jones as Sheriff Potter, who is hell-bent in his pursuit of the bandit that killed his son and has the marshall, Daniels, played by Chris Mulkey, dragged into crossing over the jurisdiction lines to help him accomplish his personal vendetta. And as for the bad guys, thereu0026#39;s Tracey Walter as Carl Dorsett who accidentally suffered because of Claireu0026#39;s defense of Lyle, and Richard Masur playing Claude, the other Dorsett brother, with a restrained goofiness which serves to complement Peter Coyoteu0026#39;s relishing that understated campiness in playing the role as the leader of the outlaws, Porter Reese, whou0026#39;s determined to get his hands on the Yamaha off-road motorcycle, which can be considered a part of the ensemble. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs with every American Western movie, this one showcases the stunning American Southwest scenery as itu0026#39;s backdrop, and that couldnu0026#39;t be more evident towards the end of the movie. Such a spectacle kind of helped patch the blaring inconsistencies in the time travel paradox thatu0026#39;s very much muddles the plot. But that lack of sense kind of justifies the fact of that the story takes place in an almost barren, semi-arid location with lots of baffled peasants mistaking Lyle for the devil incarnate while the bandits are brave enough to dare take his motorcycle and stuff him lead bullets just to acquire it. If they had only known the effort that it takes to maintain such a machine to keep it running, there wouldnu0026#39;t be much excitement left in the story. So yeah, it works in an offbeat kind of way. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHaving said all that, I canu0026#39;t help but be misty-eyed at the dramatic final scene of the movie with the enchanting Belinda Bauer. A tragic scene to behold even though the continuity goofs still are very much apparent, and I dare say those are deliberate. And well after the end credits rolled and contemplated the movieu0026#39;s entirety, it just compels me to scrub the filth (literal and figurative) off my body that I have accumulated for the last 90+ minutes. But these obvious flaws are not that shabby enough to dilute my admiration for movieu0026#39;s entirety. Itu0026#39;s a fun, escapist fare thatu0026#39;s pleasant enough to re-watch every now and then.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy rating: C-plus.”