Line #12 Film/MaxKnightUltraSpy


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/max_knight_ultra_spy.jpg]]
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3	A movie made in 2000 for Creator/{{UPN}}, ''Max Knight: Ultra Spy'' was written by Paul Bales and directed by Colin Budds. It starred Michael Landes as the titular character, and Rachel Blakely as his love interest. It was originally intended as a BackdoorPilot for a proposed series, but it was never picked up.
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5	In the not-too-distant future, girl genius Lindsay Dailey (Brooke Harmon) has discovered a new element that could solve the world's energy crisis. However, she's shortly kidnapped by the evil Tyler (Anja Coleby) and her boss, the budding SuperVillain Zachary Kahn (Christopher Morris), who goes by the alias "DXM", and who wants to use her new discovery to power his evil plot. Lindsay's older sister Ricky (Rachel Blakely) has no choice but to reach out to the super spy Max Knight for help rescuing her.
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7	Meanwhile, Max (Michael Landes) is busy stealing back a stolen experimental microchip. His paths cross with Ricky when he learns that the man behind the theft was the same DXM who kidnapped Lindsay. He agrees to help her -- not the least because he falls in love with Ricky at first sight.
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9	Widely considered to be in the SoBadItsGood category, ''Max Knight'' does have a few smarter moments. Notable items include the presence of "hackish," a nadsat-esque FutureSlang that DXM and his minions make use of, and the nods toward {{Transhumanism}} -- a concept which was not yet widely understood at the time the movie was made -- that DXM's master plan entails.
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11	Filmed in Australia, by the same production team that created ''Series/SirArthurConanDoylesTheLostWorld'' in the late 1990s (which also starred Rachel Blakely).
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13	!!This film provides examples of:
14	* AndTheAdventureContinues: The last scene has Max going to another mission... one that involves ''TimeTravel''.
15	* AppliedPhlebotinum: "Element 120", a potentially limitless and clean-burning source of energy [[spoiler:which becomes highly explosive when exposed to oxygen.]]
16	* BodyguardBabes: Tyler and the nameless henchwomen duo act as bodyguards to the BigBad when not carrying out his dastardly schemes.
17	* ChildProdigy: Lindsay, discovering a new element at age 16. DXM himself was also this, although he seems to be in his mid-20s now.
18	* CoolShades: Max owns a pair. They're vital spy gadgets, giving him [[SuperSenses super sight]] and an uplink with Claire.
19	* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: This worries Max from time to time.
20	* DarkMessiah: DXM has set himself up as this to his followers. His master plan involves uploading all their minds into Cyberspace, [[spoiler:and destroying everyone else.]]
21	* DeadpanSnarker: Max...though it's hard to tell whether it's intentional, or whether [[DullSurprise Michael Landes]] is really ''that bad'' of an actor...
22	* TheDragon: Tyler to DXM.
23	* FutureSlang: Hackish. Imagine if LeetLingo evolved into a spoken language, and you've got the gist. Twonky...
24	* GenreDeconstruction: Of spy movies in general, and specifically the reliance on cool spy gadgetry to save the day. Max Knight is what happens when spies rely on technology to such a degree that they lose their own ingenuity, and even basic social skills. Max is anything but a suave, smooth-talking International Man of Mystery. Without his spy gear he's really just a useless dork.
25	* HellBentForLeather: Tyler's preferred wardrobe.
26	* HoistByHerOwnPetard: Tyler's KissOfDeath backfires when Max kisses her back and shoves the poison pill down her throat. Helps that she felt the need to taunt him by demonstrating exactly how she intends to kill him.
27	* NerdInEvilsHelmet: The Japanese MegaCorp CorruptCorporateExecutive of the BatmanColdOpen uses as the password of his personal vault... "I Love Anime/SailorMoon".
28	-->'''Max (after Claire translates the password's text)''': Me too, but I prefer real girls.
29	* NoTranshumanismAllowed: played with. The evil part of DXM's plan is not uploading the minds of his followers; it's what he plans to do with the rest of the human race.
30	* RoleCalled
31	* RunningGag: Max's [[InvisibilityCloak personal cloaking device]] malfunctions early on. He spends the rest of the movie on hold with Tech Support.
32	* StalkerWithACrush: Max has shades of this with Ricky.
33	* SuddenVideoGameMoment: Literally; at one point during a chase through Cyberspace, Max winds up trapped in a game of VideoGame/HalfLife.
34	* TapOnTheHead: Max repeatedly knocks out the henchwomen, only for them to show up in the next scene, no worse for wear.
35	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture
36	* VictoriasSecretCompartment: Tyler makes use of this with a data disc. It doesn't work [[MarshmallowHell as well as she hoped]].
37	* WeaponizedCar: Max's car has a hidden rocket launcher which he uses to blow up an obstacle during a ChaseScene.
38	-->'''Max''': It came with the sports package.
39	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Ricky and Claire are identical. This is never explained. Possibly this would have been explored if the series had been picked up.
40	* XtremeKoolLetterz: DXM stands for ''Deus Ex Machina''.

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