LAist’s Emily Lerman royal we’s her enjoyment of  the visually stunning new video titled “The Ride,” inspired by the song “Kings + Queens” from 30 Seconds To Mars. Me, not so much.

The 8.5-minute short (the last 2-plus minutes of which are the credits) centers around a Midnight Ridazz-esque group night ride featuring Jared Leto and his band pedaling along with a purported group of actual Ridazz — I say “purported” because individual close-ups reveal them all to be far too sullenly sans FUN as they journey glumly in the dark across and under the requisite downtown locations such as the 6th Street Bridge, the Second Street tunnel, and Grand Street. Seriously: Why so serious?

But everything’s great eye candy and otherwise going mostly awesome and only threatening to be hugely overwrought and ultra-serious like the song until the video’s director, Bartholomew Cubbins, decides to have a paid-actor/stuntperson get fatally creamed on his bike by a motorist near Pershing Square. Then, while everyone stands dumbly around by the body like powered-down replicants, poor Cubbins couldn’t help but trot out a hornless unicorn galloping in slo-mo up a dark street. Of course, with a visual like that the dead ridah can’t help but awaken refreshed from his unplanned road nap, and  just get up on his undamaged bike to ride away.

After that there’s more of Leto singing, then a critical mass-style “circle of death” at an ironically traffic-less intersection. Then all the still way-too-bummed cyclists start wailing like a giant gruff chorus along with Leto until they magically arrive at the Santa Monica Pier where they disappear. Fade to black.

Your mileage may vary from my curmudgeonly take.

PS. If the embed’s dead up there, here’s the video’s URL:

• http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=100601596

Related posts:

1. Lights! Camera! Electropop!
2. Can you write a screenplay in 30 days?
3. Twelve Hours For 30 Seconds…
4. Bikes On The Freeway, Again!
5. LADWP offers FREE Landscape classes