Richard Donner's "Timeline", based on the novel by popular author Michael Crichton, is terribly old fashioned and seems out of place in these current times. This action/adventure movie is mildly entertaining, eventhough it deals with the notion of time travel which has always been an interesting subject for cinema.
A powerful technological corporation creates a machine that can transport physical objects through space from one location to another. Problem is that it doesn't work correctly. They discover that instead of transporting things through space, it's sending it through time. When a Scottish archaeologist (Billy Connolly) is sent back in time to 14th century France, he leaves messages of help for his students in the present to find. So the students and his son (Paul Walker) travel to the Middle Ages to locate him and bring him home. Two major obstacles stand in their way. The archaeologist is captured by the British and the transportation device is blown to pieces, due to a grenade sent forward through time, by accident.
The beginning grabs you almost immediately. A man appears out of thin air, dressed in rags, and collapses on a deserted road where a passer-by (played by Donner regular Steve Kahan) picks him up. During the opening, intercut with the aforementioned scenes on the road, there are beautifully lit shots in a forrest of the same man being chased by a knight on horseback. As the movie progresses you begin to analyze that beginning, realizeing that it doesn't make much sense. Nor does the moviemakers bother to explain the occurance when a character brings it up. Why the man appeared on the road, and not in the transportation machine, is never adequately addressed?
Michael Crichton has successfully made a name for himself in the realm of science fiction. His Jurassic Park novels were adapted for the screen during the 1990s to blockbuster success, thanks in large part to it's director Steven Spielberg. Crichton has been associated with such winners as "Westworld", "Coma" and Robert Wise's "The Andromeda Strain", whether it's in the capacity of director/screenwriter or based on his source material. There has also been disappointments. "Congo" and Barry Levinson's "Sphere" failed to attract audiences. This movie comfortably fits inbetween the hits and the misses.
What stands out about this movie is that Donner has cast actors rather than stars. Walker is probably the most well known of the cast due to his starring roles in The Fast And The Furious movies. David Thewlis and Frances O'Connor have received critical acclaim on previous films. The other cast includes Connolly, Matt Craven and Anna Friel. To some, the real star is Crichton and his novel. The old adage is that the story is the star, the one thing that truely matters. Without a great script, the talent won't be interested.
Problem is, that the story isn't partically that good. While it has an interesting idea, the screenwriters don't explore all the possibilities that the notion of time travel possesses. For an action/adventure, the midsection is slow. Both of the love stories woven into the narrative are so unbelievable that it grinds the movie down to a halt. Only two things could've saved this movie. If a big name star headlined this tale then their appeal would've blinded audiences to the problems in the writing. And why Crichton wasn't hired to adapt his own novel is a mystery?
Suspension of disbelief plays an important part in the majority of movie genres. Science fiction, fantasy, action, comedy. Any type of movie that doesn't necessitate realism falls into this category. But Yank Walker as the son of Scot Connolly, that's truely unbelieveable. I haven't seen a more ludicrous choice of casting since Dustin Hoffman played the son of Sean Connery in Sidney Lumet's "Family Business".
On the plus side, you're never too sure which characters are going to live or die by the conclusion. With some movies, you know instinctively which person's going to be dispensed with. It's like watching the original series of "Star Trek". The crew beams down to an unexplored planet and there's always an extra that beams down with them, someone you've never seen before. Their costume is different, they never speak and in numerous cases they don't even have a name. (The comedy spoof "Galaxy Quest" reinforces this theory.) With this movie, it comes as a surprise when certain players are killed off.
Movies that deal with the notion of time travel have always held the public's interest no matter how sophisticated or Z grade the production is. Majority of the intellectual time travel films bring something new to the table. But "Timeline" plays it safe, useing pre-existing theories and conventional ideas.
The standout is the climatic medieval battle scenes. Donner is well versed in the action department due to his work on the Lethal Weapon series. These scenes, filmed at night, are exciting, breathtaking and well executed. It's a shame that the rest of the movie isn't as good.
It's ironic in post Gulf War II that the villains of the piece are the British and the heroes are the French. I'm sure that this aspect of the movie will make it unpopular in certain world markets. Yet another movie that'll suffer due to being released at the wrong time.
Overall, "Timeline" takes itself way too seriously. What's needed is a self depreciateing sense of humour, characters making fun of the situations that they're in. No one ever questions whether time travel is possible and they take to it as if it's like riding a bike or some other mundane activity. Since the early movies of Terry Gilliam, every movie set in the middle ages seems too hygienic as if all their costumes have just come back from the cleaners. Filth and squalor seems more appropriate. This is an OK movie, best suited for video though the battle scenes will lose its impact on the small screen.
A powerful technological corporation creates a machine that can transport physical objects through space from one location to another. Problem is that it doesn't work correctly. They discover that instead of transporting things through space, it's sending it through time. When a Scottish archaeologist (Billy Connolly) is sent back in time to 14th century France, he leaves messages of help for his students in the present to find. So the students and his son (Paul Walker) travel to the Middle Ages to locate him and bring him home. Two major obstacles stand in their way. The archaeologist is captured by the British and the transportation device is blown to pieces, due to a grenade sent forward through time, by accident.
The beginning grabs you almost immediately. A man appears out of thin air, dressed in rags, and collapses on a deserted road where a passer-by (played by Donner regular Steve Kahan) picks him up. During the opening, intercut with the aforementioned scenes on the road, there are beautifully lit shots in a forrest of the same man being chased by a knight on horseback. As the movie progresses you begin to analyze that beginning, realizeing that it doesn't make much sense. Nor does the moviemakers bother to explain the occurance when a character brings it up. Why the man appeared on the road, and not in the transportation machine, is never adequately addressed?
Michael Crichton has successfully made a name for himself in the realm of science fiction. His Jurassic Park novels were adapted for the screen during the 1990s to blockbuster success, thanks in large part to it's director Steven Spielberg. Crichton has been associated with such winners as "Westworld", "Coma" and Robert Wise's "The Andromeda Strain", whether it's in the capacity of director/screenwriter or based on his source material. There has also been disappointments. "Congo" and Barry Levinson's "Sphere" failed to attract audiences. This movie comfortably fits inbetween the hits and the misses.
What stands out about this movie is that Donner has cast actors rather than stars. Walker is probably the most well known of the cast due to his starring roles in The Fast And The Furious movies. David Thewlis and Frances O'Connor have received critical acclaim on previous films. The other cast includes Connolly, Matt Craven and Anna Friel. To some, the real star is Crichton and his novel. The old adage is that the story is the star, the one thing that truely matters. Without a great script, the talent won't be interested.
Problem is, that the story isn't partically that good. While it has an interesting idea, the screenwriters don't explore all the possibilities that the notion of time travel possesses. For an action/adventure, the midsection is slow. Both of the love stories woven into the narrative are so unbelievable that it grinds the movie down to a halt. Only two things could've saved this movie. If a big name star headlined this tale then their appeal would've blinded audiences to the problems in the writing. And why Crichton wasn't hired to adapt his own novel is a mystery?
Suspension of disbelief plays an important part in the majority of movie genres. Science fiction, fantasy, action, comedy. Any type of movie that doesn't necessitate realism falls into this category. But Yank Walker as the son of Scot Connolly, that's truely unbelieveable. I haven't seen a more ludicrous choice of casting since Dustin Hoffman played the son of Sean Connery in Sidney Lumet's "Family Business".
On the plus side, you're never too sure which characters are going to live or die by the conclusion. With some movies, you know instinctively which person's going to be dispensed with. It's like watching the original series of "Star Trek". The crew beams down to an unexplored planet and there's always an extra that beams down with them, someone you've never seen before. Their costume is different, they never speak and in numerous cases they don't even have a name. (The comedy spoof "Galaxy Quest" reinforces this theory.) With this movie, it comes as a surprise when certain players are killed off.
Movies that deal with the notion of time travel have always held the public's interest no matter how sophisticated or Z grade the production is. Majority of the intellectual time travel films bring something new to the table. But "Timeline" plays it safe, useing pre-existing theories and conventional ideas.
The standout is the climatic medieval battle scenes. Donner is well versed in the action department due to his work on the Lethal Weapon series. These scenes, filmed at night, are exciting, breathtaking and well executed. It's a shame that the rest of the movie isn't as good.
It's ironic in post Gulf War II that the villains of the piece are the British and the heroes are the French. I'm sure that this aspect of the movie will make it unpopular in certain world markets. Yet another movie that'll suffer due to being released at the wrong time.
Overall, "Timeline" takes itself way too seriously. What's needed is a self depreciateing sense of humour, characters making fun of the situations that they're in. No one ever questions whether time travel is possible and they take to it as if it's like riding a bike or some other mundane activity. Since the early movies of Terry Gilliam, every movie set in the middle ages seems too hygienic as if all their costumes have just come back from the cleaners. Filth and squalor seems more appropriate. This is an OK movie, best suited for video though the battle scenes will lose its impact on the small screen.