Starring:
Guy Pearce, Yancey Arias, Samantha Mumba, Orlando Jones,
Jeremy Irons
Written By: H.G. Wells (novel) David Duncan (earlier screenplay)
John Logan (screenplay)
Directed By: Simon Wells
Rated: PG-13 (Violence)
Running Time: 97 Min. |
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Wow! A
big studio remake of the H.G. Wells adventure The Time Machine,
with great special effects and Guy Pearce as the traveler
himself! Imagine the possibilities! Imagine the excitement!
Imagine the wonder! Imagine how completely uninspired it could
be! No, wait... strike that last one, since that's the only
thing you need not imagine about this flat, joyless exercise
in fantasy storytelling.
Guy Pearce is indeed our hero, Alexander Hartdegen, who comes
across more as a turn of the century absent-minded professor
than a brilliant scientific genius. He lives in the year 1899,
in that part of New York City where everyone still speaks
with an English accent. Through a tragic turn of events not
included in the original story, he is motivated to construct
a time machine of, you guessed it, his own invention. His
goal... to change the past!
The scenes that follow are often visually interesting, but
include only a bare minimum of actual plot to back them up.
The main problem is that, by giving Alexander a very emotional
motivation for traveling through time, the screenwriter has
given the impression that there will be some character development
involved in resolving his problems. Not only is there no character
development, but no plot resolution, since the rest of the
events unfold in ways relatively faithful to the H.G. Wells
adventure story. The result is that we are simply along for
the ride, with no reason to really care about Alexander or
his paradoxical plight. After a while, Alexander even seems
to forget why he wanted to time travel in the first place!
Since the screenplay already changes this story around, I
would have liked to have seen some more original aspects.
How did Alexander construct his machine? Where did he get
the materials? Why was it constructed the way it was? Were
there any test-runs or failed attempts to time travel? Sadly,
none of these ideas are explored in the movie.
Now, by this time you may have the impression that I really
hated this movie, but I didn't. It's not an entirely bad film,
it's just incredibly flawed.
I did enjoy nearly everything that took place in Alexander's
own time, during the first half-hour of the movie. Also, I
was very surprised with Orlando Jones, whose character turns
out to be both funny and tragic at the same time. Fans of
irony will appreciate that Orlando Jones' character, a computerized
holographic database, carries more emotional impact than any
other character in the film! In addition, a cameo appearance
by Jeremy Irons yields some entertaining moments, even though
his character only serves to point out details to Alexander
that are all too obvious to everyone in the audience.
The visual effects were also very good, but not spectacular.
Unfortunately, a bit of spectacle is exactly what this film
could have used. Too bad, since in the hands of a more imaginative
filmmaker, this could have been a great movie. So, if you
decide to see The Time Machine, that's entirely up to you.
Just remember that it's a decision you won't be able to go
back and erase!
2
out of 5
AJ Vestal
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