Timequest

Rating:
Summary: An Unintentional Comedy
Review: "Timequest" had a potentially good concept involving a "what if President Kennedy had never been assassinated" plot line, but fails badly. The movie is terrible, with jerky, illogical, and hard-to-follow scene changes, laughable dialogue that wasn't intended to be laughable - all intermixed between otherwise boring filmmaking. The acting is mixed as well, with most of it achieving a level of mediocrity and no higher. One of the most hilarious scenes is with the "man from the future" who wears one of the most ridiculous "space suits" I've ever seen. No lie - it looked like a piece of crap. Still, it was good for a few laughs. In fact, the whole movie turned out to be an unintentional comedy, and that's how I ultimately viewed it. However, if you like good science fiction, this movie isn't it.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: Have you wondered why manned space missions just petered out after we got to the moon? Do you suspect things might have been different if JFK hadn't died in 1963?

Well, according to this extremely thoughtful direct-to-video SF movie, you're right. See, a guy comes back from the future and prevents JFK's assassination, and the result is . . . well, that's the movie, so I'd better not spoil anything for you.

As has been noted, the film does jump around. But it's not confusing at all; in fact it's extraordinarily well handled. The jumping around is part of the process of exposition, and that's where most of the drama in the film lies. At any rate you won't have any trouble knowing which scenes are happening when.

The alternate history of the Kennedys is also quite well handled. JFK is respected but not worshipped or whitewashed -- and in general, far from lionizing the Kennedy clan, the film takes a fairly gritty and politically realistic view of them. This is a future that could actually have happened, if only . . .

Parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny, too. I won't spoil any of _that_ stuff either, but you'll enjoy all the little references to what-would-have-become-of-so-and-so-in-this-alternate-history.

If you enjoy time-travel and/or alternate-history stories, you'll like this movie. (And as others have noted, it doesn't make any difference whether or not you're a 'Democrat'. For whatever it's worth, I'm politically small-l libertarian myself.)

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: Have you wondered why manned space missions just petered out after we got to the moon? Do you suspect things might have been different if JFK hadn't died in 1963?

Well, according to this extremely thoughtful direct-to-video SF movie, you're right. See, a guy comes back from the future and prevents JFK's assassination, and the result is . . . well, that's the movie, so I'd better not spoil anything for you.

As has been noted, the film does jump around. But it's not confusing at all; in fact it's extraordinarily well handled. The jumping around is part of the process of exposition, and that's where most of the drama in the film lies. At any rate you won't have any trouble knowing which scenes are happening when.

The alternate history of the Kennedys is also quite well handled. JFK is respected but not worshipped or whitewashed -- and in general, far from lionizing the Kennedy clan, the film takes a fairly gritty and politically realistic view of them. This is a future that could actually have happened, if only . . .

Parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny, too. I won't spoil any of _that_ stuff either, but you'll enjoy all the little references to what-would-have-become-of-so-and-so-in-this-alternate-history.

If you enjoy time-travel and/or alternate-history stories, you'll like this movie. (And as others have noted, it doesn't make any difference whether or not you're a 'Democrat'. For whatever it's worth, I'm politically small-l libertarian myself, with small-d democratic sensibilities.)

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT PRICE, AN UNIQUE PLOT, AND BRUCE CAMPBELL?
Review: I hit the trifecta with this DVD. I got it for a great price, it has a really unique plot (that even has enough room for a little political parody), and has Bruce Campbell (in a supporting role). A must have for any JFK fan (and I don't just mean Stone's movie). JFK, RFK, LBJ, Jackie O, MM, and J. Edgar as you've never seen them before.

Rating:
Summary: bilge
Review: If I have watched a worse movie, in my rather long life, I cannot remember it. This is not even more camelot pap, for those who worship at the alter of the kennedy clan.The thing just stinks,phew.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: JFK dies peacefully in his sleep at Hyannisport and CNN announces he will be buried at Moonbase Kennedy. The late twentieth century the way we all wish it had happened.

Rating:
Summary: Picked up on a whim, glad I did
Review: Picked this one up on a whim due to the presence of low-budget film favorite Bruce Campbell (appearing here in a brief bit just to signal to genre buffs that this little film is worth checking out), and moreover because I was impressed that a filmmaker would actually believe that this often-thought-of concept was a concept that he or she could do better than anyone else.

And as it turns out, this little low budget film manages to tell a solid story that will appeal to anyone who enjoys the old or new "Outer Limits" series.

Low budget or no budget films are rarely perfect and this is no exception. Yet so much of this film is perfect, from a highly effective recreation of the look of the early 1960s, to a range of excellent main and supporting cast members (fans of Northern Exposure and Twin Peaks will recognize some faces here in the supporting roles), and -- not least important when making a film about Texas and the Kennedys -- excellent voice work. The bizarro Kennedy family accent sounds entirely natural - something that even high-budget epics about the Kennedys have not managed to achieve.

Beyond the realistic 1960s environement, the generally good cast -- including the lead actress who reminds me of Linda Fiorentino -- this is a sweet story whose feature length running time manages to give what short "Outer Limits" episodes often do not -- time to revel in the alternate world that it so effectively creates.

TimeQuest is the kind of indie low budget film that, like a college level theatrical production, can either be an unexpected pleasure, or a complete waste of time. This is firmly in the former category, no question. My rating of five stars acknowledges that this is not a high budget feature film; it is a five star indie film in the sense that it transcends its budget and my expectations, much to my delight.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible movie
Review: This movie was a joke. I got it as a gift from a freind of mine, and I must say, it is the worst movie I've ever seen. The story line was okay, a somewhat far fetched thought of what might have been had Kenneddy lived. However, the script was juvenille and poorly acted. The scenes jumped about and were hard to follow when watching for the first time. Random scenes, many including unneeded sexuality are thrown in for no reason at all. Most do not even fall into the plot. I would not recommend it to any one, even a die-hard science fiction fan.

Rating:
Summary: Corny
Review: This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It was syrupy and corny, almost embarrassing to watch.

Rating:
Summary: INTERESTING WHAT IF FILM
Review: What if JFK had not been assassinated in Dallas on 11/22/63? What would have happened? TIME QUEST, reminiscent of an OUTER LIMITS or TWILIGHT ZONE episode, is a daring and evocative look at the powerful Kennedy family and what might have happened had JFK lived. A time traveler from some future (played harmlessly by Ralph Waite) appears in the Presidential suite in Dallas on 11/22/63, and informs Jacqueline Kennedy about her husband's fate. Kennedy himself is then brought in, along with younger brother Bobby, and in spite of the absurdity of this time traveler's claims, they believe him, thus sending the US into a time of peace, world harmony and "Camelot."
Victor Slezak doesn't look like JFK, but he does remind you of him, and his performance is passionate and controlled; Caprice Bennedetti as Jackie comes across more like a porno queen but she still has a dignity and charm; Victor Grant is an impassioned and feisty Bobby Kennedy; Barry Corbin a blustery and inept Lyndon Johnson; Larry Drake has a brilliant brief appearance as crossdressing J. Edgar Hoover; Rick Gianisi is the third Kennedy child, James; and good old Bruce Campbell makes a brief appearance as an Oliver Stone like director who plans on making a movie exposing the conspiracy of 11/22/63.
The film jumps around from different times, sometimes in black and white, and overall, for a low budget film, it's quite well made, and it can't help but be intriguing.