Rating: Summary: Worth every star Review: To start my review off: I have never seen nor read any previous works related to this movie, and therefore, unlike many reviewers, I review based on this movie alone, not its comparison to others or some book.This movie is great, from the very beginning to the very end. It takes you everywhere from days long ago to a high-tech future, and back? again to a primative world. While there may be a few points at which the plot falls off a little bit, it is not much, and overall its still amazing. The graphics and rendering done for this movie are superb. The last thing I'll mention is the score for this movie. The score, composed and conducted by Klaus Badelt, is amazing from start to finish. The few and sparse choral segments are just enough to leave you awe stricken and ready for more.
Rating: Summary: Good, but not great Review: I am a fan of time travel movies. This one is OK, average, among them. The different time settings are fantastic, and the special effects are astonishing. Other than that, the story does not contain the "twists" so characteristic in other good time travel movies. This movie is a combination of Back to the Future meets Indiana Jones in the Planet of the Apes.
Rating: Summary: Waste of time Review: Unfortunately I cannot rate the DVD itself as I, happily, do not own it. I have, however, had the misfortune of seeing the movie and can say without a trace of remorse that this movie is abyssmal. There are so many solid time travel movies around. From the cryptic, beautiful, and thought provoking 12 Monkeys to the light-heartedness of movies like Back to the Future and Tenchi Muyo in Love. Even Terminator 2 had fewer plot holes or, at the least, excuses itself from reality with genuine entertainment. I can't recommend this movie less, even with it's stunning special effects and reasonable cast. Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons are usually dependable fellows but they seem to be stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Rating: Summary: I enjoyed this version. Review: Based on the classic sci-fi novel by H.G. Wells, "The Time Machine" stars Guy Pearce ("Rules of Engagement," "L.A. Confidential") in the role of scientist and inventor, Alexander Hartdegen, who is determined to prove that time travel is possible. His determination is turned to desperation by a personal tragedy that now drives him to want to change the past. Testing his theories with a time machine of his own invention, Hartdegen is hurtled 800,000 years into the future, where he discovers that mankind has divided into the hunter...and the hunted The film is a little confusing. I think it answers most of the questions we want to know, but it does this very quickly, too quickly in my opinion. If you're not listening intently at all times, you might miss some significant material as I did. I am not quite sure how the Morlocks came to be, although I think I was told. I'm not completely sure what happened to the moon in 2037, although I think I was told. Worst of all, I was never able to fully comprehend the answer to Alexander's troubling question, although I know the story did answer it, briefly fans of the original film may be angry that anyone would dare mess with their movie, but I'm here to report that I enjoyed this version.
Rating: Summary: Intersting.. Review: The DVD features are fairly standard for this type of film. Filmographies, behind the scenes featurettes, design scetches, etc. However this packs in 2 commentaries. Unfortunatly I only had time (Hmm, sort of pun there) to watch one. Director Wells and the editor for the film do a nice job of giving the viewer a better sense of the scale of the production,(more actual sets and props were used than you may think)and lets the viewer in on all the homages and inside information that, at least for me, are always fun to know. My only complaint is that the actual menus are little tiresome. Every menu choice leads you into a spinning whirlygig sort of thing. All and all however a DVD worth viewing. Certainly a film worth watching.
Rating: Summary: Bad Script But Still An Entertaining Film Review: The visual effects, sets, costumes, and time travel sequences are really what makes this movie worthwhile. Forget about the slack dialogue and the storyline infused with trite left-wing propaganda.
Rating: Summary: Great Re-take on The Time Machine Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this. While I was always a big fan of the novel and the George Pal movie, I felt this film offered its own jewels. Compared to the original film, I felt the characters were much more developed and real. There was a reason for making the Time Machine. The additions of future technology were done very well and am entertaining change. There are several tribute scenes to the original but being a book-lover I miss the return to his time to retrieve his beloved books that the future had let decay. But overall, I found it very enjoyable and it will grace my collection, the best compliment I can give.
Rating: Summary: A dumbed-down remake of a masterpiece for the summer crowd.. Review: Being a huge fan of the original, I rushed to the theatre to see the remake, and was sadly dissappointed. The movie became empty summer fodder very quickly. The Time Machine was a remake of the classic of the same name by H.G Wells that is widely known and loved science fiction. The director, Simon Wells, is actually H.G Wells' great grandson. The story captured the imaginations of all who view it, and the remake is a sad special effects bonanza with a dumbed-down plot that hardly keeps up with the astounding unique story and theme of the original. Guy Pearce of the suprise hit Memento sells out as the inventor of the time machine with a completely different reason for building the time machine and using it. Instead of being a brilliant scientist and going through time for the sake of curiosity, he creates it to save his fiancee from death and ends up going into the far future purely accidentally, only feeding into the cookie-cutter summer movie love interest. At this point, he cannot save his love because the movie states that paradoxes cannot occur (an example of a paradox would be if you kill your mother, you wouldn't be born, so you couldn't go back in time and kill your mother, so you would be born; an endless loop). But in the end, he saves the world through a paradox, negating the point of his original travel through time. Many great ideas are mentioned in the movie, but are never followed through with. We hear of different classes within the future-dwelling morlocks and never see more than two. We have a group of hunted people who decide to live on the sides of cliffs for no reason who speak perfect English even though the language has been lost for centuries, and to hear them stumped on certian words is just silly. Samantha Mumba makes her appearance as many pop artists are doing now. She was placed as one of the peaceful tribe-people in the future who helps Pearce in his adventures in the future. She speaks fluent English like she's been speaking it her entire life, although there is no one on earth who still speaks it. And Pearce's character never seems to be amazed with what he sees in the future. Electric cars, people talking out of a piece of glass, moon resorts, all are taken with stride and uninterest, which is very uncharacteristic of an inventor from the 1800s. Although I was happy to see the movie update quite a few of the original's classic special effects such as time-travel itself and the aging of everything around our protagonist. Even the skirts slowly raising as styles come and go in the store front windows was redone. Also, the new reason for Earth being almost destroyed is very creative and more appropriate than the original's nuclear blast theory. Overall, the movie is made to be a summer movie, but they should have just gone with an entirely new story, because time travel movies are hard to do right and believable, and they just changed too much to have this one live up to the original. If you haven't seen the original and can completely shut off your brain, this is worth a viewing purely for the visual effects, otherwise, go pick up the original or read the book.
Rating: Summary: Better SFX does not equal better story Review: OK...I'll be fair. The SFX were astonishing. But if you want quality storytelling, stick with the George Pal version. THAT version has charm! This newer version does not. Not recommended.
Rating: Summary: I like the original better. Review: This movie is an adaptation of the original 1960 movie. I watched it in the theater a few months ago. Guy Pearce plays a time traveler who must go back in time in order to prevent the death of his fiancee. She was killed the first time by a robber and the second time she was ran over by an automobile. This segment of the movie somehow was badly made that instead of engrossing the audience with a sense sadness and despair, it turned the movie into a semi-comedy. The rest of the movie was then the Guy character went into the far future where he must save a docile tribe from a group of carnivores (evolved humans). Some segments of the movie are confusing. I think it could have been done a lot better. Sorry, only two stars for this one.
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