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The Time Machine

The Time Machine

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $13.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What A Waste Of A Good Story
Review: This was one movie that I was looking forward to. I'm a big fan of the book and was looking forward to the big screen adaption of this classic story. I was extremely let down by this incredibly lame retelling. Guy Pearce, after his fabulous job in the spectacular 'Memento', loses any momentum he may have received after that film and turns in a incredibly wooden performance as our 'hero'. Samantha Mumba though, makes him look like an oscar winner thanks to her totally unbeliveable performace as... I forget. She might as well have read her lines right off a script or something. But even worse, yes, as I soon found out it can get much worse, are the amazingly fake and in no way frightening Morlocks. Jeremy Irons, did I previously mention something about an oscar winner? I take it back, is so bad, and I mean BAD as in yuck in this role and I will never know why he accepted to play such a bland, emotionless character. Orlando Jones appears briefly as a technical something or other. It doesn't matter though. He makes no noticeable contribution to this confused, insanity filled madness (Cool, I used three words in consecutive order that mean the exact same thing, I could've written this script!).
So, why you say do I give this film two stars and not just one?
It had some pretty cool f/x. That is the only redeeming quality of this 'film'. If you're interested in the time machine I have some really good advice. If you haven't, read the book!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A digital beauty, yet lacking vision
Review: Yet another example of what happens when an otherwise philosophical story falls victim to Hollywood's thirst for the young target-market. While the time travel sequences are beauties to behold in their own right, one quickly discovers that there is little else besides them to enjoy in the movie. The story is flat, and deviates from the author's original story and intent even more so than the 1960 version.

The Eloi are not the mentally-underdeveloped, short, childlike beings with large eyes and small mouths, but rather are tanned, voluptuous creatures with intelligence enough to quip at the Time Traveler as being a 'wandering idiot'; the Morlocks are not the pale, collective workers operating on the base instinct of habit and hunger, but rather are overwhelming monsters resembling more the undead than an offshoot of humanity, led of course by a charismatic ultra-intelligent Uber-Morlock (who somehow has the clairvoyance to dictate to the Time Traveler why he is there and why his cause will fail).

This movie, as the first, deviates from the original novel: Weena (Mara), instead of her dramatic death in a massive fire trying to escape the Morlocks, lives to serve as romantic appeal as mate of the Time Traveler. And once again we miss the awe-inspiring scene where the Time Traveler reaches forward to the twilight of the earth to witness a non-rotating planet locked in an eternal sunset, watching the remnants of what was the human race return at last to the sea in the form of football-shaped creatures.

While this movie is a feast to the imagination with its captivating sequences of time flashing by in an instant, if you are seeking more depth in a film version of a Wells novel, I'm sorry to say that this movie is not for you.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Why ...oh Why..Come back HG.
Review: I was terribly disappointed in this movie....yes the Special effects were good...even amazing at times...but the director has taken so much creative licence with this movie it barely resembles the original movie ...never mind the book. Perhaps he should have rewritten it himself and called it time machine revisited..Avoid this if you can two stars..but only for the special effects...acting and storyline a big ZERO

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Stop Hollywood Before it Massacres Again!
Review: Every now and then, someone in Hollywood gets the idea to remake something, with the goal of making it better, but usually resulting in a massacre. This butchering of H. G. Wells' "The Time Machine," is an excellent example of Hollywood going awry, by simply casting aside the original source material to concoct its own story. The movie goes downhill from the beginning, by transferring the story from England to New York City, and basing the motive to explore time not on man's curiosity, but to save the man's fiancee, who is gunned down in a scene straight out of "Batman." Essentially, the John Logan screenplay goes off in its own direction, using the Wells source material only when convenient. Each of the main plot posts of the original are discarded in order to focus on this new story, which, again, is not the story which H. G. Wells wrote. Therefore, there are no visits to World War One and World War Two, the two most crucial events of the 20th Century. The motives of mankind that led to those events and the perspectives on them as seen through the trips to the future are cast aside, either because modern day Hollywood assumes we're too dumb to understand, or, more likely, because modern day Hollywood is too dumb to understand concepts beyond those seen in soap operas and trashy novels. Anyone with an interest in a film adaptation of the Wells novel needs to see the 1960s version, which is true to life, and understands the themes the book wanted to explore. This film isn't very smart and bears so little resemblence to the Wells novel, that it shouldn't even be allowed to claim "Based on the novel by H. G. Wells." Hopefully, someday Hollywood will learn. But as the original story suggests, man never learns from its mistakes.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dreadful, an embarrassment
Review: Simpering, moronic, confused attempt to jettison H. G. Wells's magnificent story (which has remained in print continuously for more than 105 years) and replace it with a nonsensical plot, almost nonexistent characterizations, and laughable dialogue. (Yes, I really did burst out laughing when watching this movie in the theater.) The 1960 George Pal film, with Rod Taylor, has always been criticized for reducing Wells's story to the comic book level. While there is some justice in this accusation, this new movie makes the 1960 version look like a faithful, Masterpiece Theater style adaptation.

Taken solely on its own merits, this is a weak film, without any intelligible motivation by the major characters, and is redeemed solely by a freakish imitation of Edgar Winter by Jeremy Irons, who single-handedly prevents the film from being a complete waste of time and money.

Still, the is not the worst "adaptation" of The Time Machine; there was a made-for-TV movie shown in the 80s, starring John Beck. No CGI in that one, folks; hadn't been invented yet ("Tron" was state of the art at the time).

Fans of the book will almost universally be disappointed, but those who care only about flashy visuals and big noises will probably enjoy this half-hearted piece of dreck. My advice: stick to the George Pal version until somebody with talent decides to adapt Time Machine for British TV and gets it right.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Special Effects, and a Great Film
Review: I enjoyed this movie. Okay, so it didn't follow the HG Well's book, and it isn't a patch on the original "Time Machine" movie but I liked it a lot.
Guy Pierce was excellent as the tormented Alexander Hartdegen who builds a time machine so he can change history after his girl friend is cruelly murdered. The special effects were top notch, the Morlocks were deliciously vicious and cannibalistic whilst Jeremy Irons was superb as Uber-Morlock, a creature so removed from his human roots he is no longer human. A brilliant scene in the film is when Alexander goes into a futuristic library and speaks to a hologram called Vox about time travel who remembers him 800,000 years later when the world that once was is no more. Another haunting scene is when Alexander watches the moon break up, fragmenting in the sky and thus changing the course of human history where humanity will evolve yet again, but this time into the gentle Eloi and the vicious and murderous Morlocks.
All the cast were excellent, with Mark Addy, playing Alexander Hartdegen's loyal but bewildered best friend David Philby and Phyllida Law giving a good rendition of Mrs. Watchit the stern but loving Housekeeper. The real stars of the film for me though were the Mumba siblings, with Samantha portraying Mara the young Eloi girl who befriends the man from the past and fights to save her younger brother Kalen played her real life brother Omero Mumba from the Morlocks.
All in all this is pretty good film and it is a real shame it has been panned so much by the critics. Well worth renting if you don't want to buy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Time Machine
Review: When I first saw The Time Machine back in March of 2002 I was expecting a disappointment because most of the time when they make classic books into movies they always end up not as good as the book and then people don't like it.In The Time Machine the movie was very much like the book.Mabey even better in some levels.Simon Wells did a very good job making a movie version of the classic book by H.G.Wells.

The movie was very fun to watch and I always wanted to know what was going to happen next.The special effects were amazing and I want to buy the DVD soon to watch how they made the Morlocks and the movie itself.

But the reason that I only gave the film 4 stars was because of the pace of the movie.I feel that they rushed the movie and the storyline went to fast...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Yuck!
Review: This movie left a bad taste in my mouth. First of all, the story was such a complete and utter deviation from the novel that it seemed entirely foolish. Second, the acting was bad. Third, the casting was bad. Therefore, the movie was bad. I hear H.G.'s great grandson directed this monstrosity of a movie. Sad......

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: 'Time' to Sleep
Review: H.G. Wells' classic novel has been brought to the big screen again, but by his great-grandson. The special effects are dazzling, but the movie moves slower than watching turtles fight. I must have dozed off during this movie because I got maybe five hours of sleep and it was still on when I woke up. Guy Pearce plays the professor who tried to save his girlfriend's life twice, but he went into the future instead to fight ugly things called Morlocks. Samantha Mumba doesn't sing, "Baby Come On Over," but tries to sound intelligent instead. I felt like I was getting older watching this movie. Gray hair and all, I now use a cane to walk around. If you're looking for excitement, then rent a lordage movie. If you want to sleep like a rock, then watch this movie. Insomniacs pay attention!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Enjoyable Watch
Review: It's hard to compete with the original Rod Taylor 'Time Machine' but this one comes very close. It's enjoyable from start to finish, with a great looking Time Machine,super special effects and an enjoyable plot.
I would have preferred an ending somewhat similiar to the way the 1960 version ended (if you don't know I'm not going to spoil it - go watch it !) but I suppose the director didn't want to follow too close.


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