The Time Machine (2002)

The “Time Machine”, originally written by HG Wells over a hundred years ago, is one of the earliest and most respected sci-fi novels around. It has previously been the subject of a movie but recently it was decided that the story should be re-done for the 21st century. Christopher Wells, a descendent of the original author made a reasonable attempt to produce a film worthy of the story’s pedigree but there are a few significant flaws in the finished product.

The film makes a promising start, Guy Pearce gives a good performance as the pioneering Victorian scientist Alexander Hartdegen, who is secretly working on a time machine. After tragedy strikes he works even harder on the machine and attempts to travel back in time to try and prevent the tragedy from ever having occurred. Unfortunately, he finds that he can’t change the past so instead sets off into the future in the hope that a future civilisation will have developed technology allowing the past to be changed. The Victorian setting seems reasonably authentic and Mark Addy’s performance as Hartdegen’s colleague makes him one of the more interesting characters in the film.

As Pearce moves forward through time, through the 20th and into the next century, he sees the world change before his eyes, greatly speeded up. This sequence as the 20th Century flashes past in a couple of minutes is one of the more impressive and memorable parts of the film.

When Pearce arrives in the near future, he finds many things have changed, although the future does seem rather similar to our present, despite the colonisation of the Moon and the museum’s artificial intelligence which informs him that time travel is impossible.

Finding no help in the near future, he travels further forward in time, only to arrive in a futuristic New York which is in the midst of an apocalypse. Fleeing the disaster he travels many millennia into the future (in another impressive speeded-up sequence) before arriving in a time where the surviving members of humanity have evolved into two separate species - the evil underground-dwelling Morlocks and the pacifist hunter-gatherer Eloi. Unfortunately this is where the film falls from being an interesting sci-fi tale into being yet another sci-fi action movies as Pearce rouses the Eloi to fight against the Morlocks. Although the Eloi are portrayed quite convincingly the Morlocks are stereotypically evil beings that are more than a little reminiscent of orcs in Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. The Morlocks are lead by Jeremy Irons, who gives a ridiculously over-the-top performance in the inevitable confrontation between him and Pearce.

The end of the film is probably the worst part, it doesn’t seem to entirely make sense and Jeremy Irons’ character’s behaviour is inexplicable. The ending isn't quite bad enough to spoil the film (unlike Burton’s Plant of the Apes or A.I.) But it is a great let-down after a strong first two-thirds of the film.

In summary, a potentially good film spoiled by some Hollywood action movie silliness towards the end of the movie.

Rating : 7 / 10

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All content ©2003 William Marnoch.

Comments? Agree/Disagree with the Reviews? Suggestions? Random Ramblings? Whatever you might want to say, feel free to e-mail me at william@wmarnoch.freeserve.co.uk .