Timeline, 2003

Timeline, 2003
Director: Richard Donner
Cast: Paul Walker, Frances O'connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connoly



Short synopsis: A group of archaeological students become trapped in the past when they go there to retrieve their professor. The group must survive in 14th century France long enough to be rescued.

Stage: Home TV, randomly chosen movie on the TV

Preps: I remember seeing this once and I loved the idea of seeing it again, this time with a bit maturer, different eyes, perhaps different feelings. Time travel is a very grateful topic, everyone wants to do it. Go in the future, dig up the past, very tempting and ideal to build a movie story around it. In my opinion, one of the best comedies in this sense was an oldie - Back to the future. Still one of my favourite attempts to show how it could look like - time travel.


Reality: This isn't one of the greatest gifts to the movie industry. It's full of mistakes, smartly hidden in the movie - from dissappearing when already dead, appearing alive on the other side (in the future), to achieving what any normal being couldn't (in unimaginative circumstances). I am dissappointed this time even more, the movie shows potential, but nothing more - I mean in terms of story and the flow. The hunt for the missing professor and getting killed inbetween shows some credibility to virtues and vain missions.

Nevertheless, I like the idea that is exposed - to like the time you aren't a part of, so much that you want to live there forever - we have seen this in prior movies and in later ones (for instance Avatar). The idea of succeeding in a world where noone knows about you and your sins, problems, background is so tempting that some of the characters decide to stay here forever. Even if it will be in middle ages.

The scenery is impressive, the costumes, the streets and the landscape is pretty authentic, I am more than impressed. But this is unfortunately the best that this movie has inside.


My personal rating: 4,0
Timeline on IMDB
Official pages