Subject: Review: Time Machine, The (2002)

From: Shannon Patrick Sullivan <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 19:50:26 -0000

THE TIME MACHINE (2002) / **

Directed by Simon Wells. Screenplay by John Logan, from an earlier 
screenplay by David Duncan, based on the novel by HG Wells. Starring Guy 
Pearce, Samantha Mumba, Jeremy Irons. Running time: 96 minutes. Rated PG 
for frightening scenes by the MFCB. Reviewed on March 10th, 2002.

By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN

Synopsis: When his fiancee Emma (Sienna Guillory) dies tragically, 
Alexander Hartdegen (Pearce) spends four years creating a time machine so 
that he can alter the course of history. When he is still unable to save 
Emma, Hartdegen decides to travel forward in time, ending up eight 
hundred thousand years in the future. There he meets the lovely Mara 
(Mumba) whose people, the beautiful Eloi, are the prey of the monstrous 
subterranean Morlocks.

Review: Much like Guy Pearce's previous film, "The Count Of Monte Cristo", 
"The Time Machine" wants to be nothing more than a fun action-adventure 
romp. Certainly, there is none of the 1960 George Pal version's atomic age 
allegory to be found here. But unlike "Monte Cristo", which carefully 
developed its exciting plot and characters, "The Time Machine" seems, 
paradoxically, to think itself short on time. Not only does it clock in at 
just an hour and a half in length, it's almost midway through that runtime 
before Hartdegen wakes up with the Eloi and we get to the main part of the 
story. This cinematic precipitancy is a shame, because the picture's 
introductory segments are quite well made. Hartdegen's odyssey through the 
twenty-first century is visually enthralling, especially the disaster 
which inadvertently propels him forward eight hundred thousand years. But 
thereafter, "The Time Machine" appears to be in a race to get to the end. 
The Eloi and Morlock cultures are barely fleshed out, a major plot point 
is inexplicably contradicted, and the whole thing appears to be little 
more than a "Planet Of The Apes" rip-off. In a way it's ironic that the 
director, Simon Wells, is the great-grandson of HG Wells: this adaptation 
of "The Time Machine", too, is about four generations removed from the 
original. For my time travel thrills, I'll stick with "Doctor Who".

Copyright © 2002 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
Archived at The Popcorn Gallery,
  http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html

  |     Shannon Patrick Sullivan    |         [email-masked]          |       
  +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
/  Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel)   go.to/drwho-history  \
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X-RT-RatingText: 2/4