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Amazon.co.uk Review
Just enough of Michael Crichton's novel survives in Timeline to make it a passable popcorn thriller. It's likely that Crichton fans will lament the shallowness of director Richard Donner's film, and its gee-whiz style of acting lays waste to any scientific credibility that Crichton's scenario might have retained. Still, the Crichton formula is a sturdy one, following the model of Westworld and Jurassic Park by involving a small band of adventurers in a fantastical realm of danger and death. In this case, a group of archaeologists and combat experts (led by Paul Walker and Frances O'Connor) use a "3-D fax machine" (so much for technobabble) to time-travel back to France in 1357, in hope of retrieving Walker's father (Billy Connolly) and returning safely to the present. No such luck. Fending for themselves against marauding hordes of medieval French warriors at war with the invading British, these semi-intrepid travellers find their body count rising, and the deadline for their return home is rapidly approaching. All well and good, so far, and the castles-and-crossbows action reaches a fever pitch, but it's obvious that Donner is too lazy to make the much better film that this could and should have been. Despite its enjoyable highlights, Timeline is perfunctory entertainment. --Jeff Shannon
Special Features
- Journey Through Timeline 3 part documentary
- Textures of Timeline featurette
- Trailer
DVD Technical Information:
- Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
- Running Time: 115 mins
- Region Code: 2
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
' Timeline ' a Good Effort,
By brian from london "Brian" (London UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Timeline [DVD] [2003] (DVD)
Rather than repeating the plot line I will pass general comments.
It was only after watching ' Timeline ' was I aware that it was Directed by ' Richard Donner ' { think Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut } Timeline's has a Claimed budget of $ 80,000,000 although this may be widely inaccurate. You really have to watch it twice as it grows on you and it does have some very interesting extras. The Trebuchet Scenes make up for any plot holes . { and ' Night Arrows ' is a very interesting concept } By the way there was a substance that was called 'Greek fire' which may have been a 'thermite-like' reaction, possibly involving a quicklime or similar compound. Its the only DVD I know where I ended up supporting the French against the English. All in all its a enjoyable dvd.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Archaeology is FUN!,
This review is from: Timeline [DVD] [2003] (DVD)
This has an interesting and unusual idea as a basis (from a book by Michael Crichton) but sadly seems to lose it's way at times.Basically a space/time 'wormhole' is discovered enables people to travel back in time- but only to medieval France. A group of archaeologists are coerced into going back to save one of their number stranded there. There's a clash of cultures between the Scientists/Military/MoneyMen versus the History-loving Archaeologists. There's a lot of inconsistencies glossed over (presumably explained in the book) but hey- it's an action film first and foremost. It has an abrupt start and I thought 'Great! That means there's so much to fit into the rest of the film that they've glossed over character building and scene setting!'. I was wrong. It meanders once it gets going and seems to think it has to justify how History can be 'F.U.N' Having said that there's a dependable and credible (if odd) cast, and Richard Donner is a veritable stalwart of cinema direction. The locations are beautiful- shot mainly in Quebec (which is in line with it's French connection!). Some of the sets are impressive too and the stunts pretty good. So all-in-all a bit formulaic but not a bad film.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing special, but enjoyable fun,
By
This review is from: Timeline [DVD] [2003] (DVD)
Having not read the book, my general opinion of this film is certainly higher than many of the other reviews here. I personally found it was very well paced, had very nice and well choreographed action sequences, and had a decent (if simplistic) story. It's based on a book by the same author who wrote Jurassic Park, and in fact the composition of this film seemed to be very similar to that one (substitute dinosaurs for medieval knights, genetic manipulation with time travel, and there you go).
Unfortunately, just like Jurassic Park, the characters are fairly one-dimensional and the plot is very straightforward. One failing of this film that Jurassic Park didn't have is the science (or lack thereof). The word 'wormhole' is mentioned a couple of times, but that's about it. I can understand a director/producer not wanting to confuse the audience with unnecessary jargon, but in this case where the scientific theory underpins the whole focus of the plot (e.g. getting there, and getting back), more time should have been taken explaining the machine and how (and why) it does what it does. The acting was fairly decent for the most part, with Connolly, O'Connor and Friel giving the best performances (as you might expect). Unfortunately, I thought the main lead (Walker) was less convincing, but this is probably more to do with the weak characterisation than the actor's talent. The 'bad guys' as a whole could have been played considerably more menacing; I think Hollywood has finally past the point where just having an English accent is enough for the audience to tell that a character is supposed to be evil! One thing missing from the film is a sense of humour. Once the main characters have gone back in time, they spend pretty much all their time hiding or fighting - the odd humorous line or moment would certainly have helped raise the tone of the film, which is strangely rather dark. It's almost as if the film makers pitched the film at the wrong audience, this should clearly have been a family action/adventure film like Jurassic Park or Pirates of the Caribbean. I actually bought this film because its music is composed by Brian Tyler, who wrote the music for the 'Children of Dune' mini series. Unfortunately, the score to this film isn't nearly as original or atmospheric as that, which was a bit disappointing. The DVD itself is also rather disappointing. It has no special features at all (not even a trailer or cast bios) and doesn't even have subtitles. This is a fast paced, medieval action film. If you liked Jurassic Park and like films with knights, catapults and plenty of sword fighting you'll probably like this film. If however you expect a sci-fi film or a tense thriller (which from the trailer, you would have assumed this film was) then you'll be disappointed.
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