Clockstoppers [DVD] [2002]

The movie has one problem, but it is big and ultimately undermines the entire film. Given this incredibly neat premise, script writers Rob Hedden, Andy Hedden, J. David Stem and David N. Weiss fail to exploit the comic potential to its fullest. The guy with the nose ring trying to steal the bicycle gets a nice comeuppance, but everything else is rather lame. Come this with what happens to Jim Carey's character in "Bruce Almighty," who is given divine powers and knows immediately what is on his "things to do" list when granted divine powers. We should all have our lists for what we should do if we become a god, can turn invisible, or move at super speed. At least Zac's girlfriend enjoys exploring the sense of wonder over their newfound ability.

Most of "Clockstoppers" is not about using the hyper-time device but rather about getting control of the it, which means they come up with this great idea and then make it a minor plot device. Maybe the special effects budget was not big enough, but this is a film where the gimmick has to be at the core of the film. Then again, even without big money you should be able to come up with some good routines provided you have the IMAGINATION to think them up in the first place. Besides, thinking through the plot possibilities here was clearly too much. It turns out you do not have to be wearing the watch to be affected, you just have to be touching the person wearing the watch when they turn it on. I might buy warp drive and transporter beams because of what they do to facilitate the telling of a story, but this is too much for me to accept.

Granted, there is one good joke at the expense of director Jonathan Frakes, but even the Nickelodeon age audience is going to figure out that the idea of "Clockstoppers" is much better than the execution. This is another one of those movies where all the best bits are in the trailer. Too bad the writers could not spend a couple of months in hyper-time coming up with better ways of exploiting their basic premise.

The movie has one problem, but it is big and ultimately undermines the entire film. Given this incredibly neat premise, script writers Rob Hedden, Andy Hedden, J. David Stem and David N. Weiss fail to exploit the comic potential to its fullest. The guy with the nose ring trying to steal the bicycle gets a nice comeuppance, but everything else is rather lame. Come this with what happens to Jim Carey's character in "Bruce Almighty," who is given divine powers and knows immediately what is on his "things to do" list when granted divine powers. We should all have our lists for what we should do if we become a god, can turn invisible, or move at super speed. At least Zac's girlfriend enjoys exploring the sense of wonder over their newfound ability.

Most of "Clockstoppers" is not about using the hyper-time device but rather about getting control of the it, which means they come up with this great idea and then make it a minor plot device. Maybe the special effects budget was not big enough, but this is a film where the gimmick has to be at the core of the film. Then again, even without big money you should be able to come up with some good routines provided you have the IMAGINATION to think them up in the first place. Besides, thinking through the plot possibilities here was clearly too much. It turns out you do not have to be wearing the watch to be affected, you just have to be touching the person wearing the watch when they turn it on. I might buy warp drive and transporter beams because of what they do to facilitate the telling of a story, but this is too much for me to accept.

Granted, there is one good joke at the expense of director Jonathan Frakes, but even the Nickelodeon age audience is going to figure out that the idea of "Clockstoppers" is much better than the execution. This is another one of those movies where all the best bits are in the trailer. Too bad the writers could not spend a couple of months in hyper-time coming up with better ways of exploiting their basic premise.