Timeline (Widescreen Edition)

Buy This Item Timeline (Widescreen Edition) by Paramount  Available from Amazon  $7.49  on 9-20-2008     Just enough of Michael Crichton's novel survives in <I>Timeline</I> 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 <I>Westworld</I> and <I>Jurassic Park</I> 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 hopes 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 travelers 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's too lazy to make the much better film that this could and should have been. Despite its enjoyable highlights, <I>Timeline</I> is perfunctory entertainment. <I>--Jeff Shannon</I> Reader Reviews It is no exaggeration to say that Timeline (Full Screen Edition) is one of the worst big-budget films in a decade. Godzilla and Hulk (Full Screen Special Edition) [2 Discs] are like Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition) next to what has to be the worst idea Michael Chricton ever had. The story is of a group of archeologist/researchers going back in time to mid-1300s Europe, during the Hundred Years War between England and France. The plot is totally nonsensical, there is nothing approaching character development, the acting is laughable and the editing extremely choppy. I would be suprised to learn if any director/producer/writer involved in this ever got another paid job. There should be a cash reward given to anyone over 18 who can watch until the end. Even if there were, not many would want to attempt it. Timeline gives the entire action/scifi/book-to-movie genre a bad name.

Timeline (Widescreen Edition) Available from Amazon Price: $7.49 Updated on 9-20-2008.

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