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The Time Machine
Directed by Simon Wells
Starring: Guy Pearce, Yancey Arias, Jeremy Irons, Philip Bosco
Running Time: 1:30
Country: USA
Year: 2002
Web: Official Site
Based on: Novel
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If you get on the Time Machine, you might find yourself a year earlier on the Planet of the Apes, as both remakes are similar in their treatment and in the bland entertainment they offer. However, what might save this retelling of H.G Wells novel is that the film never tries to be anything other than an old fashioned B-movie.
Guy Pearce is Alexander Hartdegen, a nerdy scientist who, after losing the love of his life, decides to build a time travel machine to go back in time and change the past. After a failed attempt at saving his girlfriend's life, he travels as far forward as the 90th century and ends up in a primitive world where humans are the prey of some underground albino mutants.
Director Simon Wells takes on his great-grandfather's novel in this new big screen adaptation. While the film benefits from improvements in special effects, this version is pretty unimaginative and lacks the retro charm of the first Time Machine movie. So while the albino freaks are more elaborate and kind of scary looking, I still miss the good old rubber masks from the 1960's film.
The picture is never captivating and can be watched like a harmless B-movie, which is what it is. There are few spectacular moments, but the recreation of New York as well as the travel through the future is impressive enough. While some might complain about the lack of logic of the story, the genre to which it belongs and the absence of scientific expectations shouldn't make anyone take these issues into consideration. However, what is more shocking is the similarity between Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes and Simon Wells' film. Suddenly it's clear that the Planet of the Apes borrowed heavily from H.G. Wells' novel while the second half of Time Machine 2002 looks suspiciously like the second half of Planet of the Apes.
In his first big-budget lead, Guy Pearce is as convincing as a geek (remember L.A. Confidential) as he is as a hero. The only thing difficult to believe is that such a socially challenged man could become an Indiana Jones-type after just sitting on a machine. Would you buy it if your VP of Technology became superman? Please!
If the main question is does the progress in technology and cinematography justify another Time Machine adaptation, the answer is no. What's next, remakes of Forbidden Planet and the War of the Worlds? You can bet on it.
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Fred Thom
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The Time Machine review
