With this week’s big release of Hot Tub Time Machine I felt it only fitting to sit down and think about my favorite Time Travel films. I’m guessing the theme this week is self-explanatory so let’s get on with it.
10. The Time Machine (1960) (dir. George Pal)
I remember sitting through the god awful remake of this movie starring Guy Pearce and being so disappointed. However, years later I reminded myself of the golden rule of cinema, the original is always better. With this film it doesn’t bog itself down with unnecessary romance or anything. An inventor is curious about the future and bored/bothered with his own time so he creates a time machine and goes so far into the future that cannibals turn blue. It’s awesome.
9. The Butterfly Effect (2004) (dir. Eric Bress & J. Mackye Gruber)
I first saw this movie a while back and still remember how it blew me away. It might be because it is one of those few movies that made me reevaluate my hate for an actor, in this case Ashton Kutcher. I liked how it handled the time travel element, especially how the character of Evan went crazy (or so I like to think) because of it all.
8. Star Trek (2009) (dir. J. J. Abrams)
For the sake of the two people reading this that still have yet to see last year’s Star Trek I won’t say too much except the crux of the plot is time travel and it is handled quite well. The movie is fun and I put it in the list just because I love it so.
7. Primer (2004) (dir. Shane Carruth)
This movie has continually sold to me as the greatest high brow time travel film because they actually take the science and logic of it all to a higher level than any other that came before it. However, even though on one hand that’s the main reasons why I like it so much at the same time it’s why I don’t love it. As a techie, I felt while watching the movie that I was getting a serious (and very interesting) lecture on time travel and the logistics of not messing up the continuum and all that jazz. However, the movie felt like it relied way too heavily on the science and lost itself in the bigger picture. If you follow the details too closely without stepping back and taking a look at the bigger picture every once in a while you will notice that you’ve messed it all up. I’ve been told though that you really should watch this movie about four times before everything works perfectly (I’ve only seen it once) so maybe this movie will step up on this list in the future.
6. 12 Monkeys (1995) (dir. Terry Gilliam)
I get it, Terry Gilliam is an odd dude. I always thought it was very odd that Gilliam never did a time travel film. Enter my recent discovery of 12 Monkeys. The film is filled with a brilliant performance from Brad Pitt as a crazy animal activist/terrorist. Jim is visiting the past to find out what he can about the virus to help the future. It’s a brilliantly pieced together plot that isn’t as crazy as I expected but is definitely interesting when you are with characters like Jim and Dr. Railly.
5. Timecrimes (2007) (dir. Nacho Vigalondo)
This one got it’s spot because it is the coolest of them all. This movie is the prime example of a time travel movie that when you think about it for more than two minutes you will get a brain aneurysm from all the time paradoxes it creates. It still entertains and works for me as a crazy movie that continues to twist and turn every other minute and keep you on the edge of your seat. Simply a must-see.
4. Army of Darkness (1992) (dir. Sam Raimi)
“This is my BOOMSTICK!!!” I love this movie. It’s Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell at their campiest. Raimi asks himself what he can do with Ash after tree rape; enter time travel. Ash heads back to medieval times and he ends up having to battle the Army of Darkness. With his boomstick and his lady nothing can go wrong.
3. Back to the Future Part II (1989) (dir. Robert Zemeckis)
This might as well be Back to the Future + Back to the Future Part II. I like this a lot more than the first because it builds on the first somewhat logically. It also adds a little logical thinking (some of which they use in Primer) that anyone would do, use your knowledge to make a few bucks. Just remember “nobody calls me chicken.”
2. Donnie Darko (2001) (dir. Richard Kelly)
What if you knew when the world was going to end, better yet a bunny traveled from the future just to let you know? Donnie is a troubled child and must come to the realization that time travel has it’s advantages and disadvantages. Every once in a while we have to give up our universes to let better ones exist.
1. The Terminator (1984) (dir. James Cameron)
Have I ever told you how much I love The Terminator? It may be one of the most simple and logical uses of the time travel plot device. It may be because we never get to the other end of the time dimension (like with the most recent installment in the franchise), but at the same time it’s still fantastic. It’s a great horror/thriller/action movie that can’t be denied. People like to argue with me about how it’s sequel is better, but honestly this is the best in my eyes. “I’ll be back”
What are your favorite time travel movies? Does Hot Tub Time Machine deserve a place on the list?