Popular reviews

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  Review by 🌻 lindsay 🌻 ★★½ 2

  I respect the filmmakers choice to take a character from a book who was an archeologist... then casted Paul Walker to play him... then realized that not a single person would believe Paul Walker to be an archeologist... so they just had him be the head archeologist’s goofy, hot son who just hangs around sometimes. 

  This wasn’t good but it had that trope that I really like with time travel movies where someone leaves a clue hidden somewhere in the past and then we see it again in present time all old and worn out. I don’t know why I like that trope but I do :)

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  Review by Valdimar Hauksson ★½ 2

  I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from watching this stupid movie.

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  Review by Travis Lytle ★★★½

  A science fiction film that trades in its sci-fi pretensions for medieval action and adventure beats, Richard Donner's "Timeline" is a colorfully cast, rousing mini-epic that just misses the opportunity to be great. Too reliant on battle scenes and 14th century pyrotechnics, the time travel romp may avoid character development and thoughtfulness that would have enlivened the experience, but it still offers enough fun to stand out.

  Based on Michael Crichton's novel of the same name, "Timeline" follows a group of scientists, archaeologists, and hangers-on as it projects itself into the past. The group's mission is to locate a man from its own time and bring him home. Of course, the mission is interrupted by medieval squabbles, romance, and other…

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  Review by Will Menaker ★★ 4

  Paul Walker and Gerard Butler go back in time to the 100 Years War? More like 120 minute snore! Why do I keep watching these shitty movies?Usually I can depend on Richard Donner. I'm only doing Criterion collection shit from now on.

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  Review by bailey 🏹 ★★★

  i read the book over and over again when i was younger so this was very nostalgic but i was still a lil disappointed with the execution of this tbh but its still a fun movie

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  Review by Wood ★★★★

  I'm surprised this one flew under my radar for so long since the book is a lowkey Crichton favorite of mine. Starring very young Immortal Paul Walker and Pretty Boy Gerard Butler, not only that but directed by Richard Donner. We also got Michael Sheen, Billy Connolly and David Thewlis thrown in the mix, overall it's a fun cast. Unfortunately there's only so much you can do with the preposterous concept of sending archaeologist back in time. There's certainly a lot of plot holes but I'm willing to overlook them because of how much I love Paul Walker in a fish out of water story.

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  Review by Ben Peterson ★★★

  Ninja Turtles 3 but instead of going back in time to Japan it’s France. No turtles, but it is Paul Walker, Gerard Butler and Neal McDonough. IDK, adapting Crichton is always kinda fun, and looking back at these extended battle scenes with costumed extras and fireballs flingin’ around everywhere just hits different today.

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  Review by Mario Melendez ★

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  David Thewlis Filmography Project

  If you want to read the complete list click on the following link: Here

  #40 Timeline

  Robert Doniger = The Unexpected Character

  Pros: If I had to define this film in one word, I would describe it as a homogeneity, the themes of time travel, parables, and games of chance and destination really appeal to me, it has a good cast in which everyone stays at the same level and in which no one stands out more than another. David plays Robert as a man who is related to a 14th-century excavation project, he is distinguished because he didn't really expect to see the behavior he would take at the end of the film; it was…

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  Review by William Tallman ★★★

  Timeline sorely lacks in substance and characters but its interesting premise, great cast, cool set pieces and good action sequences make it a mildly entertaining sci-fi film. It's not one of Richard Donner's best but it's still not a horrible film either in my opinion.

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  Review by TSJ ★ 2

  A rarely seen Richard Donner adaption of a Michael Crichton Sci-Fi novel, rightfully bombing its way to a $44 million return on a $80 million budget. A group of history and archaeology students including Paul Walker and Gerard Butler join CBE Billy Connolly, Neal McDonough for its history spanning cast. Donner was in bidding to do Crichton's Jurassic Park before Spielberg, getting the chance to work with their mutual friend a near decade later. Ten minutes in, I was on board. Near twenty minutes of exposition later, it was apparent this wouldn't work.

  While the locations used early set a nice mood, the last ninety minutes take place in this wormhole to Medieval France. Contrary to Crichton's reputation of branching…

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  Review by ciaran_vallely ★★ 2

  Almost to silly to look at critically. To be honest I hadn't heard of this movie (despite the cast) until I came across this History Buff's Review a couple years ago and I was pretty intrigued. Unfortunately from even a pure popcorn stance the movie mostly falls flat. The most interesting thing is despite Paul Walker's casting, it's Gerard Butler who more or less takes over immediately. It does seem that for all the money that was clearly involved in the making of this movie, they just cut too many corners and slapped things together. Very early on it felt like there must have been scenes missing, that might not have turned this movie into a masterpiece, but at the very least made things a little smoother. I was hoping for a dumb but enjoyable time travel/medieval adventure, and Timeline couldn't even deliver that.

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  Review by Once upon a Tom in Hollywood ★★

  Died 1382...
  Born 1971.

  This presents irrefutable proof that not every Michael Crichton book needs to be made into a movie. Even a book so clearly written with that exact goal in mind, as I remember thinking to myself as I read it about 25 years ago.

  Director Richard Donner spends no time developing any of the characters in a way that could've invested us in their journeys. And the performances from this interesting (but not incredibly talented) cast are also nothing to write home about. No, the film relies wholely on the "neato" concepts of time travel and modern-day archaeologists navigating the treacherous landscape of France during the middle ages to keep us interested. It's not nearly enough. Not Recommended.

  Added to: Richard Donner Ranked