Great Film: Timeline
Dude, we're totally back in the Middle Ages! Heinous!
There's a reason why time travel has remained a staple of science-fiction
for more than a century - human beings will always be curious about the
past as well as the future. To be able to fix past mistakes with the
advantage of hindsight or to know what to expect in the years to come are
basic human desires common to everyone.
The producers of "Timeline" may have benefited from owning a time
machine.
If they had taken a ride in Marty McFly's DeLorean they might have been
able
to prevent the mistakes in casting and scripting and made something that
lives up to the idea's potential.
An archeological team led by Professor Edward Johnston (Billy Connolly)
is
excavating the ruins of Castlegard, site of a medieval battle between the
French and the British during the Hundred Year War. Johnston's son Chris
(Paul Walker) is visiting, a man not interested in the past but in
getting
closer to his father's assistant Kate Erikson (Frances
O'Connor).
Trouble arises when Professor Johnston goes to his benefactor, the
International Technology Corporation, to get more funds and information
about why they are so interested in Castlegard. When he does not return
Chris, accompanied with Kate, historian and medieval weapons expert Andre
Marek (Gerard Butler), physics expert Dave Stern (Ethan Embry) and
Francois
(Rossif Sutherland) head to the company headquarters to figure out where
Johnston has gone.
It seems ITC, lead by Robert Doniger (David Thewlis), has stumbled onto a
worm hole that leads back to 1357 while trying to perfect teleportation.
Professor Johnston went back to see the era first-hand but got stuck
there,
and now his students must go back to rescue him. However, there's a
catch,
the group must collect him in six hours, otherwise they'll be stuck in
the
14th century forever.
The movie could have been great had the filmmakers taken more time to
examine its premise, but as it stands the plot is just mechanical. Once
in
the past the group just goes from one incident to another in a
single-minded
goal of rescuing Johnston.
There is no moment of wonder at the medieval world or any insights that
looking into the past might reveal to 21st century travelers throughout
the
film. The visitors' knowledge of the area and upcoming battle do indeed
come
in handy, but they use this information only to survive and not to learn
anything worthwhile.
The movie certainly looks good, with some fine attention to period
details.
The clothing and buildings look authentic, though the people inhabiting
them
are a bit cleaner then they would have been. The siege on the castle is
also
well filmed with trebuchets and catapults launching flaming bombs at
Castlegard.
However, for a movie about survival and battle, everything is handled
apathetically. The characters seem to be going through the motions when
delivering their lines and there isn't much tension in the fight scenes.
It
adds up to a boring action movie, and boring is one thing an action movie
should never be.
It's also funny to see a film so selective about being authentic, such as
making it a point that modern people should not carry modern equipment
with
them to influence history, but having medieval characters speak modern
versions of English and French. It's also a strange that the movie takes
sides, portraying the English as evil tyrannts and the French as noble
defenders of their home. In reality, both sides were ruthless during that
era.
As an actor, Walker comes off as a poor man's Keanu Reeves. You read that
right - Walker makes Reeves look like a nuanced performer by comparison.
He
shouts lines with little conviction and acts like a dork through most of
the
film.
In fact, with the exception or Butler's Marek, it seems like amateur
night
in the acting department. A scene where O'Connors' Kate breaks down
crying
will have people laughing. Even Embry, normally an okay actor, gives an
unmoving performance. His character stays behind in the present and comes
off as the "self-righteous scientist" who squares off against Thewlis'
heartless business man, a typical feature of this movie
type.
Director Richard Donner once made great movies like "Superman" and
"Lethal
Weapon" but can't rescue this mess. It's been five years since he's done
a
movie, and he seems rusty. The camerawork and set design are both
excellent
though, and belong in a better movie.
Like most stories by Michael Crichton, "Timeline" makes scientists into
noble humanitarians and corporate heads into greedy slime to create
artificial drama, and it comes off as exploitive pabulum that detracts
from
where the attention should be, on the action.
Since the action isn't good, what's left is a story where the heroes cry,
complain and act selfishly while the movie tries to convince us that
they're
intriguing characters we should care about. "Timeline" is a wholly
forgettable experience, and memories of the movie will be teleported out
of
the minds of the audience not long after leaving the theater.
Five out of ten stars. Just stick to the "Lethal Weapon" series Mr.
Donner,
and Mr. Crichton, please exhibit caution before letting another one of
your
novels be ruined with a horrible on screen versions (but then, you
haven't
had a good reputation of doing that).
Cast
- Chris Johnston played by Paul Walker
- Professor E.A. Johnston played by Billy Connolly
- Kate Ericson played by Frances O'connor
- Baker played by Steve Kahan
- Steven Kramer played by Matt Craven
- Frank Gordon played by Neal Mcdonough
- Lord Arnaut played by Lambert Wilson
