Needle in a Timestack
Lionsgate | Release Date: October 15, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
7
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
67
The Film StageJared MobarakOct 13, 2021
I don’t think John Ridley’s Needle in a Timestack (adapted from the short story by Robert Silverberg) quite reaches the full potential of its conceit, but it comes close while overcoming any early preconceptions. Read full review
65
PolygonRoxana HadadiOct 14, 2021
Needle in a Timestack lacks the interior worldbuilding necessary to pull off its heartstring-tugging intentions, and the result is a movie that unintentionally confirms how no good ever comes from men who obsessively refuse to leave women alone. Read full review
50
IGNTara Bennett Oct 24, 2021
Despite a great cast, Needle in a Timestack lets the fuzzy logic time travel tropes trample the characters and our care for them and their plights. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterAngie HanOct 15, 2021
The premise is rich with potential for aching romance and meaningful contemplation of the ways that time and technology can shape how we see our relationships. So it’s too bad that this version of it falls apart under closer examination, with a script that seems enamored of love more as a theoretical concept than a lived experience. Read full review
50
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiOct 15, 2021
While Needle in a Timestack aims to be profound, it loses itself within the sci-fi premise rather than exploring the central romance in any detail. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiOct 15, 2021
As it turns out, this literary curiosity proves to be far more interesting than the finished film, which takes an undeniably interesting premise and then fails to make good use of it. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaOct 14, 2021
Odom, surely one of the busiest actors working today, gives a committed performance but lacks chemistry with either of his onscreen wives. A sense of lightness, of fun, of the alchemy between two people is missing, though it would seem crucial to drive the story. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussOct 14, 2021
The movie is almost all conversations, most of which are intriguing and sensitively structured, with little action. It’s enough, but not worth changing the world for. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiOct 14, 2021
It’s the lack of tension, overlong running time, and ultimately mawkish message that makes Needle a nonstarter. Read full review
33
IndieWireJude DryOct 15, 2021
Though the movie is clearly enamored with its own creativity, it’s not fun for anyone else. The title alone has already inspired titters online, and the movie is just as clunky and overwrought. Read full review
30
The New York TimesElisabeth VincentelliOct 14, 2021
[A] sluggish, blandly slick time-travel romance. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineMark HansonOct 13, 2021
The film is too blinded by manufactured sentimentality to see the more compelling what-if scenario lying right in front of its eyes. Read full review
More From This Movie

42 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL