Project Almanac
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: January 30, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
16
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
The PlaylistDrew TaylorJan 28, 2015
All of the young actors are committed, and director Dean Israelite has a good handle on the material, offering his own contributions to the time travel genre (like how violent the act itself is) while continually tipping his hat to what came before it. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 1, 2015
On the whole, this is a good B-movie that hits it modest marks. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleWilliam GossFeb 4, 2015
Despite the film’s largely hectic point-of-view, first-time helmer Dean Israelite credibly establishes a science-positive environment that ultimately results in less-than-intelligent displays of teenage impulsiveness, and the kids have a believably determined camaraderie as they only ever use the device together to get revenge on bullies, win the lottery, and snag backstage passes at Lollapalooza. Read full review
63
Boston GlobePeter KeoughJan 29, 2015
One of the advantages of time travel in a found-footage film is that it makes the chronology and causality so confusing that the problem of who’s shooting what becomes secondary. On the other hand, it doesn’t allow fast-forwarding through all the boring bits. For starters, I could have done with far less Lollapalooza. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 28, 2015
Clever, funny but emotionally stunted. Like most teenagers. Read full review
60
CineVueJulia AlexanderFeb 18, 2015
With references to other sci-fi films, however, it's obvious Project Almanac is aware of its genre clichés, strengths, and faults, and that makes for a genuinely fun time for film buffs. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJan 29, 2015
Every generation gets the time travel it deserves. Project Almanac isn’t “Time After Time” (1979) or “Back to the Future” (1985) or “12 Monkeys” (1996), but the new release does turn out to be a surprisingly jaunty trip for jaded Gen-Y kids. Read full review
60
The GuardianJordan HoffmanJan 28, 2015
Despite the uncomfortable sexism and altogether predictable nature of the film, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t modestly entertaining. Read full review
60
TheWrapJames RocchiJan 28, 2015
Even with all the teen angst and temporal alterations, the film stays fleet, funny and fast, especially as our leads figure out, through trial and error, how they can take advantage of their new abilities in ways large and small. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jan 30, 2015
As a time-travel movie, Project Almanac pays fast and loose with its own fantastical rules, contradicting itself constantly. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandFeb 2, 2015
The premise, which initially has a certain interior logic, grows implausible and then nonsensical. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliFeb 1, 2015
Call Project Almanac a "shaky-cam special", and it's a damn shame. The resultant production, both shaken and stirred, transforms a potentially entertaining pulp time travel story into a misbegotten exercise in frustration. Read full review
50
The DissolveKeith PhippsJan 30, 2015
If Project Almanac didn’t bungle it all with a shrug of an ending, it would be easier to recommend. Maybe someone with a time machine should go back and give the movie a do-over. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaJan 30, 2015
It’s enough to make H.G. Wells roll his eyes as he rolls in his grave. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldJan 29, 2015
The wish fulfillment of time travel tends to be fun to watch, and the director, Dean Israelite, feeds on the friends’ giddy escapades for a while. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleThomas LeeJan 29, 2015
High on fun but low on depth, Project Almanac is told entirely from the perspective of a video camera, which instantly made me regret that I had eaten dinner before the screening. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartJan 29, 2015
I know this is a teen-boy fantasy — it was produced by Michael Bay, after all — but the female characters in Project Almanac are lamely retro, little more than props in short shorts. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyFeb 18, 2015
The trouble with Dean Israelite’s film is that it’s far more excited about the shallow possibilities of cheating the fourth dimension than the infinitely scarier ones of messing it all up. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesMartin TsaiJan 29, 2015
With "Looper" and the fantastic recent release "Predestination" using the same plot device to explore existentialism, the potboiler Project Almanac feels like a leap backward. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJan 28, 2015
Begins as a marginally fun diversion before proving to have nearly no interest in the possibilities of its premise. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 28, 2015
Evaluated on the concept’s own terms, the script clearly could have used another do-over or two before Israelite and his cast took the plunge. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerJan 29, 2015
A Michael Bay-branded time-travel fiasco, made for teens and seemingly by them, too. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia PuigJan 29, 2015
What was once fresh and innovative now is tired and overdone. Read full review
30
Village VoiceSimon AbramsFeb 3, 2015
Project Almanac could have been fun, but its creators don't seem to know what fun looks like. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineChris CabinJan 29, 2015
The film delivers the same misogynistic, faux-modernistic jolts of trashy humor and labored plotting that typify the work of co-producer Michael Bay. Read full review
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