The Time Machine

Name: The Time Machine
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Released: March 8, 2002
Duration: 96 min
Rating: 42
Cast: Guy Pearce, Yancey Arias

2002

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 59 Ratings

See All

6.7

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6.7	Your Score
6.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 59 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

The Time Machine

Now Playing: The Time Machine

Movie Details & Credits

DreamWorks Distribution | Release Date: March 8, 2002 | PG-13

Starring: Guy Pearce, Yancey Arias

Summary: A film version of the visionary novel by H.G. Wells in which a man in the 1890's builds a time machine that sends him into the future.

Director: Simon Wells

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 96 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Steven Rea

The film, in its early going, also has a nice light humor about it, and an engaging, albeit tragic, love story. Read full review

Keith Phipps

Machine makes its look-to-the-future-not-the-past message as clear as a Grammy acceptance speech, but as an exploration of regret and the elusive quality of time, it falls well short of "Memento," another film starring a sad-eyed Pearce. Read full review

Michael Wilmington

It's a movie that robs the story of its politics and point and never really matches the charm of the '60s film. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

There's something wrong with a time-travel movie that allows an audience's interest to drift so that we have time to worry over where he's parked, and whether he remembered to take his key. Read full review

A.O. Scott

This uninviting and pallid version, starring Guy Pearce, is intent on grinding all the sharp edges off the original story, in effect making the movie childproof, so no one can get hurt touching it. Read full review

Roger Ebert

A witless recycling of the H.G. Wells story from 1895, with the absurdity intact but the wonderment missing. Read full review

Chris Gore

I’m getting fed up with classic films being remade or ruined by being turned into “Special Editions” that are less than special. Read full review

SEE ALL 33 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

Phix105

Apr 19, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I can't believe some of the reviews on this film. One even complained how bad the future had become, and that they were expecting more technology, advanced people. Did they even bother to read the book, or watch the original film from the 60's. I loved the first film, but I loved the remake just as much. H.G Wells great grandson directed it, and I thought he did a great job. He added a lot of depth, and story to the Morlocks. One person wrote that it took the intrigue out of time travel. This story was never about time travel, as much as it was about what could happen to civilization if there were a catastrophe, and forced some underground, and others to survive above ground. Come on people, read the book.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

IrmarieS

Jun 1, 2013

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved the story behind this movie. To me it is more than just a love story; it demonstrate different theories of destiny/time travel and the end of the world.

This movie favors the Linear time travel theory.
On the movie when the fiancé died at the park from a robbery, after her death he builds a time machine in order to change the scenario( from the past) in order to keep his fiancé alive. He traveled to the past and changed the location and every single time she died from a different cause in each different location. He then decided to travel to the future to be able to understand why he cant change his fiancé destiny.
“Linear time travel says of you travel back in the past and return to the present, nothing will have changed and thus you can't change the future no matter how much you try. And thus, believing in the linear time travel makes destiny predestined since nothing can be altered.

Branched time travel aka multiuniverse time travel says you can go back in the past and alter the present/future. Thus this theory arises the idea that destiny is not predetermined, unless you where destined to change the future? But this theory also arises the grandfather paradox”

End of the world theory:

I have my own theory that the world will never end, it will just re- born…. In the movie we see when the scientific travels to the future he traveled to when the world was advance in technology then he traveled further and saw the world on war and when he went even further the world was like it was the beginning no technology living like cavemen). And if you think about it in reality that is what is been happening in our world. According to history, the first civilization was the zomelian and the Egyptians. The Egyptians back then they had the knowledge that now a days we are still discovering. An example are the chemicals that the Egyptians used for the mummification process and these were just recently discovered again by scientists. Still we don’t know how the Egyptians were able to build the pyramid to perfectly line up to the three stars and it has a perfect geometry. Egyptians women used to have similar rights to men and decade’s later women lost rights until around the 19th century. In conclusion life is going in a circle!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

fanofgoodgames

Oct 14, 2012

This is a really good movie. It has a very vintage feel to it that is refreshing and classy. The emotional plot really pulls you in and helps you connect to the characters. I like it mainly because of the science fiction scenarios and the logical what if elements. All in all it is 90%This is a really good movie. It has a very vintage feel to it that is refreshing and classy. The emotional plot really pulls you in and helps you connect to the characters. I like it mainly because of the science fiction scenarios and the logical what if elements. All in all it is 90% better than 100% of the other films made.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TryASummersault

Nov 27, 2014

it aims to be bigger than it can be, but overall it isn't a completely cheesy waste of time. I just wish they would have shed more light (no pun intended) on the uber morlock. that was the most interesting part and it only lasted 5 min.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

tarcotti

Mar 20, 2012

There were some interesting moments in this film. At times it was a lot more exciting than the original, but that is simply because it is newer. But overall, its pretty bad. I would rated a 3, but it visually held my interest longer than that.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Dokalu

Apr 13, 2015

This movie is somewhat disappointing. It started a little good, (beginning of spoiler) with the guy building the time machine to go to the past and save his girlfriend from a terrible death (ending of spoiler). Then he built it and then we saw a incredible scene of him going into the future.This movie is somewhat disappointing. It started a little good, (beginning of spoiler) with the guy building the time machine to go to the past and save his girlfriend from a terrible death (ending of spoiler). Then he built it and then we saw a incredible scene of him going into the future. Sadly, when he does arrive to that far future it's just terrible. A horrible story that I didn't care about, terrible script, and mediocre performances. I wanted to see more future, more utopias, more technology, but it just showed a tribe of non-evolved people from the future, and a whole story related to that.
I am just very disappointed about everything in the movie, except the time travel itself. I found it cool and interesting, and it made me think about paradoxes and that stuff.
Real score: 5.5… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Iky009

Jan 6, 2014

O filme mais bosta que meu amigo Caio

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SEE ALL 12 REVIEWS