The Time Machine

How to review this... A high-budget film created as a deliberate calculation by the studio and the director. The money invested is evident in the visual aspect, with many effects remaining interesting even over time, but the script is stupid to the point of being offensive. I have no understanding for this type of production; it only brings shame to my favorite genre. The scenes set in the future appear as a cautionary example of creative dementia. Overall impression 25%. (26/11/2007)

Simon Wells is admirably clever in that he was able to glue together this slushy band of time cards into at least a bit of a fun sequence... but it is a futile endeavor to look for something above-average and lasting in this train wreck between Planet of the Apes and a Jules Verne Disney adaptation. I am adding a star for the likeable Guy Pearce... and for the fact that my evening went by quickly. (21/09/2009)

The special effects - without reservations. Pearce and Irons - the same. It's worse with the story. It's kind of bland (I read the book and I know that it's not the most interesting either), and Samantha Mumba is a nice-looking girl, but like the main character I probably wouldn't choose her. A slightly above average film with good music. (19/09/2009)

It has a pretty nice mainstream idea - trying to appeal to a wider audience, although there's a film from 1960 that did this much better. The only thing the film can be credited for is trying to build on the legacy of H.G. Wells, but without understanding his attempts to poke a little fun at society. (27/11/2015)

A tragicomic example of how a good book can be turned into a first-class travesty. The first half hour is still fine, it has momentum, is quite imaginative and the time shift is masterfully executed. But from the moment Pearce gets to the far future, the film becomes hopeless, starting with a silly plot that goes against the book, and ending with the costumes of the Morlocks and the cardboard sets – an unbelievable shitshow. And poor Jeremy Irons looks like the bizarre guy who offered Nicolas Cage the S&M porn tapes in 8 MM. Simon Wells, I don't know, I don't know, great-grandpa wouldn't be happy. (28/12/2002)