Where to watch Timeline
1 1/2 Stars
A group of archaeologists and combat experts led by Chris Johnston (Paul Walker) and Kate Ericson (Frances O’Connor) use a “3-D fax machine” to time-travel back to France in 1357, in hopes of retrieving Chris’ father, Professor Edward Johnston (Sir Billy Connolly), and returning safely to the present. No such luck. Fending for themselves against marauding hordes of medieval French warriors at war with the invading British, these semi-intrepid travellers find their body count rising, and the deadline for their return home is rapidly approaching.
Richard Donner’s film adaptation of Michael Chricton’s novel Timeline is by far the worst of the Novelists’ screen translations. This calamity of a film is stunted by terrible acting, weak storytelling, and poor photography. Surprisingly, a director of Donner’s talent could produce a product that is crippled by failings in every department. Unfortunately, Paul Walker and his fellow members are allowed to wildly overact, which, coupled with the story’s medieval setting, recalls Monty Python’s seminal work.
Even with Chrichton’s book as a backbone, Timeline, the movie, is muddled and confusing. Who is fighting whom? And why? Who is the central villain? Why should we care about these people? These basic hallmarks of narrative laws are abandoned, and instead we get a lot of scientific ramblings, history lessons, and logical loopholes. Timeline is undoubtedly one of the worst movies from 2003. This stumble in Donner’s career would be rectified by his next film, the excellent thriller 16 Blocks.
Directed by: Richard Donner
Written by: Michael Crichton, Jeff Maguire, George Nolfi
Starring: Paul Walker, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly