Silly sci-fi tosh that tries to play itself out as a serious and heart-rending love story, but Ghost it ain’t.
1 Comment
08/17/09
The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
38
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:148
Fresh:56
Rotten:92
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Though it may satisfy fans of the novel, The Time Traveler's Wife's plot contrivances and illogical narrative hamper its big screen effectiveness.
Theatrical Release:14-08-2009
Synopsis: Based on the best-selling book about a love that transcends time. Clare has been in love with Henry her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows... [More]
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Ron Livingston, Arliss Howard
Director: Robert Schwentke
Reviews for The Time Traveler's Wife
It's even more inane and sitting up begging to be loved than Benjamin Button.
08/17/09
Two good performances, some expert cinematography from Florian Ballhaus and an air of intensity that keeps you gripped.
08/14/09
Competent and well-cast, but it crams too much into the runtime and loses the elegance of the novel.
08/14/09
Top CriticCrystallized by the functional - rather than fantastic - turns by its two leads, The Time Traveler's Wife never really takes flight. While the film makes a decent enough date movie, you'll find it will disappear from your mind before too long.
08/14/09
Top CriticDespite the saccharine trailer and the icky tear-jerking pedigree, The Time Traveler’s Wife is actually a movie of some substance. it is the film about disconnected love that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button should have been.
08/14/09
Top CriticThe tasty nuggets of fun drown in all the soupy seriousness, but this time travel is sometimes an interesting ride.
08/14/09
Top CriticIt wants desperately to engage our hearts, but for long stretches will leave most of us scratching our heads.
08/14/09
Top CriticA thoroughly engaging film. The heavy emotional tone makes it feel a bit girly, but it's still a terrific story.
08/14/09
As powerful as a time-machine made Blue Peter-style out of cardboard and empty bottles.
08/14/09
A suspension of disbelief is essential, but – if you can sideline the illogical nature of the plot – what emerges is an intimate and moving love story.
08/14/09
You’d go mad unpicking the paradoxes in this convoluted brain scrambler. (If you thought Schwentke’s Flightplan was bonkers, try this one on for size.) Better to surrender to its implausibilities and revel in the lush, sudsy silliness of it all.
08/14/09
It’s quite bland and could do with a bit more fire in its belly. More than adequate but nothing really special.
08/14/09
It could have been thought-provoking drama, but settles for being a novelette-ish tear-jerker. I hate the dismissive phrase 'chick flick' but that's what this is, and it could have been a whole lot more.
08/14/09
Not just increasingly preposterous, it's also awfully dull since our two leads fail to generate even a hint of that spark so necessary for romantic dramas.
08/14/09
Like two hours on the Burma railway, heaving away at time/space conundrums, arch-to-soppy dialogue and tail-chasing plotting under the lash of distributors who put us in a crowded, no-escape cinema.
08/14/09
They've tried to cloak a very dull love story in pseudo-poetic significance. You might feel like disappearing yourself.
08/14/09
The film version of the novel will drive you potty if you try to make any sense of it. Just surrender to a far-fetched fantasy and the reward is a lush, high-gloss weepie.
08/14/09
Surprisingly watchable up until its late, headlong plunge into TV-movie blandness.
08/14/09
In the final analysis the film fails to make much sense at all.
08/10/09
Latest News for The Time Traveler's Wife
August 13, 2009:
Critics Consensus: District 9 is Certified Fresh
This week at the movies, we've got an alien nation (District 9, starring Jason Cope and Sharlto Copley); a high school musical (Bandslam, starring Gaelan Connell and Vanessa... More...
August 13, 2009:
Box Office Guru Preview: District 9 Invades Over Crowded Frame
With summer almost out of gas, studios toss five more contenders into the ring in hopes of catching moviegoers that just haven't had their share of multiplex entertainment yet.... More...
July 29, 2009:
Robert Schwentke Sees Red 
"The Time Traveler's Wife" director Robert Schwentke is in talks to direct "Red," the adaptation of the WildStorm/DC graphic novel starring Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman. More...
June 15, 2009:
Trailer Bulletin: The Time Traveler's Wife
After a lengthy delay, the Eric Bana/Rachel McAdams-led adaptation of "The Time Traveler's Wife" is due to arrive in theaters on August 14 -- and now, thanks to Yahoo! Movies,... More...
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