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Movies / On DVD / Timeline
Timeline

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Timeline (2003)

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Reviews Counted:132

Fresh:15

Rotten:117

Average Rating:3.7/10

Consensus: This incoherently plotted addition to the time-travel genre looks and sounds cheesy.

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: In the heart of the beautiful and historically rich Dordogne Valley of France, a team of archaeology students and their professor diligently work to uncover the ruins of a 14th-century castle. For... In the heart of the beautiful and historically rich Dordogne Valley of France, a team of archaeology students and their professor diligently work to uncover the ruins of a 14th-century castle. For Professor Edward Johnson (Billy Connolly), the project is the culmination of a lifelong dream. Aided by assistant professor Andre Marek (Gerard Butler), his son Chris (Paul Walker) and students Kate (Frances O'Connor), Stern (Ethan Embry) and Francois (Rossif Sutherland), Johnston has made major strides in unearthing not only La Roque Castle but also a monastery and structures from the surrounding village of Castelgard. But things are about to go haywire... Suspicious of the dig's benefactor, International Technology Corporation (ITC) and the man who runs it, Robert Doniger (David Thewlis), Professor Johnston heads to ITC headquarters in New Mexico to get some answers, and while he's away, his students discover a chamber that has been sealed for more than 600 years. Marek and Kate descend into the unstable room, and just before a near disastrous cave-in, they make two startling discoveries -- a bifocal lens, which couldn't have been invented before the chamber was sealed, and even more intriguing, a handwritten plea for help dated April 2, 1357 ... from Professor Johnston! Determined to solve the mystery, the students head for ITC headquarters, where they are stunned to learn of Doniger's new invention -- a machine that can actually transmit three-dimensional objects through space. He meant for the device to revolutionize shipping. Doniger inadvertently opened a worm hole that leads directly to the 14th century, and Professor Johnston, who had insisted on experiencing the discovery himself, is now trapped in a vicious French vs. English feudal war! Can Johnston's loyal students survive one of the most violent battles in world history ... and make it back to the 21st century alive? -- © Paramount Pictures [More]

Starring: Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly

Starring: Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly, Ethan Embry, David Thewlis, Anna Friel, Neal McDonough

Director: Richard Donner

Director: Richard Donner
Screenwriter: Jeff Maguire, Robert Nolfi
Producer: Lauren Shuler Donner, Jim Van Wyck, Richard Donner
Composer: Brian Tyler
Studio: Paramount Pictures

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Reviews for Timeline

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Timeline takes the most ridiculous movie plot ever and multiplies it by ten.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
11/05/08
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In Michael Crichton's oeuvre, this is more The 13th Warrior than Westworld. Silly larks for young boys with liberal parents.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/05/08
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Walker is by far the movie's biggest liability, a walking vacuum in the time-space continuum with a terrifying ability to commit heinous crimes against cinema dialogue.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
12/05/03
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

'The time machine is an astoundingly cheap contraption — really nothing more than a couple of rotating mirrors and a wind machine.'

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment Comment
12/08/03
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
Teletext

Seriously terrible, but it'll be roaring good fun on video.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/04/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Easily the best Dude, Where's My Century? flick since Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
11/25/03
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

All the zoiksy illogic and spinning plot points give Timeline a strange energy.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
12/05/03
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

C'est la 'B'! Timeline is crudely written, haphazardly acted, and improbably fun.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
12/02/03
Ed Park
Ed Park
Village Voice

It may not break any new ground, but after sitting through years of CGI spectacles, it is refreshing. Sometimes it’s fun to just see a movie that knows what it is.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
11/25/03
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
About.com

it's very easy to get lost in this silly, fun adventure tale.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
11/27/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner

Slick entertainment that does its job, even if no one will remember it six years from now, much less six centuries.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
11/25/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Director Richard Donner is in good form here, and he patches up the holes in the script by keeping the action moving lickety-split.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
12/05/03
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

It's shameless, I know, but this movie is nice, simple fun.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
12/01/03
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

Harmless fun with a game cast in the grand tradition of '50s B movies that don't seem to realize how funny their dialogue is.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
11/24/03
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Not completely successful, but enjoyable enough

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
11/25/03
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Most of the time, it's fun to watch.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
11/25/03
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune

Despite choppy, clunky moments, it leaves you with a smile.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
11/25/03
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News

It's a ridiculous, paradox-packed, sci-fi/action contrivance...but I'd be lying if I said I didn't get some guilty pleasure out of this inflated adventure.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
11/24/03
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

It's all a bit too near fetched to be a great movie, it's still fun.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

This offers a mystifying look at the future with a mind-bending twist.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Spectrum | comment Comment
05/26/04
Vince Koehler
Vince Koehler
Entertainment Spectrum
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for Timeline

November 05, 2008: Michael Crichton Passes Away (1942-2008)
Best-selling author, screenwriter, and director Michael Crichton has passed away at the age of 66. The medical doctor-turned-filmmaker was best known for writing... More...

March 02, 2006: Critical Consensus: A Swinging "Party," A Sweet and Sour "16"
This week's wide releases will take us on a journey. We'll walk a couple blocks ("16 Blocks," "Dave Chappelle's Block Party"), take a dip in the ocean... More...

February 23, 2006: Critical Consensus: "Running" Gets a "Cooler" Reception From Critics
A low-level hood searches desperately for a hot gun ("Running Scared"). A cute pooch battles the forces of evil ("Doogal"). The irrepressible Madea holds a... More...

June 30, 2005: Trailer Bulletin: Into the Blue
Stop by Yahoo! Movies for your first look at the trailer to John Stockwell's "Into the Blue." It's a tale of buried treasure, loyal pals, evil thieves, narrow escapes... More...

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