I kept expecting someone to run into the Knights Who Say ‘Ni.’
Timeline (2003)
Tomatometer
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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: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
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
Reviews for Timeline
This Dude, Where's My Sword-time travel mess is funnier than a good many intentional comedies.
It looks like a lame made-for-TV movie, features a no-name cast and revolves around a hackneyed idea.
Just once I'd like to see a time-travel movie inspired by true curiosity about the past, instead of by a desire to use it as a setting for action scenes.
It's long, sloppy, and -- to both the quantum-physics ignorant and informed -- steadily implausible, never exciting in either its skill or its ludicrousness.
As fantasy-adventures go, Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy makes this one look like a Hobbit belch.
The story, acting and visual effects fail to effectively blend together into a coherent sci-fi adventure.
Timeline fails to grab you and sustain any feeling of wonder. The time travel is treated so matter of factly ... that it, too, cannot stir the imagination.
Hollywood’s latest adaptation of a Michael Crichton novel will make you wish you could travel back to the days of Westworld or Jurassic Park.
Never quite thrilling, never quite dull, its overriding virtue is its competence.
A nice mix of science-fiction and action-adventure with a little romance thrown in.
Despite a promising premise, Timeline proves to be nothing more than an utter waste of your own precious time.
It’s Paul Walker escaping with his costume from Castle Cameos Pictures at the Las Vegas Excalibur.
It can be said with confidence that, among major movie studios offering competing epic action fare these days, Paramount has the loudest arrows.
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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