Stars:
Guy Pierce, Samantha Mumba, Orlando Jones, Mark Addy, and Jeremy Irons
Writer:
John Logan
Based
On The Book By: H.G. Wells
Director:
Simon Wells
Feature
length: 96 minutes
Extras:
Featurettes, Commentary Tracks, Deleted Scene, Galleries, Trailers, Cast &
Crew Bios, and Production Notes
Languages:
English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, English and French Language
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and English and Spanish Language Dolby
Surround Sound 2.0
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 19
Sound:
DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and
Dolby Surround Sound 2.0
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2002/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures and Warner Brothers Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: DreamWorks Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
On
paper it probably seemed like a great idea. Remake H.G. Wells’ “The Time
Machine” to take advantage of the new computer generated and makeup effects
available now and then have the great grandson of H.G. Wells, Simon Wells make
his live action directorial debut and then make the film a co-production between
Warner Brothers and DreamWorks. Unfortunately the end results are terribly
flawed. The film was supposed to be released in December of 2001, but did not
open in the States until March of 2002. It was the first feature film release
this year I actually went out to the local movie theater to see and I was pretty
disappointed.
To
be fair I must state that this remake of “The Time Machine” plays better on
TV with the DVD than it did at the movies, but compared to George Pal’s
original big screen adaptation, this film is even more of a disappointment, but
at least it is better than the 1978 TV movie version. What bugged me the most
about the film was the huge lapses in logic and missed opportunities that could
have made the film more intriguing as well as profound? The basic thesis of the
film is “You cannot change the past, but you can still alter the future.”
Guy Pierce is our time traveler who builds a time machine to go back in time and
save the life of his fiancé, who was shot during a robbery. Our protagonist
soon discovers that for whatever reason he can’t change his fiancé’s fate
even by intervening minutes before he would appear to meet her originally in the
past. Obsessed with finding the reason why he cannot alter the past he travels
into the future where he witnesses a great catastrophe that yields the bizarre
world he ends up in 800, 000 years later.
Among
the missed opportunities and lapses in logic are the fact that if he changes
when and how he meets his fiancé in the past in a failed attempt to save her
life, what happens to his past self that arrives and never meets her as a
result? Wouldn’t that impact how the time machine was created? Would it even
still exist and what if there were two time travelers from different pasts as a
result of the original tragic intervention? These are questions that are never
explored at all. Then while the “Morlocks” are genetic mutations, why would
they be made all male? Why are they more ape like, and how could the “Uber
Morlock” exist at all if of their genetic pool is so contaminated that they
need Eloi women to spawn new generations? The “Back To The Future” Trilogy
explored the possible consequences and paradoxes of time travel with far more
ingenuity and wit. You see as far as time travel is concerned you are either
meant to be able to change things like “Marty McFly” or you are a part of
the fate of humanity as was the case with the arrival of “Taylor,” which
yields the eventual return of “Cornelius” and “Zira” aboard Taylor’s
craft that yields the events that create the future world as illustrated in the
original “Planet Of The Apes” quintology. The time quake climax makes
absolutely no sense and has no discernable rule that would explain why
wouldn’t everyone be affected.
DreamWorks
Home Entertainment’s DVD edition presents “The Time Machine” in an
anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio. The picture has a faint amount of
grain, but generally it is a very good-looking transfer, but not up to the
degree of quality seen in some of DreamWorks’ earlier DVD releases.
The soundtrack fairs much better with a dynamic English DTS Digital 5.1
Theatrical Surround Soundtrack along with a very good English Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Soundtrack and a French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack
is even provided along with an English and a Spanish Language Dolby Surround
Soundtracks. English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and
Spanish Language Subtitles are also encoded on to the dual layered DVD as
options.
There
are two feature length audio commentaries that cover pretty much the same
information and at times are screen specific. The commentary with Simon Wells is
pretty good because to his credit he points out flaws in the film and
acknowledges the film’s shortcomings complete with mentions of deleted scenes
that unfortunately aside from a quick glimpse in the trailers, we never get to
see on this new DVD. Editor Wayne Wahram also participates in the commentary
track. The second feature length audio commentary is somewhat more subdued in
tone and features Producer David Valdes, Production Designer Oliver Scholl, and
Visual Effects Supervisor James E. Prices describing how they bought the
film’s four distinct worlds to life.
There
are about five behind-the-scenes featurettes, three of which are presented in a
widescreen (1.78:1) aspect ratio that covers “Creating The Morlocks” with on
camera interviews with Stan Winston and Jeremy Irons, “Building The Time
Machine,” which features interviews with Guy Pierce, Samantha Mumba, and
Producer Walter Parks, and reveals that the prop had an actual weight of 4000
pounds. There is a (2.35:1) narrated visual effects featurette that covers the
work done by “Digital Domain” on the film and a (1.33:1) look at the
choreographed fighting between stuntmen on the “Time Machine” prop. There is
an extended opening scene that was deleted from the final film release that is
presented in a (2.35:1) aspect ratio with English Dolby Surround Sound and has a
running length of nearly 7-minutes.
Within
the archives are conceptual sketch galleries and animatic shots of “NYC –
1899,” “NYC – 2030,” “NYC – 2037,” “The Public Library,”
“The World Of The Eloi” and “The Morlocks,” “The Far Future,” and
“The Time Machine” itself. Cast and Crew Biographies and Production Notes, which are
also reprinted within the insert inside the DVD keep case, wrap up the extra
features on this DVD along with a (1.85:1) teaser and two (2.35:1) theatrical
trailers and all feature full English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.
The
menus are well rendered with full motion scene selections and animated
transitions and all are easy to navigate. Not a bad DVD, but not a great movie,
curious folks can check out “The Time Machine” on DVD-Video now from
DreamWorks Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.