Time travel movies are a staple of thesci-figenre, but they can often be over-complicated at best and nonsensical at worst. Some science fiction movies take too long to explain the fundamentals of their time travel plots, and even more of these films explain too much, pulling supposed facts out of thin air and creating narratives that are hard to follow. Despite the prevalence of this sub-genre, there are very fewmovies that get time travel right.
However, some time travel movies choose to keep things simple, either quickly explaining the time travel in their plots or focusing on other aspects of the film. These movies are often character-driven or simple fun, creatingtime travel movies that ignore the genre’s tropes. Not only are these movies fun, but they offer a fresh breath of air compared to the time travel genre’s complicated adventures.
The Time Machine
Cast
The Time Machine follows a 19th-century inventor who attempts to change past events but instead journeys 800,000 years into the future. Here, he discovers a world where humanity is split into two conflicting races, exploring the consequences of time travel and societal evolution.
When the fiancée of inventor Alexander Hartdegen is tragically killed in a mugging gone wrong, Alexander dedicates his life to creating a time machine that will allow him to save her life. However, when he does go back to protect her from her untimely death, she is killed once again in a carriage accident. This prompts Alexander to travel further and further into the future, desperately searching for a way to save the love of his life.
The Time Machineis a 2002 remake of the original 1960 film, which was originally adapted from a novel by H. G. Wells.
The plot ofThe Time Machineplays out as a slow exploration of the rules of time travel in this film’s universe. Alexander’s desperate search for answers is ultimately met with tragedy, not only discovering the poor state of humanity in the future, but also that he will never be able to save his love.Because she is the reason he created the time machine in the first place, her death is necessary to allow him to time travel at all and would create a paradox if she survived.
Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, concludes the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga. It follows the remaining Avengers as they attempt to reverse the destruction caused by Thanos, navigating complex dynamics and forging alliances to restore balance to the universe.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe made its jump into the time travel sub-genre withAvengers: Endgame,a film that many consider to be the ultimate entry in the long-running movie franchise. Following the events of Thanos' victory inAvengers: Infinity War,Tony Stark and the rest of the Avengers make it their mission to rewrite what has already occurred and bring back the people Thanos has killed.They do this by going back in time to gather the Infinity Stones, bringing them to the present day.
10 Greatest Avengers Villains in Marvel History, Ranked
While the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have faced hundreds of enemies, only these terrifying villains can be considered the Avengers' greatest.
Time travel works a little differently inAvengers: Endgamethan it does in other films, but it is explained in simple terms. Instead of changing the past by going back in time, the act of changing the past causes a separate timeline to split off, with time progressing differently only in that timeline. This will not change the future for the main timeline, but it does allow the Avengers to jump back in time, grab the Infinity Stones, and then use them in the modern day.
Edge of Tomorrow
Edge of Tomorrow features Tom Cruise as Major Bill Cage, an officer unversed in battle, who becomes ensnared in a time loop during an alien invasion. As Cage relives the same day repeatedly, he teams up with a skilled warrior, played by Emily Blunt, to alter the course of the war.
Taking place in the middle of a war between humankind and an alien race known as “Mimics,“Edge of Tomorrowfocuses on Major William Cage as he struggles to fight back against the alien threat. During the battle, he kills an Alpha Mimic and is covered in its blood, but is mortally wounded in the process. After his death, he wakes up at the beginning of the day, caught in a time loop that will only end when the Omega Mimic controlling the loop is killed.
The time travel seen inEdge of Tomorrowis radically different from most others in the genre, focusing on a time loop shared by an entire invading army.Cage enters the time loop by sharing blood with the Alpha Mimic he initially kills, saving his own life and later the lives of his comrades.Now with the possibility of anEdge of Tomorrowsequelon the horizon, the hope that this unique sort of time loop will return is alive and well.
12 Monkeys
In 12 Monkeys, convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) travels back in time to learn the origin of a man-made virus that has unleashed worldwide chaos in the future. Terry Gilliam’s 1995 sci-fi movie, which boasts a cast that includes Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, Madeleine Stowe, and David Morse, is based on Chris Marker’s 1962 short film La Jetée and originated a 2013 TV series adaptation.
12 Monkeysis an incredible depiction of time travel, following the story of a convicted criminal named James Cole who is sent back in time as a part of his sentence. This is done in an effort to save the world, which has suffered at the hands of a terrible virus that has essentially made the planet uninhabitable.However, no matter how many times he is sent back in time, there is nothing he can do to prevent the virus from being released.
12 Monkeyshas since been remade in the form of a popular Syfy TV series, running for 4 seasons and radically changing the original narrative.
Time travel is unreliable in12 Monkeys,something that points directly to the main theme of the movie. James is sent to the wrong year several times throughout the film, first sent back to 1990 as opposed to 1996 and later even World War I. The time travel shown in12 Monkeysis simple in the way that it is inaccurate, and the film makes it clear that there is no changing the past, and nothing that James does can alter the fact that the virus will release in the future.
About Time
When Tim Lake learns that he, like all the men in his family, has the ability to travel back in time, he decides to use this ability to help him find love and improve his and his loved ones' lives.
One of many beloved time travel romance movies,About Timetells the love story of Tim Lake who, along with his male family members, can travel through time. He does this by closing himself in a cramped, dark place, usually a closet, and thinking back to the day he would like to time travel back to. This allows Tim to improve his love life, leading him to meet his true love, Mary.
The time travel mechanic inAbout Timeis one of the most simple, but it is also central to the plot of the film. Tim is restricted to only moving backwards, allowing him to relive days that he has already experienced with no opportunity to move forward.While being easy to understand, this also allows the movie to focus on the idea that time is valuable, and that people should value the moments they have with the people they love.
Back to the Future
Back to the Future follows teenager Marty McFly as he is inadvertently sent back to 1955, where he disrupts his parents' meeting. With the assistance of eccentric inventor Doc Brown, Marty must restore the timeline by ensuring his parents fall in love and find a way back to 1985.
Back to the Futureand its subsequent sequels are some of the most recognizable time travel movies of all time, cataloging the adventures of Marty McFly as he travels back in time in the iconic DeLorean time travel car. However, Marty’s presence in the past quickly begins to change the present.The film continues as Marty desperately tries to get his parents together, ensuring his birth and allowing the future to happen as intended.
The Back To The Future Trilogy’s 10 Most Iconic Scenes, Ranked
Each Back to the Future movie has memorable scenes, but which scenes from the science-fiction movies have proven to be the most iconic?
The DeLorean is what allows Marty to time travel inBack to the Future,and its mechanics seem quite simple compared to many different time travel movies. All it requires is plutonium to operate, though finding the plutonium to run the DeLorean is a problem Marty quickly runs into. Marty and Doc Brown fix this by instead harnessing the power of a lightning bolt, allowing Marty to travel back to the future.
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure follows the titular heroes, two high school students in 1980s California who must go on a time-traveling quest assembling historical figures in order to pass a history test and in doing so ensure a utopian future that they play a large part in. George Carlin stars alongside Reeves and Winter as Rufus.
One of Keanu Reeves' most lovable early films,Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventureis a remarkably simple time travel story with an easy-to-follow story and logic. Facing a history test that could alter the course of history, Bill and Ted must pass their class to assure that their music changes the world for the better. They are assisted by a man named Rufus, who travels back in time to meet them and show Bill and Ted the world’s history firsthand.
Taking notes from the TV seriesDoctor Whoand the similar space-faring phone booth that the show made so famous,time traveling inBill and Ted’s Excellent Adventurerelies solely on the machinery that makes it work.All they need to time travel is a phone booth with the right technology, as well as a phone booth that tells them where to go. It is all very simple, needing little explanation to carry on with the greater adventure.
Hot Tub Time Machine
Three estranged friends, along with one friend’s nephew, reunite for a ski trip vacation. After their hot tub malfunctions, they find they have traveled back in time to 1986, and must find a way to return to their own time.
Hot Tub Time Machineis a ridiculous adventure from beginning to end, starting with a group of middle-aged friends and their attempt to help their friend by bringing him to a ski resort that they all spent time together at years ago. While drinking in the hot tub at the resort, a mishandled energy drink douses the hot tub control panel in the midst of all the commotion.This accident opens up a wormhole, sending them all straight back to the past.
A sequel toHot Tub Time Machine,aptly titledHot Tub Time Machine 2,was released in 2015.
The idea of a hot tub turning into a time machine is a fun one, only made more interesting by the fact that there doesn’t need to be a lot of technological explanation to make it work. The control panel was tampered with, and because of this, the hot tub sent them to the past. Their actions end up altering the course of the future like many time travel films, but the general fun of the plot makesHot Tub Time Machinea fun, modernsci-fifilm to watch.
