Themes: Time Travel, Future Barbarians, Haunted By the Past
Main Cast: Jeremy Irons, Guy Pearce, Samantha Mumba, Mark Addy, Sienna Guillory, Phyllida Law
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
The classic science fiction novel by H.G. Wells becomes this big-budget adventure directed by the author's great-grandson Simon Wells. Guy Pearce stars as Alexander Hartdegen, a scientist, professor, and inventor in 1895 New York City who believes that time travel is possible. The sudden and unexpected death of his fiancée spurs Alexander to build a time machine, which he hopes to use in an effort to change the past. When he is unable to change the past, Alexander hurls himself more than 800,000 years into the future, seeking answers about the nature of time, but instead encountering a dystopian world where humanity has divided up into two races, the peaceful Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks. Befriending the beautiful Eloi woman Mara (pop singer Samantha Mumba), Alexander must set out to save her from the underground world of the Morlocks when she is captured by them. Along the way, he is aided by Vox (Orlando Jones), a bio-mechanical being from the 21st century. Ultimately, Alexander makes a shocking discovery about the true nature of the Eloi and Morlocks and decides that the only way to change the future is to alter the present. Due to exhaustion, director Wells was briefly replaced during the last few weeks of production by Gore Verbinski, director of The Mexican (2001). The Time Machine co-stars Jeremy Irons and Mark Addy. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
For all that the 1960 version of The Time Machine captured imaginations, the visuals could not yet realize the more ambitious concepts in H.G. Wells' precautionary tale about technological advancement. It's the upgrades possible in 2002 that give the best excuse for remaking the film, carrying it past some clumsy weaknesses. This Machine undertakes original visual ideas with stunning panache, most notably the central time-lapse fast forward through 800,000 years of digitally changing climates and topography. A brief sequence of the moon breaking up into chunks, truncated in the wake of the terrorist attacks (originally, skyscrapers were showered with debris), offers a hint of what exciting things might come on DVD. The production is gorgeous in less predictable ways, such as the grand establishing shot of 1899 Manhattan, complete with a sea of horse-drawn carriages galloping down Central Park West. What keeps The Time Machine from riding its look to greatness is a hokey story line and an effete, affected performance from Guy Pearce, who slips in and out of character in distracting ways. (This may point to the inexperience of director Simon Wells, an animation veteran and the author's great grandson, seemingly employed as part of an ill-considered PR stunt.) The distant future will bother some viewers for its similarities to Planet of the Apes, and it's controlled by a subspecies of underground dwellers who represent the lower end of the film's production design. This version is in ways more complete than its 1960 counterpart, such as providing concrete motivations for Pearce's character, but it's also a greater slave to shoddily executed Hollywood dictates. Audiences there just for the CG should be able look past these in favor of what the film gets right, including an array of time travel conundrums. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Alan Young - Flower Store Worker; Omero Mumba - Kalen; Yancey Arias - Toren; Orlando Jones - Vox; Jeremy Irons - Uber-Morlock; Doug Jones - Spy Morlock; Lenny Loftin - Soldier #1; Dan McCann - Hunter Marlock; Gary Toy - Eloi; Connie Ray - Teacher; Craig Davis - Hunter Marlock; Max Baker - Robber; John Koyama - Eloi; Myndy Crist - Jogger; Hiro Koda - Eloi; Richard Cetrone - Hunter Marlock; Jacob Chambers - Spy Morlock; Clint E. Lilley - Hunter Marlock; Josh Stamberg - Motorist; Joey Anaya - Spy Morlock; Michael Chaturantabut - Eloi; Eddie Conna - Hunter Marlock; Jonathan Eusebio - Eloi; Roel Failma - Eloi; Jeremy Fitzgerald - Hunter Marlock; Bryan Friday - Hunter Marlock; Grady Holder - Hunter Marlock; Yoshio Iizuka - Eloi; Diana Lee Inosanto - Eloi; Malaea Chona Jason - Eloi; Dorian Kingi - Spy Morlock; Laura Kirk - Flower Seller; Mark Kubr - Hunter Marlock; Kevin McTurk - Spy Morlock; Jeffrey M. Meyer - Central Park Carriage Driver; John W. Momrow - Fifth Avenue Carriage Driver; Gail Monian - Eloi; R.C. Ormond - Eloi; Jeff Podgurski - Hunter Marlock; Maro Uo Richmond - Eloi; Thomas Corey Robinson - Soldier #2; Christopher Sayour - Hunter Marlock; Petra Sprecher - Eloi; Steve Upton - Hunter Marlock; Jonathan Valera - Eloi; Bryon Weiss - Hunter Marlock
Credit
Christopher Burian-Mohr - Art Director, Don Woodruff - Art Director, Ellen H. Schwartz - Art Director, Bruce Hill - Art Director, Lubo Hristov - Art Director, Industrial Light & Magic - Animator, Cinesite - Animator, Digital Domain - Animator, Tim Stevenson - Animator, Alkan Mike - Animator, Paul Anderson - Animator, David Gainey - Animator, David Latour - Animator, Mike Makara - Animator, Ken Ouellette - Animator, Laurel Smith - Animator, Tom St. Amand - Animator, Marjolaine Tremblay-Silva - Animator, Brad Parker - Character Animation, Dan Fowler - Character Animation, David Hodgins - Character Animation, David Lester - Associate Producer, Duke Marsh - Boom Operator, Mindy Marin - Casting, Jean-Louis Rodrigue - Choreography, Rick Wentworth - Conductor, Gavin Greenaway - Conductor, John Logan - Co-producer, Deena Appel - Costume Designer, Bob Ringwood - Costume Designer, Susan Anderson - Costume Designer, Carlos A. Araizqa - Costume Designer, Roberto M. Carneiro - Costume Designer, Claire Flewin - Costume Designer, Annie Garrity - Costume Designer, Mila Hermanovski - Costume Designer, Stacia Lang - Costume Designer, Robin E. McMullan - Costume Designer, Guy Miracle - Costume Designer, Rob Phillips - Costume Designer, Kathie Pierson - Costume Designer, Ann Powderly - Costume Designer, Joseph Reid - Costume Designer, Harry Rotz - Costume Designer, Leticia Sandoval - Costume Designer, Maria Sundeen - Costume Designer, Jill Thraves - Costume Designer, Michael H. Trueman - Costume Designer, Althea A. Unrath - Costume Designer, Emily Wyss - Costume Designer, Ellen H. Schwartz - First Assistant Director, William S. Beasley - First Assistant Director, Linda Montanti - First Assistant Director, Simon Wells - Director, Greg Michael - Second Unit Director, Wayne Wahrman - Editor, Arnold Leibovit - Executive Producer, Laurie MacDonald - Executive Producer, Stephanie Allen - Executive Producer, Jorge Saralegui - Executive Producer, Barbara Lorenz - Hair Styles, Cheri Ruff - Hair Styles, Jacklin Masteran - Hair Styles, Shirley Dollé - Hair Styles, Charlotte Harvey-Garoutte - Hair Styles, Rick Kelsey - Hair Styles, Thom Timan - Hair Styles, Andrew Ullman - Location Manager, Klaus Badelt - Composer (Music Score), Geoff Zanelli - Composer (Music Score), Scott Eddo - Makeup, Margaret Elliott - Makeup, Greg Nelson - Makeup, John M. Elliott, Jr. - Makeup, Christopher Nelson - Makeup, Jake Garber - Makeup, Scott Hersh - Makeup, Heidi Kulow - Makeup, Robin Slater - Makeup, K.N.B. EFX Group - Makeup Special Effects, Stan Winston Studio - Makeup Special Effects, David E. Diano - Camera Operator, Vern Nobles, Jr. - Camera Operator, Adam Kowalski - Camera Operator, Oliver Scholl - Production Designer, Donald M. McAlpine - Cinematographer, Lisa Bechard - Production Manager, Walter Parkes - Producer, David Valdes - Producer, Catherine Sudolcan - Producer, David MacMillan - Production Sound, Nick Wollage - Recording, John F. Castro - Research, Victor Zolfo - Set Designer, Gary Diamond - Set Designer, Darrell L. Wight - Set Designer, Bill Taliaferro - Set Designer, Bruce K. West - Set Designer, Andrew Miller - Special Effects, Jon G. Belyeu - Special Effects, Industrial Light & Magic - Special Effects, Bill Lee - Special Effects, George Zamora - Special Effects, Digital Domain - Special Effects, Jan H. Aaris - Special Effects, Eric P. Cook - Special Effects, Michael Dueñas - Special Effects, Lucinda Foy - Special Effects, Ronald Goldstein - Special Effects, Tonja Leialoha Hill - Special Effects, J.C. Machit - Special Effects, Christine Onesky - Special Effects, Kristina Raditcheva - Special Effects, David A. Schroeder - Special Effects, Robert Simokovic - Special Effects, Harry J. Smith Jr. - Special Effects, Robert M. Sturgis - Special Effects, Fred Tessaro - Special Effects, Mario Vanillo - Special Effects, Mike Wever - Special Effects, Leonel Zapien - Special Effects, Mark Mangini - Sound/Sound Designer, David MacMillan - Sound/Sound Designer, Kelsee Devoreaux - Stunts, Richard Epper - Stunts, Tim Gallin - Stunts, Steve Kelso - Stunts, Brian Imada - Stunts, Scott Workman - Stunts, Dartenea Bryant - Stunts, Roy Farfel - Stunts, Jared Eddo - Stunts, David Wald - Stunts, Steve Blalock - Stunts, Robert Alonzo - Stunts, Clayton Barber - Stunts, Louella Boquiren - Stunts, Damon Caro - Stunts, Nikia Charles - Stunts, Laura Dash - Stunts, Kevin Derr - Stunts, Orlando Estrada - Stunts, Andre McCoy - Stunts, Bob McDougall - Stunts, Angela Meryl - Stunts, Ernest Rhea - Stunts, Raffis Sanders - Stunts, Mark Torabayashi - Stunts, T.J. White - Stunts, Jeff Imada - Stunts Coordinator, Bob Brown - Stunts Coordinator, Mark Mangini - Supervisor/Manager, Gregory Nicotero - Supervisor/Manager, Matt Sweeney - Special Effects Supervisor, David Lester - Unit Production Manager, John Logan - Screenwriter, Hiro Narita - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Hiro Narita - Additional Cinematography, Tim Clark - Production Assistant, Stephen Del Prete - Production Assistant, Carlos De La Torre - Production Assistant, Carolyn Garcia - Production Assistant, Elizabeth Jurado - Production Assistant, Erik Kieltyka - Production Assistant, Kevin O'Neil - Production Assistant, Michelle Rothburgh - Production Assistant, Scott Squires - Visual Effects Supervisor, James E. Price - Visual Effects Supervisor, Erik Nash - Visual Effects Supervisor, Thomas J. Smith - Visual Effects Supervisor, Eric Warren Lindemann - Sound Effects Editor, Elliot Koretz - Sound Effects Editor, Michael Chock - Sound Effects Editor, Justin Brandstater - Matte Artist, Kelvin McIlwain - Matte Artist, Louise A. Spencer - Unit Publicist, Joe Jackman - CGI Effects, James Peterson - CGI Effects, Charles Abou Aad - CGI Effects, Tom Allen - CGI Effects, Oscar Castillo - CGI Effects, Matthew Cordner - CGI Effects, Kevin Gillen - CGI Effects, Garman Herigstad - CGI Effects, Alan Kapler - CGI Effects, Markus Kurtz - CGI Effects, Bill LaBarge - CGI Effects, Michael Lemmon - CGI Effects, Aaron McComas - CGI Effects, Ryo Sakaguchi - CGI Effects, Rob Stauffer - CGI Effects, Alexander Stephan - CGI Effects, Hiroshi Tsubokawa - CGI Effects, Alfred Urrutia - CGI Effects, Andy Wilkoff - CGI Effects, Christopher Yang - CGI Effects, Jens Zalzala - CGI Effects, Aaron Ferguson - Creature Design, Aaron Holly - Creature Design, C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures - Digital Effects, Patrick McArdle - First Assistant Camera, A.J. Raitano - First Assistant Camera, Raman Rao - Gaffer, Joe Grimaldi - Gaffer, Miles Anderson - Gaffer, Sean P. Fickert - Grip, John McCondra - Grip, Sunny Johnson - Grip, Robin Knight - Key Grip, John Brian Lowry - Key Grip, Bryan Marincic - Key Grip, Edmundo D. Sepulveda - Key Grip, Lisa Dennis Kennedy - Post Production Supervisor, Lisa Marie Serra - Post Production Supervisor, Brigette Lester - Production Coordinator, Barbara Mah - Production Coordinator, Mamie McCall - Production Coordinator, Jeff Butcher - Properties Master, Glenn Forbes - Properties Master, Scott Maginnis - Properties Master, Steve Maslow - Re-Recording Mixer, Trudy G. Ramirez - Script Supervisor, Sharon Mae West - Script Supervisor, Sunday Stevens - Second Assistant Director, Thomy Harper - Second Assistant Director, Josephine Nericcio - Special Effects Assistant, Sonny Pettijohn - Special Effects Assistant, Charles Brown - Steadicam Operator, Andrew "Buzz" Cooper - Still Photographer, Tom Bertino - Supervising Animator, Doug Masters - Supervising Animator, Kimberly K. Nelson - Visual Effects Producer, Kevin Elam - Visual Effects Producer, Julian Levi - Visual Effects Producer, Thomas J. O'Connell - ADR Mixer, Rick Canelli - ADR Recordist, Martha Johnston - Assistant Art Director, Lauren Polizzi - Assistant Art Director, Robert Fechtman - Assistant Art Director, Brett Laumann - Assistant Chief Lighting Technician, Richard A. Clark II - Assistant Location Manager, Dwayne Lyon - Best Boy Electric, Robert Crockett - Best Boy Grip, Kirk Greenberg - Best Boy Grip, John Mazzola - Best Boy Grip, Rodney Veto - Best Boy Grip, Kristen Kelly - Buyer, Dorit Oberman - Buyer, April Keley - Camera Loader, Amanda Harding - Casting Associate, Steven R. Mathis - Chief Lighting Technician, Gary A. Krakoff - Construction Coordinator, Ed Callahan - Dialogue Editor, Charles Ewing Smith - Dialogue Editor, David A. Whittaker - Dialogue Editor, Charles Brown - Dolly Grip, Johnny S. Beyers - Electrician, Kevin Tiesiera - Electrician, Sophia N. Von Bülow - First Assistant Accountant, Randy Bricker - First Assistant Editor, John Cucci - Foley Artist, Dan O'Connell - Foley Artist, John Roesch - Foley Artist, Michael Broomberg - Foley Artist, Alyson Moore - Foley Artist, Steve Tushar - Foley Editor, Marcy Craig - Key Costumer, Robin Koenig - Leadman, Maria DeVane - Post Production Accountant, Patsy DeShields - Production Accountant, Jim Turner - Production Controller, Eileen Dennis - Second Assistant Accountant, Jan Ruona - Second Assistant Camera, Emily McGovern - Second Second Assistant Director, Tom West - Set Dresser, Glenn M. Carrere - Set Dresser, Eric Hill - Set Dresser, Scott G. Jones - Set Dresser, Christine Sysko - Set Dresser, Mike Thurman - Set Dresser, Christine Wick - Set Dresser, Jimmy Jackson - Set Dresser, Stephen C. Brandt - Set Production Assistant, Tudor Jones - Set Production Assistant, John Reeves III - Set Production Assistant, Syd Dutton - Visual Effects, Illusion Arts - Visual Effects, Bill Taylor - Visual Effects, Cinesite - Visual Effects, Victor Zolfo - Set Decorator
