Plot: What’s it about?
“Timeline” tells us of the interesting concept of time travel. Based upon the book by Michael Crichton, who has also given us “Jurassic Park”, “Disclosure” and “Coma” to name but a few, but something’s missing here. First of all, the cast is not your typical “A” list Hollywood types. It features Paul Walker, whom I refer to as either a young Keanu Reeves or a Keanu Reeves wannabe. In either case, I’d prefer the real thing, at least we know what we’re getting when Reeves appears on the screen. Known mainly for his roles in “The Fast and the Furious” movies, Walker is evidently trying to diversify himself and take some varied roles. I suppose he’ll have to keep trying after this performance. But the acting isn’t the thing that brings this movie down, it’s a combination of many different things…To take a line out of “The Breakfast Club” – “…I would have expected a little more out of a varsity letterman…” well, this has a parallel in director Richard Donner, who has given us some of the most enjoyable movies in the last twenty years. His “Superman” is still a great movie, the “Lethal Weapon” movies speak for themselves and “Maverick” remains near the top of my list as well. Still, a hit novel and a great director don’t always make for a great movie and this is living proof.
We begin in an archeological dig, perhaps reminiscent of those in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” or “The Exorcist”. Professor Johnston (Billy Connolly) and his son, Chris (Paul Walker) are in the midst of a dig. Chris has no interest in history and his girlfriend, Kate (Frances O’Connor) does – so there’s a problem. They’re looking for the ruins of a historic 14th Century French castle that would be the jewel in the professor’s crown. But these days everything is controlled by a ruthless corporation and in that we find that ITC is the corporation in question. Run by two scientists (Matt Craven and David Thewlis), they have accidentally discovered time travel. Well, not exactly. They’ve discovered a wormhole that only goes back to 14th Century France (conveniently enough, exactly the time and place to locate this castle that the team is looking for). In an effort to put FedEx and UPS out of business, they intended to “fax” matter from one place to another (they were trying to fax something from New Mexico to New York, but the package never arrived). There are, of course, the military personnel who go back in time to rescue the professor, who has been zapped back and is now a no-show in the present.
There is then a group of people, composed of all the stars of the movie who we’ve met so far, that dons 14th century garb and goes back presumably to get the professor, and then come right back to the present. Naturally it doesn’t work and no sooner do they go than a member is killed and he mistakenly sets off a grenade. Now the time machine is broken and the scientists are working against the clock to fix it, lest our heroes would have to live out their lives 600 years in the past. It’s not that “Timeline” is a bad movie, the acting is so-so, though it feels as if most of the dialogue was improved. I just found that we don’t really care about the characters. I found myself only waiting to see them in the past and this was done just to get some pretty good battle scenes. But even the battle scenes have a “been there, done that” feel to them. In the end, everything’s wrapped up in a neat little package and everyone’s no worse for the wear. I never read Crichton’s book, but I can bet that he probably made it more interesting than this movie. As for Donner, I’m sure he’ll go on to some better things as his track record has been relatively good, but my advice is to avoid this at all costs.
Video: How does it look?
What “Timeline” lacks in plot, it more than makes up for in the technical departments. While most new to DVD movies look good, I found that this one is one of the better I’ve seen. There is absolutely no edge enhancement to mention and all of the colors seem to leap off the screen. The 2.35:1 anamorphic image is one of Paramount’s better efforts. Many of the scenes take place at night and this would be when a lesser transfer would show artifacts or some grain, this doesn’t. The detail is sharp and I really couldn’t find anything that would take away from this splendid presentation. Try as I might to find something, this is one stellar-looking transfer!
Audio: How does it sound?
In the audio department, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack gets plenty of chances to flex its muscle as well. Seeing as how the entire movie was just an excuse to show pointless battles (ala “Gladiator” and “Braveheart”), we have a few of them. Fireballs launching and arrows flying across the screen are just a few of the things that make the surrounds light up. Things blow up in 14th Century France and though the LFE are dominant, they don’t drown out any of the dialogue. Speaking of dialogue (no pun intended), we’ll hear French and English (and Walker’s California surfer English) and some subtitles are added as well. This is a strong soundtrack and though it’s not the best out there, it’s something that can shake the room if you turn it up loud enough.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Paramount hasn’t given “Timeline” the royal treatment, but it wasn’t completely overlooked, either. We start out with “Journey Through Timeline”, which is a three-part documentary (though I consider it a featurette) beginning with “Setting Time”, The Nights of La Roque” and “Making Their Own History”. Essentially, all three parts tell how the script was made, what the actors went through to get into the parts, the physical construction of the sets, etc. A bit more interesting was the next featurette “The Textures of Timeline”. This concentrated on the costume design and I’m always amazed at the level of detail that goes into the costumes of a movie. Knowing that 99.9% of the people will never see how “aged” a costume is, it’s a testament to the Costume Designer, who has a thankless job. Two theatrical trailers have also been included.
