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The Time Machine Details

2002 Certificate PG
  • Rated:
  • 50
  • from 6439 members

This adaptation of the classic sci-fi adventure tale by H.G. Wells, directed by Simon Wells (the great-grandson of the author), stars Guy Pearce as Alex Hartdegen, an absent-minded New York professor preoccupied with what passes for technology at the turn of the 20th century. However, the one thing that can distract him from .. Read more

Starring Guy Pearce, Mark Addy, Phyllida Law, Samantha Mumba
Director Simon Wells
Genres Sci-Fi/Fantasy

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The Time Machine

This adaptation of the classic sci-fi adventure tale by H.G. Wells, directed by Simon Wells (the great-grandson of the author), stars Guy Pearce as Alex Hartdegen, an absent-minded New York professor preoccupied with what passes for technology at the turn of the 20th century. However, the one thing that can distract him from his calculations is his love for Emma (Sienna Guillory), his bride-to-be. When tragedy strikes and he loses Emma, Alex uses the time-travelling machine that he's built in secret to change the present by going into the past. When that fails to alter fate, he leaps forward in time, eventually landing 800,000 years in the future, an era where humanity has splintered into two races--the docile Eloi and the ferocious Morlocks. There Alex befriends two of the Eloi (Samantha and Omero Mumba) and attempts to help them resist almost certain death at the hands of the Morlocks.
Like Pearce's character, this version of the novel is fascinated with technology and uses a daunting array of special effects. The fast-paced film was apparently not made without incident--Wells reportedly had a nervous breakdown during the shoot and was temporarily replaced by director Gore Verbinski (THE MEXICAN) for some scenes. Regardless of production difficulties, THE TIME MACHINE is an engaging spectacle that's anchored by Pearce and enhanced by the commanding appearance of Jeremy Irons.

Starring Guy Pearce, Mark Addy, Phyllida Law, Samantha Mumba, Jeremy Irons
Director Simon Wells
Studio WARNER HOME VIDEO
Run time DVD: 1 hr 32 mins
Certificate Certificate PG
Genres Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Language DVD: English
Dubbed French, Italian
Hearing-impaired English, Italian
Subtitles DVD: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Released DVD: not available
Production year: 2002
Format DVD
  • Critics' reviews (2) of The Time Machine

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  • Confused and unsatisfactory version of Wells' novel, even if it is directed by his great-grandson. The narrative is used merely as a peg for special effects.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
  • If you were transfixed by the 1960 George Pal version of HG Wells' time-travelling tale, you'd have every right to be... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
  • Most helpful member's review of The Time Machine

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  • 14 out of 16 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    tragic and touching story

    The first five minnutes of it, I really started getting into it, it has a different story line to the original.

    The story is a about a professor (guy pierce) who looses his girl friend and he creates a timemachine to go back and save her. It really is a good film and I can watch it over and over again, you can really feel the pain and loss guy pierce is going through in the scene when he loses his girl friend. This film explane's alot of things the original didn't. Its kind of a romatic movie.

    You either love it or you hate it.

      • AMAR JAMIL from Oxford
  • Most recent members' review of The Time Machine

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  • 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 3 stars

    Nice update...

    When I was young I read alot of HG Wells and loved the original film. Intrigued by this new telling of the tale and wasn't particularly disappointed. It's handled very well by the able cast and is pleasant viewing. If you want a challenging film, look elsewhere but worth a look on a rainy Sunday afternoon!

      • C Murdoch from Glasgow
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Average rating: 3.00   60% from 1 member

by: A Hodgson from Halesowen, West Midlands

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    • This adaptation of the classic sci-fi adventure tale by H.G. Wells, directed by Simon Wells (the great-grandson of the author), stars Guy Pearce as Alex Hartdegen, an absent-minded New York professor ...