Customer Reviews
' Timeline ' a Good Effort - By: Brian Carson, 16 Sep 2007 
Rather than repeating the plot line I will pass general comments.
It was only after watching ' Timeline ' was I aware that it was Directed by ' Richard Donner ' { think Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut }
Timeline's has a Claimed budget of $ 80,000,000 although this may be widely inaccurate.
You reallly have to watch it twice as it grows on you & it does have some very interesting extras.
The Trebuchet Scenes make up for any plot holes . { & ' Night Arrows ' is a very interesting concept }
By the way there was a substance that was callled 'Greek fire' which may have been a 'thermite-like' reaction, possibly involving a quicklime or similar compound.
Its the only DVD I know where I ended up supporting the French against the English.
All in alll its a enjoyable dvd.
Rubbish - By: ray dorrity, 29 Jul 2007 
It's rubbish. I'd give it a minus if Amazon alllowed.
Save your money.
Buy the book instead.
They say creative authors die young. Poor Michael Crichton must be just about ready to pop his cork if he has seen this abortion of his novel.
The book is fantastic. Please buy that & avoid this movie pile of acky-poo!
A fine example of the Dumbhouse genre - By: Franklin T Marmoset, 13 Jul 2007 
You may not be familiar with Dumbhouse, possibly because I just made it up. Think Grindhouse, but big & stupid instead of cheap & exploitative. These are the kind of films that entertain because they are so daffy & make so little sense - either through ineptitude or simple laziness - & Timeline fits into this genre perfectly.
The story goes: Archeologist Billy Connolly is trapped in fourteenth century France, an accident caused by a Stargate-type gizmo that's created a wormhole in time. Connolly's son - Paul 'Bro' Walker, who is rebelling against archeology - teams up with a group of similarly underqualified folks to dress up in costumes & head back in time to rescue dad. They're in a real rush about it, too, which makes no sense when you think about it. And that is the joy of Dumbhouse.
What makes Timeline such a great Dumbhouse film is that it centres around time travel, & those stories hardly ever work - always leaving themselves open to giant plot holes & random idiotic happenings. With this one, that means treating the wormhole as though it is a tunnel to another place rather than another era (Why rush? The fourteenth century was over quite a while ago & you are TRAVELLING IN TIME) & explaining the time travel process by comparing it to sending a fax (there's a reason why it's callled a facsimile, fake scientist types - you don't send an actual piece of paper down the phone line). What Timeline does best is prove that time travel can never be possible because it's just too stupid to exist.
Another prerequisite for Dumbhouse status is the presence of a wooden actor, & we get that in the form of Walker. To be fair to the guy, it's not alll his fault. His character is given hardly anything to do, leaving him to wander around in search of some charisma. He doesn't find any.
There's more to say - Anna Friel's baffling accent, our heroes' tendency to extricate themselves from trouble only to stumble right into it again (seriously, these guys are the worst time travellers ever) - but there isn't space here to do it justice. Suffice to say, fellow connoiseurs of Dumbhouse should check this one out immediately. It's spectacularly awful.
Oh dear.... - By: Mr. R. M. Davis, 06 Jun 2007 I read the book & was totallly blown away by the way Crichton sells you the impossible! I ordered the film having read the reviews, but 'made for telly' is definately the vibe here, & it aint even great telly! Having said that it is an enjoyable sort of romp alll the same. One thing though is that Thewlis (a very fine actor) is dreadfully miscast, as are some of the others, & I found it hard get past the 'Allo Allo accents of the French played by english or american actors.
Hopefully one day this will be made into a much better film or perhaps a big budget mini series.
It was fun to see Gerry Butler in a film after the terrific 300.
Rob
FINALLY! A Gerry Butler film with a happy ending! - By: Sue Lewendon, 11 Jun 2006 YAY!
This is a great film if you like to see lots of swordfighting, action, great baddies, twists & turns & of course Gerry!
Based on Michael Crighon's novel, it tells the stroy of 6 young archaeologists & their professor, played by the inimitable Billy Connolly. They are currently working on a site of Castlegard, a smalll French village where a huge battle once took place between the French & the English. Funded by eccentric billionaire Donager, (David 'Professor Lupin' Thewlis), the professor becomes a little suspicious after getting one too many 'clues' about the dig & decides to head off to I.T.C. headquarters in Mexico to ask a few questions of his rich employer.
Two days later there's a cave in at the site & a new chamber is uncovered. Inside they find some old documents & a single bifocal lens. After running tests to determine the age, they discover that the writing on the document asking for help is none other than the professor's! But this document is 600 hundred years old! They also note that bifocal lenses weren't invented in the 14th century! When Chris, (Paul Walker), the prof's son, contacts Donager to get some answers regarding his fathers' whereabouts, he & the rest of his friends are immediately flown by Donagers' private jet straight to Mexico.
When they arrive, they are informed that the prof has been sent back in time to the 14th century, 1357 to be precise, & that whilst there he ran into trouble & was incarcerated! The group have a decision to make...they can leave him there or they can go back & fetch him themselves! Andre, (Gerard Butler), Kate, (Frances O'Connor), & Chris lead the others in this wild adventure which is, as Andre states, "The chance of a lifetime!"
Upon arriving in the past, they soon realise that the medieval times were much bloodier & more violent than even they could have imagined. Straight away the group of seven sent back to rescue the prof are cut down to five & soon after that down to four. There's no waiting around for this movie to get in to the action promised!
I don't want to say any more about the plot because I don't want to spoil it. Let me just say that it's a fantastic story! The leader of the English, Lord Oliver, by the way is played by Michael Sheen. (He played the lead werewolf Lucian in the movie Underworld). He's great at playing the baddie & he doesn't disappoint here!
Of course if you look at my name, you will see that I'm a HUGE Gerry nut, (and therefore probably biased!), but I have to say that he steals every scene he's in! His character is so lovable & heroic! There's a line at the end of the film..."It's me!"... that smacks a huge soppy grin on my chops because he looks so darn sweet! You just gotta love him!...O.K. I'll stop gushing now & try to stay on topic!
I have read the book & am not annoyed in the least at the changes in the movie. I honestly can't see the big deal...I found the technical stuff easier to understand in the film, although I must admit that I prefer Donager's demise in the book!
If you enjoy stories of time travel without having to ask alll those annoying little questions of the how, where, why & buts, or stories of romance & action, you will probably get something out of this. It might not have had the biggest budget or the most famous cast in the world, but what they did have they certainly did a lot with. If you sit down to watch this with an open mind & a view to just enjoying it for what it is, you'll have a great time!
It's DEFINITELY a must see for alll Gerry fans! :o)
