ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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If the movies below don’t inspire some fresh replies, I’m not sure what will!

I know I’m in the minority, but I think The Time Machine (2002) is as good as the 1960 classic. It tells its own version of the H.G. Wells with new things to think about and spectacular FX and a great cast.

Timeline (2003) tells a unique time-travel story that involves both scientists and historians — which is certainly an interesting combination.

Equilibrium (2002) looks a bit like The Matrix, but the basic premise is completely different — and it invents something “gun fighter” which remarkably like martial arts.
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The Time Machine (2002)



I had a problem with this movie when I first saw it. I thought the idea that Dr. Alexander Hartdegen would give up the idea of preventing his fiance's death after one try was ridiculous.

Admittedly it does seem like he gave up too quickly, but the Morlock leader (Jeremy Irons) says something important to Hartdegen that I missed the first time I saw the movie, and it explains why Hartdegen can't actually save her.

If you were bothered by that aspect of the plot and missed the line that clears up the confusion, it has to do with the idea that the time machine was invented as a direct result of the girl's death and Hartdegen's obsession with saving her.

But if he succeeds in saving her, then his reason for inventing the time machine no longer exists — so Hartdegen won't invent it, and the girl won't be saved.

When I realized that the thing I thought was a serious flaw in the movie was actually its greatest strength, I was able to appreciate the film for the cinematic masterpiece it is.

Director Simon Wells, the great-grandson of H.G. Wells, did an amazing job. I consider this movie a worthy successor to the 1960 classic.
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Timeline (2003)

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Richard Donner directed this ambitious time travel yarn that presents a different kind of time machine than we're used to seeing. The time travelers are sent back by the machine -- they don't take it with them -- and the process has a very adverse affect on the bodies of the travelers.

The story focuses on the concept that changes in the past cause the entire timeline to be rewritten from the point of the change and continuing into the future.

Nothing new there.

What is new are the 14th century battles we get to see when the characters become involved in some very serious French history. This one is highly recommended.
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Equilibrium (2002)



If you've ever wondered what "The Matrix" would have been like if Batman had been played by Keanu Reeves, leaving Christian Bale free to play Neo, this movie will give you a good idea.

It's all about an oppressive society that outlaws emotions and requires all its citizens to take regular doses of a drug that suppresses their feelings.

A noticeable predominance of long black coats on gun-wielding guys with straight black hair gives this movie a Matrix-wannabe flavor, but it really does have a message about oppression and government control and people who deny their humanity.

Put briefly, the message is, "All that stuff is bad" — and that's no surprise, of course, but the movie is enjoyable.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)