From what I have read, based is the key word in the phrase “based on the Michael Crichton novel” when one describes this film.
The movie opens with an archeological dig where Prof. E.A. Johnston (Billy Connolly, MRS. BROWN) searches for clues about a famed battle between Lord Oliver of England (Michael Sheen, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN) and Lord Arnaut of France (Lambert Wilson, CATWOMAN). The dig is funded by a mega-corporation run by Robert Doniger (David Thewlis, HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN). He has devised a teleportation machine that he hopes will put Fed Ex out of business. However, when the machine crosses wormholes, well, lets just say things end up in the past.
The “science” behind the film is flimsy at best and preposterous at worst. The point of the time travel is to put modern people in medieval times, so they can have an adventure. So the professor gets trapped in the past and his son Chris (Paul Walker, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS) along with his girlfriend Kate (Frances O’Connor, A.I.: ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE) and bruiser assistant Andre Marek (Gerard Butler, DEAR FRANKIE) go to save him.
There are other characters, but who cares about them — the film never makes us care about them. The film actually never makes us care about any of the characters. Besides rescuing the professor, the story chronicles Andre’s love-at-first-sight affair with Lady Claire (Anna Friel, ME WITHOUT YOU), who he knows will be hung as a spy.
The whole time travel tale is imposed on the story as false tension. The whole idea of them having to have clearance around them to teleport out is forced. The fact that they all have thingamajigs to teleport them back, but keep losing them is dumb. The whole film just reeks of idiocy.
Now let’s get to Paul Walker’s performance. He looks extremely weak in the company of the other more skilled performers — not that anyone else is even given a role worth playing. Director Richard Donner has made much better films like the original SUPERMAN, THE GOONIES and the LETHAL WEAPON series. I guess, he did the best he could do with the script and actors he was given. Though the production is nice and shiny, it can’t hide that the story is bland and forgettable.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
