The Time Machine (2002)

Directed by: Simon Wells | 96 minutes | action, adventure | Actors: Guy Pearce, Mark Addy, Phyllida Law, Sienna Guillory, Laura Kirk, Josh Stamberg, John W. Momrow, Max Baker, Samantha Mumba, Jeremy Irons

Author HG Wells (1866 – 1946) is a phenomenon in the science fiction world. This Brit penned masterpieces such as ‘War of the Worlds’, ‘The Invisible Man’ and ‘The Time Machine’. The work of this best man was devoured by countless fans of fantastic stories. In Hollywood, Wells’s stories were also followed with great interest. It resulted in a slew of book adaptations, one of which was logically better than the other. Fortunately, the author did not live to see the cinematographic monstrosity ‘The Time Machine’ from 2002…

In ‘The Time Machine’, scientist Alexander Hartdegen (a colorless Guy Pearce) wants to prove that time travel is possible. The motive of this man of science is rather personal, because he wants to see his deceased wife again. Messing with the present and the past is the solution. Hartdegen’s plan turns out to be disastrous and instead of the past, he ends up 800,000 years into the future with his homemade time machine. A hard time when it’s eat or be eaten. Here he encounters a wild woman (pop singer Samantha Mumba makes an attempt at acting) and a band of vicious creatures in the form of the Morlocks. The leader of these creatures (Jeremy Irons is a face and money shortage) craves human flesh.

Where to start? What about the downright boring casting? Pearce lacks the charisma to carry this film. He’s definitely a good actor, but completely out of place in this kind of nonsense where it’s all about charisma and bravado. Heart edging is deadly boring. Even worse is the casting of the then popular Mumba. This singer does not convince for a second as an actress and quickly gets on the nerves. She does her best, but visibly struggles with her dialogues. Veteran Jeremy Irons is visibly brazenly filling his pockets here. He puts no effort into his game and skims his way to the finish line. Painful to watch.

In addition to bad acting, this production ‘treats’ you to lousy special effects and a weak tension. ‘The Time Machine’ has a slow tempo and pukes mercilessly. This is a snooze fest. No wonder this movie flopped mercilessly and only has losers. Irons and Pearce recovered, but Mumba was less fortunate. Fate was also less merciful to director Simon Wells who stopped making movies in Hollywood for nine years after this costly flop. His comeback in Tinseltown in 2011 resulted in ‘Mars Needs Moms’. Also a financial loss, as a result of which the filmmaker now spends his days as a direct-to-DVD filmer and cans cheap pulp that production companies such as The Asylum have a patent on. Tip: forget about making a time machine, because you won’t solve anything with it…