Guy Pearce stars as the intrepid time traveler in this updated
version of the classic tale, and this time, he has a name: Alexander Hartdegen.
He’s a college science professor in New York City who exchanges letters with a
young patent clerk named Einstein. Hartdegen is also about to propose to his
beloved Emma (Sienna Guillory) while on a romantic walk through Central Park.
Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned and Emma is murdered, just minutes
after accepting his hand in marriage, by a mugger, leaving Hartdegen
heartbroken. He locks himself in his lab and dives into mathematical equations,
which he uses as the basis to build himself a remarkable machine that can travel
through time.
Burning with an intense desire to save Emma, Hartdegen goes back in time to the
night of her murder in Central Park, where he gets her safely away from the
mugger--only to see her die from being run over by a horse-drawn coach.
Hartdegen realizes that while he may have the ability to build a time machine,
he still can’t comprehend why he’s unable to save Emma. And so he travels
forward in time to the future, in the hopes of finding an answer from a more
technologically advanced society. Yet Hartdegen isn’t still prepared for what he
will find.
Directed by Simon Wells, a direct descendant of H.G. Wells, The Time Machine
remake is a superb update of the classic novel, which producer George Pal
immortalized in his landmark 1960 movie. The nuclear war of the 1960s has been
replaced here with the catastrophic destruction of the moon, thanks to
overdevelopment for a lunar colony. This serves as the flashpoint which creates
the Eloi/Morlock future. The Eloi culture is well-thought out this time, with
the harvesting of the peaceful Eloi by the beastly Morlocks more reminiscent of
the rounding up of the humans in the original Planet Of The Apes.
Instead of being blond-haired beach bunnies, the Eloi are presented as a more
well-rounded society who are a blend of all the races of humanity. Guy Pearce is
also a great choice for the lead role; he gives a more balanced performance--and
is thus more believable--as a man of science who’s not afraid to fight for what
he thinks is right. Samantha Mumba is extremely engaging as Mara, and Orlando
Jones makes the most out of what is essentially a cameo role. My only quibble
here is that the make up on the Morlocks looks somewhat fake--and that overall,
the new Morlocks don’t hold a candle to their predecessors in George Pal’s
version, who were far more intimidating. Yet the new version of The Time Machine
is very enjoyable, and while it can never replace the original film, it can
certainly stand proudly beside it to make a fun time travel double feature.
--SF
Main Review Page | Science Fiction |Email Me |Buy This DVD Right Here!
