Movies: Time Travel, Seriously.

Inspired by #SCC, The Best Serious Time Travel Flicks of… well… All Time.


Compiled here is a list of the best serious subject time travel movies. You will no doubt notice omissions, as I expect a certain amount of discourse from any ‘top films’ list. Keep in mind this is the first of a series of Paradox Posts and others fit better into a different category. Follow @flimgeeks on Twitter for more discussion.

12 Monkeys/La Jetée

Travel Method: The chair from A Clockwork Orange and a plastic tube.
Paradox Solution: Predestination Paradox – Cole’s not there to change the past, only to collect a sample for use in the future. Or he could just be insane.

The brilliant mind of Terry Gilliam brings us the first two on the list. Space Monkey James Cole [ Bruce Willis ] is sent back from 2035 to collect samples from the 90s to help cure a supervirus that has devastated mankind in the future. Snag in the plan when he’s sent to the wrong year, in a mental institution with a scene-stealing Brad Pitt, and ends up as the companion of his predestined love interest, psychoanalyst Madeleine Stowe. Experimental soundtrack, beautifully and eclectically shot while probing issues from future messiahs to the concept of memory.

Time Bandits

Travel Method: Holes in the universe, navigated by dwarfs with a map.
Paradox Solution: Damage Control repair crew for the space/time continuum

The first of the “Trilogy of the Imagination” that Gilliam himself refers to as a “trilogy about the ages of Man and the subordination of magic to realism.” This is not your Daddy’s science-based time travel movie. A journey through time and imagination; nothing short of a visual masterpiece of grunge and filth. This is Bill & Ted for smart people.

Donnie Darko

Travel Method: Consciousness and realization through a tangential universe.
Paradox Solution: Predestination Paradox – this is explained through use of a tangent universe and a physical and temporal theory.

Easily the most disturbing movie to make the list, as I still fear giant bunnies with strange voices to this very day. Richard Kelly paints a dark and mysterious portrait of time travel and, more importantly, of the moral and psychological implications of responsibility. Arguably Jake Gyllenhaal‘s breakout role, it also had the arthouse appeal to ‘A-list at the time’ actors like Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore. Foreboding and ominous from the opening act, the movie never lets you come to terms with anything that’s happening until the finale, where everything is set right for most.
Sidenote: Richard Kelly had nothing to do with the straight-to-DVD sequel, S. Darko, and is as disappointed in its creation as I am.

Primer

Travel Method: Accidentally stumble on creating a time machine. Oops.
Paradox Solution: Well, they don’t.

Part of the greatness of Primer lies in the first 15 minutes, as they really give you almost no idea of what is going on at all.  There’s a lot of quick cuts and fast editing that gives you no chance to even take a second to try and figure out they are witnessing.  Then, as things unfold, and you see what it is that they’ve accomplished, you sit on the edge of your seat wondering how things are going to unravel, because, of course, things are going to unravel.  Top drawer stuff from Shane Carruth who hadn’t done anything before, and has done nothing since.

The Fountain

Travel Method: Love and immortality.
Paradox Solution: Love and immortality.

The movie on the list with the least story and dialogue is also the most beautiful. Darren Aronofsky weaves a love story through three separate eras and the lives of a ‘Ponce de Leon‘ type character played by Hugh Jackman and his love, played by Aronofsky’s love, Rachel Weisz.
The project was resurrected after a cast shuffle with only half the budget, and that is perhaps the single greatest reason for it making the list as nothing stifles creativity like a huge blockbuster budget. Aronofsky’s ingenuity with macro-photography and practical effects helped prevent this flick from becoming a CGI heavy throwaway (Mission to Mars, Solaris remake) and turn it into a flick that is absolutely stunning with simply breathtaking visuals.

Run Lola Run

Travel Method: Running.
Paradox Solution: Multistring from omnipotent perspective

Think Groundhog Day meets 22 short films but in German. The story follows a woman, wonderfully portrayed by Franka Potente, who needs to obtain 100K deutschmarks in 20 minutes to save her boyfriend’s life… on the surface. Beneath that is a multi-faceted question of free-will vs. determinism unraveled at breakneck speeds. Tom Tykwer delivers not only brilliant development with a tinge of humour and classic film homages, but also an an absolutely incredible soundtrack.

The Jacket

Travel Method: A straight jacket, a morgue tray and drugs.
Paradox Solution: Predestination Paradox – reverses the paradox by having a character travel to the future to affect his past. Or he’s just insane.

If you like this movie, then it’s enigmatically vague. If you don’t buy into it, it’s Plothole City. It is more psychological in nature, and an examination of not how one would time-travel, but why, brilliantly portrayed by Adrien Brody. Bleak and disturbing in both setting and theme, it ends the list by being the most mysterious about if he even traveled through time at all.

Coming Soon:

Most Iconic Time Travel Movies

Worst Methods of Time Travel in Movies

Worst Time Time Travel Movies of… well… All Time

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