Timeline (2003)

12% of critics liked it
(138 reviews)
51% of users liked it
(54,256 ratings)

Directing his first film since 1998's Lethal Weapon 4, Richard Donner helmed this big-budget adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel of the same name. Featuring a script by first-time screenwriter George Nolfi, Timeline begins in France in the near future. A group of students from Yale are there… More Directing his first film since 1998's Lethal Weapon 4, Richard Donner helmed this big-budget adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel of the same name. Featuring a script by first-time screenwriter George Nolfi, Timeline begins in France in the near future. A group of students from Yale are there studying a medieval site, when their professor, played by Billy Connolly, mysteriously goes missing. To make matters more enigmatic, the students are then taken back to the United States by a shadowy technology company called ITC, led by Robert Doniger (David Thewlis). The eccentric Doniger explains that because of a machine that his company built, their professor is trapped in 14th century France. In order to rescue him, two of the students, Chris Hughes (Paul Walker) and Kate Erickson (Frances O'Connor), along with Andre Marek (Gerard Butler), an archeological site manager, must travel to France, circa 1357, amid archaic war, deadly diseases, and other unexpected pitfalls. Meanwhile, David Stern (Ethan Embry), a third student, stays behind to keep an eye on the shady Doniger. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 2 hr. 18 min.
Directed By: Richard Donner
Written By: Jeff Maguire, Robert Nolfi
Genres: Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Nov 26, 2003 Wide
On DVD: Apr 13, 2004
Studio: Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
This big-budget adventure is based on a recent Michael Crichton thriller, though its premise is too stale to instill the sense of wonder critical to great sci-fi.
Robert Koehler, Variety
Yet another case of making time travel a messy ordeal rather than a load of fun, Timeline lacks the consistent tone, pace and point of view for either a science fiction thriller or medieval war adventure.
Ed Park, Village Voice
C'est la 'B'! Timeline is crudely written, haphazardly acted, and improbably fun.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's like Back to the Future without the laughs.
Richard Harrington, Washington Post
Time travels, but it sure doesn't fly by in this debacle.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Resembles a Star Trek episode by way of Scooby-Doo.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Weakly entertaining Middle Ages fantasy.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
A competent cast keeps this eccentric time travel movie (based on a Michael Crichton novel) amusing if far from successful.
, Empire Magazine
Timeline takes the most ridiculous movie plot ever and multiplies it by ten.
Daniel Etherington, Film4
In Michael Crichton's oeuvre, this is more The 13th Warrior than Westworld. Silly larks for young boys with liberal parents.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...one of the least effective Crichton adaptations to date.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
It's all a bit too near fetched to be a great movie, it's still fun.
Joe Lozito, Big Picture Big Sound
If only I could go back in time to convince myself not to watch this ludicrous time travel yarn which 'faxes' a group of uninteresting characters back to the 1300s to screw up the space-time continuum.
James O'Ehley, Sci-Fi Movie Page
It is just bland and easily forgettable.
Jason Zingale, Bullz-Eye.com
It comes up short in both plot and quality.
Garth Franklin, Dark Horizons
At two hours and even with the rushed feel it still feels overly long and worst of all -- cheap.
Scott Collura, Now Playing Magazine
They should have called this Time Waste...
Mark Collette, Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)
Jeff Maguire, in adapting Crichton's novel, clearly had trouble explaining all the nuances of the story with the constraints of a Hollywood time limit.
Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy
With the exception of the original "Jurassic Park", films based on Crichton's novels have been not only unsuccessful but horrendously awful.
Vince Koehler, Entertainment Spectrum
This offers a mystifying look at the future with a mind-bending twist.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Tim S

A pretty forgettable film that goes nowhere fast.
xGary X

When a group of archaeologists are sent back to the past to locate their missing mentor they are caught up in the seige of the castle they were excavating during the hundred years war. Timeline was on the receiving end of a critical savaging upon its release but I can't for the… More
When a group of archaeologists are sent back to the past to locate their missing mentor they are caught up in the seige of the castle they were excavating during the hundred years war. Timeline was on the receiving end of a critical savaging upon its release but I can't for the life of me see why. It's predictable, corny and the plot is about as plausible as Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure, but it's a Hollywood family friendly adventure so of course it is. Richard Donner has proved time and again he is more than capable of producing entertaining, tongue in cheek light entertainment and Michael Crichton's story is just more of his usual brand of theme-park-meets-history that goes down so well the rest of the time. The set pieces are fun, the swashbuckling well executed and the characters are all perfectly likable (with the possible exception of the gratuitous yank sleepwalked by Paul Walker). A perfectly servicable if forgettable family adventure that's no worse than many others of its ilk; if you liked A Knight's Tale, you'll probably like this too.
EightThirty .

11/07/2010 (TELEVISION) I caught this on TV the other night and decided to watch it. I saw this years back and I remembered that it was good. It is quite interesting and from what I know I think it is also a novel. If this is a novel then I have no doubt the book was better and… More
11/07/2010 (TELEVISION) I caught this on TV the other night and decided to watch it. I saw this years back and I remembered that it was good. It is quite interesting and from what I know I think it is also a novel. If this is a novel then I have no doubt the book was better and after watching the film, I can tell that it's got to be a great read. An alright choice for the "I have nothing better to do" occasions.
Curtis L

Well, I ruined most of the enjoyment from this movie by reading the book. It of course was way better. It all felt a bit rushed, and they kinda changed the entire story of alternate dimensions and what not for simplicity reasons, which was why it was interesting to begin with.… More
Well, I ruined most of the enjoyment from this movie by reading the book. It of course was way better. It all felt a bit rushed, and they kinda changed the entire story of alternate dimensions and what not for simplicity reasons, which was why it was interesting to begin with. Points added for having Billy Connolly, Butler and Sheen in it. The time travel paradoxes are out of control, but hey it's just a movie.
KJ P

There's no way that this could ever be fixed to be a great film, but it does have it's ups to it, and I think they overcome most of the failed scenes!
jay n

Mindless piffle in which talented actors like Michael Sheen, Gerard Butler and Frances O'Connor collect a paycheck for pretending that the ridiculous storyline has some kind of validity. But if you're just looking for something actiony that doesn't have to make sense,… More
Mindless piffle in which talented actors like Michael Sheen, Gerard Butler and Frances O'Connor collect a paycheck for pretending that the ridiculous storyline has some kind of validity. But if you're just looking for something actiony that doesn't have to make sense, here ya go.
Conner R

I can't even begin with how much I hate this movie. Let's start with the cast, Paul Walker and Gerard Butler. Two blockheads who can barely talk, I thought Vin Diesel and Paul Walker was the worst it could get. Then the script, thanks for destroying one of Michael… More
I can't even begin with how much I hate this movie. Let's start with the cast, Paul Walker and Gerard Butler. Two blockheads who can barely talk, I thought Vin Diesel and Paul Walker was the worst it could get. Then the script, thanks for destroying one of Michael Chrichton's best books. The plot was torn to shit and how is Paul Walker supposed to be taken seriously as a scientist? If that's the IQ of scientists now, everyone's in serious trouble.
Luke B

This film seems a lot older than 2003. Not in a bad way, the feel is very much cheesy 90's blockbuster, in a retro nostalgic kind of way. Perhaps not quite the big blockbuster it was trying to be, Timeline is still an enjoyable romping adventure. The time travel aspects are… More
This film seems a lot older than 2003. Not in a bad way, the feel is very much cheesy 90's blockbuster, in a retro nostalgic kind of way. Perhaps not quite the big blockbuster it was trying to be, Timeline is still an enjoyable romping adventure. The time travel aspects are so-so, just an excuse for some action. I liked the beginning, with a man returning and dying with his body slightly out of line. Perhaps this could have worked better as a conspiracy/mystery as those opening minutes are the best. The film does well to avoid that irritating "time" humour that invades most time-travel films. It's also interesting to watch now, with a cast that went on to much bigger and better things, mainly Sheen and Butler, giving impressive performances that obviously went some way towards them being noticed.
Derek A

I will admit, this movie had a lot of potential, and the book was wonderful (RIP in Michael Crichton). But this movie falls heavily short of expectations. Timeline is about a group of young archaeologists who travel back in time to 1357 France… More
I will admit, this movie had a lot of potential, and the book was wonderful (RIP in Michael Crichton). But this movie falls heavily short of expectations. Timeline is about a group of young archaeologists who travel back in time to 1357 France to rescue their professor. They travel back in time with the help of a secret experimental organization (ITC I think it was called). Realistic? By no means... Fun and entertaining? Could've been. What ensues is a boring plot of so-called "action." However, I will admit, the arrow battle in the end was a great scene, but the hand-to-hand battle that followed was horribly acted, short, boring, and pathetic. There was never a final climatic battle between the main antagonist and the main protagonist... hell, for that matter, the main villain in this movie wasn't even believable nor intimidating. All the characters were cardboard cutouts which is disappointing because the storyline was fairly interesting. One bright spot out of the whole movie was the acting of Gerard Butler who played Marek. If the movie would've been centered around his character, and gone more into detail about his love and desire for medieval leisures (like joisting, sword fighting, bow-and-arrows, etc), and maybe even giving him a bigger more powerful role, then this movie would've been 10 times better. Paul Walker easily gave the worst performance, but he was poorly cast because his character played such a small role. He seemed to overact to compensate for such short air time, but it was all-around awful. This movie is worth watching if you're into medieval films, but it will leave you with no desire to watch it again. Just don't expect too much.
Bruce B

Saw this movie when it came out in theathers, and then saw it again today. It was far better today, maybe it was the company (ex-wife). Anyway Costumes were great and kept you on the edge of your seat, ashame this type travel isn't possible, I am ready to go.
Mike S

Entertaining enough to be worth the watch, but that's mainly because I'm a sucker for time travel stories in general. I should probably have read the book by Michael Chrichton instead though, which I'm sure is a lot better and makes way more sense. But all in all, this… More
Entertaining enough to be worth the watch, but that's mainly because I'm a sucker for time travel stories in general. I should probably have read the book by Michael Chrichton instead though, which I'm sure is a lot better and makes way more sense. But all in all, this movie version was okay. Just be sure to leave your brain at the door.
Dean !

Not quite as good as I was expecting, feels pretty low budget to be honest. It has a good cast, nice idea but all to predictable to be honest.
vieras e

First of all, I haven't read the book so I cannot compare this film to it. A decent film, but a bit predictable when it came to the sarcophagus. (Still, I awwed at his joy when his ear got cut off.)
Megan S

The book was WONDERFUL. I didn't have high expectations for the movie since it starred Paul Walker, but it didn't even live up to those expectations. It was kind of obvious that the book wouldn't translate well to film. I kept waiting for Paul Walker's character… More
The book was WONDERFUL. I didn't have high expectations for the movie since it starred Paul Walker, but it didn't even live up to those expectations. It was kind of obvious that the book wouldn't translate well to film. I kept waiting for Paul Walker's character to say "Whoa!"
Jason S

Read the book. Don't waste your time on the movie.
danny d

the script was terrible, holes everywhere
Naughtia N

I liked this movie very much because I'm aways fascinated of time travel movies. This movie will not disappoint you and the presence of Paul Walker, Billy Connolly and Gerard Butler is marvellous.
Daniel P

The dodgiest Scottish accent I've ever heard on film, courtesey of the usually ok Paul Walker. Oh, and the story is terrible, the characters are awful, the direction a mess and the ending sucks. Worst Michael Crichton adaption ever!
Andrew F

I LOVED the book. It's one of my favorites. This movie was just okay. They left out too many parts and it was too choppy. I didn't care about any of the characters. Paul Walker was not right for the part. I, oddly, found this movie boring. Read the book instead.
Jason S

A decent sci-fi. Its a tad convoluted, and most people wouldn't be clued in on the history the movie represents, but it a low budget sci-fi that relies on its wits more than effects. It passes only just.