Top 5: Time travel films

Time travel has been the subject for countless movies for generations – it seems we are fascinated by the prospect of being able to transcend the boundaries of space and time. Here are five which I consider to be among the greatest ever made…

1. Back to the future – 1985

If you ask any person to name a film with time travel, I can’t imagine that too many people wouldn’t think of the Back to the Future series. Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is inadvertently transported back to 1955 in the now iconic DeLoreon car and accidently causes his parents not to meet and fall in love. Stuck 30 years in the past, he has to play “wing-man” to his Dad and help his parents get together. There are entertaining roles all through the film, but the standout roles are Fox in his defining role as the short, plucky underdog that you just love to get behind, and the bully Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson). Inventor of the time machine Dr Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd), parents George McFly (Crispin Glover) and Lorraine (Lea Thompson) along with school principal Mr Strickland (James Tolkan) all turn in excellent performances that help add to the charm and entertainment factor of this now classic film.

2. Groundhog Day – 1993

Not all time travel films have to involve moving through decades, centuries or millennia. In Groundhog Day, TV Weatherman Bill Murray finds himself reliving the same day over and over again, reporting on the winter festival “Groundhog Day” in Punxsutawney. Unable to escape the continuous loop, the audience is treated to Murray running the gamut from fearful surprise, then the jubilant hedonism of his actions having no consequences, on to despair and depression, then finally being at peace with what’s happened. It’s a performance from Murray that showcases all his talents as a comedian, but also shows his depth of range as an actor. Even at its darker moments, it’s still a comedy and always manages to keep a smile on your face as he despairs of his situation. Directed by his fellow Ghostbusters actor Harold Ramis and featuring supporting roles from Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliott, it’s definitely on my list of films that everyone needs to watch.

3. 12 Monkeys – 1995

In the post-apocalyptic year 2035, humans now live underground after 99% of the population have been wiped out by a virus that was released in 1996. After linking the terrorist group “12 Monkeys” to the disaster, scientists decide to send convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) back in time to find out what happened in the hope that any information gained will help them develop a vaccine. There are excellent supporting characters in mental patient Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt) and the only person to believe that Cole is from the future, Dr Kathryn Railly (Madeline Stowe). As opposed to most films with Willis, his character James Cole isn’t a muscley hero that saves the day. Instead, after suffering the stresses of time travel and being locked up in an asylum (where he meets the excellent Pitt) and given many drugs, Cole is a mentally fragile anti-hero who’s visibly held together at the seams. Directed by Terry Gillam, the film oozes dark eccentricity in the future scenes but perfectly captures the intense confusion and disconnect from reality that someone would feel when transported back to a different time.

4. Terminator – 1984

From its synthesized, industrial themed soundtrack to the stoic robotic-ness (obviously!) of its futuristic antagonist, the optimistic promise of future technology very much comes back to bite the human race. In the year 2029, the machine army controlled by the Artificial Intelligence Skynet are on the verge of being defeated by the human resistance led by John Conner. In an effort to win the war, Skynet sends back a Terminator, a human-looking cyborg, to kill John Conner’s mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton) and erase his existence. Knowing this, John Conner sends back soldier Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) to protect his mother and stop the Terminator. Spawning several sequels, a TV show and a series of graphic novels, Terminator was a landmark film in an era where most scary movies were slasher and horror stories. After initially trying out for the hero Kyle Rees, Schwarzenegger immediately struck director James Cameron as much more suited to the role of the stoic antagonist Terminator and solidified his position as one of the most sought after action stars in the business.

5. Looper – 2012

As much as I wanted this list to be a variety of different actors, I can’t help but include another Bruce Willis film – Looper. In the year 2074, disposing of a murdered body is nigh on impossible due to the advancement of scientific technology, the only way to leave no trace is to send someone back in time where hitmen known as Loopers wait for the victim to appear and assassinate them. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is one such Looper who one day finds his future self (Bruce Willis) sent back to be killed, only Future Joe doesn’t want to die. What he does want is to prevent someone called The Rainmaker from existing in the future. Much like in Terminator, the race is on for Young Joe to find this person before Future Joe can kill them. Slick action sequences, creative story-telling and the powerful onscreen chemistry between Gordon-Levitt and Willis make this a compelling watch. Emily Blunt co-stars as the mother of a young child in danger of Future Joe, adding a touch of humanity to the tense confrontations and showing that it’s not all about guns and chasing. It’s also refreshing to have Willis as a complex character who has intentions that are deeply seated in the grey, murkiness of moral ambiguity.

Author – Steve, Bristol store