adventure to true comedy
There was a point about midway through “Timeline” when I thought the guy sitting next to me was on to something. He’d passed out 15 minutes into the film. And I mean, OUT COLD. No kid-ding. But just when I figured I couldn’t possibly handle any more of the bad acting, ridiculous storyline and wince-induc-ingly-lame dialogue, something unexpected occurred: I started laughing. So did everyone else in the theater (with the exception of Sleeping Beauty). Not sure how it happened, but in the home stretch “Timeline” went from being one hell of a dumb action-adventure to one of the fun-nier films of the year. The insipidness somehow became a source of comic relief. I don’t think that was director Richard Donner’s intention, though.
Based on a novel by Michael Crichton, “Timeline” tells the tall tale of a team of student archaeologists who travel back in time to 14th Century France to rescue their professor, intrepid Scotsman Edward Johnston (Billy Connolly). The search party, disguised in Medieval finery, is led by Johnston’s son, Chris (Paul Walker), and never mind that Chris isn’t Scottish or that it always seems as though he’s on the verge of stripping down to his board shorts and yelling, “Surf’s up, French dudes!” This is his excellent adventure, and we get to go along for the ride. And Chris isn’t just on a mission to track down his father, he’s doing his best to bed down one of the old man’s students, Kate (Frances O’Connor of “Bedazzled”). Kate, however, isn’t in the mood for love — at least, not right off the bat. Realizing that Chris’ interaction with the French could dramatically alter history, Kate must figure out a way to get everyone back to the future and, hopefully, ensure that 21st Century Parisians aren’t all talking like Jeff Spicoli.
So as you’ve probably deduced from the sarcasm, the casting of Walker was Donner’s biggest misstep. A gearhead cop is one thing (“2 Fast, 2 Furious”), but the son of a brilliant European scientist … uh-uh. Another flub: Setting the French up as the heroes, and the Brits the enemy. It doesn’t take an expert on current events to know where American audiences’ sentiments lie. (Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences and brief language. Running time: 116 min)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 26, 2003. Read the original PDF.