23 August 2011. The standard by which to judge any time travel movie is THE TIME MACHINE (1960) based on H.G. Well's classic novel. However, MILLENNIUM (1989) needs to be credited with attempting an even more ambitious storyline that incorporates the time paradox (what happens when someone goes into the past and attempts or accidentally changes it) which also evolved from a short story into a screenplay and novel by John Varley, a reputable science fiction writer in his own right and who has won the both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for science fiction. THE TIME MACHINE only briefly includes the time paradox and that is only hinted at and included just at the end of the movie for climatic effect. A better comparative movie might be BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART 2 (1989) that was released the same year as MILLENNIUM that is a family, comedy time travel movie that also contains the time paradox element that itself was consistent in its use of the paradox and incorporated some appealing visions of the future and its relative fluidity based on an intentional efforts to change the past. In some ways, BACK TO THE FUTURE and even FREQUENCY (2000) or KATE & LEOPOLD (2001) have retained their cinematic charm and integrity more so than MILLENNIUM. MILLENNIUM echoes back to the lingering 70s and 80s television genre with its stylish prime time soap operatic nature like Dynasty that seems to date MILLENNIUM and ironically freezes the movie in a period of cinematic history as does in some ways THE TIME MACHINE.
Nevertheless as a serious science fiction movie, it successfully focuses on the time paradox and plays with its convoluted nature to relatively good effect, much superior to infantile nature of the much more dated and cheesy JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF TIME (1967) or THE DAY TIME ENDED (1980), though unlike BACK TO THE FUTURE and more like THE TIME MACHINE, it ultimately ends up with the haunting suggestive climatic scene which in some ways however is much more unfocused yet supposedly uplifting by the musical score, suggestive of how, one of the classics of science fiction genre, THX-1138 (1979) ended a decade earlier.
More successful time travel movies that avoided the frozen cinematic period of its production than MILLENNIUM include the romantic comedy science fiction movie (that only indirectly suggests the time paradox in its storyline - the use of H.G. Well's original glasses that were broken and replaced) entitled TIME AFTER TIME (1979), PLANET OF THE APES (1968) that wows the audience by its climax involving its movie reveal that doesn't so much result in a paradox however, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970) (which also avoided a time paradox and laid out a suggested time travel option only at the end of the movie for a sequel to come), LOST IN SPACE (1998) that uses the time paradox for its big impact at the end of the movie, and even one of the best contemporary time travel movies 12 MONKEYS (1995) that did incorporate the time paradox but only briefly as LOST IN SPACE but to great effect for its climatic scene in much the same way that A BEAUTIFUL MIND (2001) or even A SIXTH SENSE (1999) accomplishes its revealed movie twist both considered classics in their own right.
There are also the more fanciful explorations of time fluidity consequences such as the romantic fantasy GROUNDHOG DAY (1993) and even the most current science fiction, action thriller time looping effort of SOURCE CODE (2011) which is an emotionally tinged and appealing movie that perhaps rivals or finally excels MILLENNIUM in its cinematic impact. Other time travel movie have not been as successful as either MILLENNIUM or entertaining as SOURCE CODE such as TIMELINE (2003), THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT (2004), A SOUND OF THUNDER (2005), and TIMECRIME (2007).
MILLENNIUM perhaps paved the way for subsequent enhancements to future time travel movies in the action genre, including THE FINAL COUNTDOWN (1980), THE TERMINATOR (1984), THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT (1984), and TIMECOP (1994) and one of the best contemporary uses of time travel as found in DEJA VU (2006). In some ways, MILLENNIUM for its relational and ambient impact, is comparative to THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE (2009) and the more occult-tinged PASSENGERS (2008) starring Anne Hathaway who also is involved in exploring the occurrence of a major airplane crash. MILLENNIUM, while its place in film history is frozen by its production values set in the 80s, has retained its place in time travel movies as a credit to its genre (but ironically itself stuck in time).
Nevertheless as a serious science fiction movie, it successfully focuses on the time paradox and plays with its convoluted nature to relatively good effect, much superior to infantile nature of the much more dated and cheesy JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF TIME (1967) or THE DAY TIME ENDED (1980), though unlike BACK TO THE FUTURE and more like THE TIME MACHINE, it ultimately ends up with the haunting suggestive climatic scene which in some ways however is much more unfocused yet supposedly uplifting by the musical score, suggestive of how, one of the classics of science fiction genre, THX-1138 (1979) ended a decade earlier.
More successful time travel movies that avoided the frozen cinematic period of its production than MILLENNIUM include the romantic comedy science fiction movie (that only indirectly suggests the time paradox in its storyline - the use of H.G. Well's original glasses that were broken and replaced) entitled TIME AFTER TIME (1979), PLANET OF THE APES (1968) that wows the audience by its climax involving its movie reveal that doesn't so much result in a paradox however, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970) (which also avoided a time paradox and laid out a suggested time travel option only at the end of the movie for a sequel to come), LOST IN SPACE (1998) that uses the time paradox for its big impact at the end of the movie, and even one of the best contemporary time travel movies 12 MONKEYS (1995) that did incorporate the time paradox but only briefly as LOST IN SPACE but to great effect for its climatic scene in much the same way that A BEAUTIFUL MIND (2001) or even A SIXTH SENSE (1999) accomplishes its revealed movie twist both considered classics in their own right.
There are also the more fanciful explorations of time fluidity consequences such as the romantic fantasy GROUNDHOG DAY (1993) and even the most current science fiction, action thriller time looping effort of SOURCE CODE (2011) which is an emotionally tinged and appealing movie that perhaps rivals or finally excels MILLENNIUM in its cinematic impact. Other time travel movie have not been as successful as either MILLENNIUM or entertaining as SOURCE CODE such as TIMELINE (2003), THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT (2004), A SOUND OF THUNDER (2005), and TIMECRIME (2007).
MILLENNIUM perhaps paved the way for subsequent enhancements to future time travel movies in the action genre, including THE FINAL COUNTDOWN (1980), THE TERMINATOR (1984), THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT (1984), and TIMECOP (1994) and one of the best contemporary uses of time travel as found in DEJA VU (2006). In some ways, MILLENNIUM for its relational and ambient impact, is comparative to THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE (2009) and the more occult-tinged PASSENGERS (2008) starring Anne Hathaway who also is involved in exploring the occurrence of a major airplane crash. MILLENNIUM, while its place in film history is frozen by its production values set in the 80s, has retained its place in time travel movies as a credit to its genre (but ironically itself stuck in time).