The Time Machine (2002)
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An inventor travels through time to save his fiancée, only to find himself in a desolate future where humanity has regressed to a Stone Age-like existence.
The story
In 1899, inventor Alexander Hartdegen, a researcher at Columbia University, seeks to use his scientific prowess to change the past after the tragic death of his fiancée, Emma. He constructs a time machine and successfully travels back to 1899, but finds that fate remains elusive. Desperate to find a way to alter the timeline, he travels forward to the future. However, a malfunction during the transition leaves him stranded 800,000 years in the future. He awakens in a transformed New York City, where the Earth has healed and the human race has reverted to a primitive lifestyle, and he must navigate this strange new world to find a way home.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1899, inventor Alexander Hartdegen builds a time machine to save his fiancée, Emma, from a tragic fate. After failing to save her in the past, he travels to the future to find a way to change history. He ends up in the year 802,701, where the Earth has healed and humans have regressed to a Stone Age-like existence. He meets Mara, an 'Eloi' who speaks English, and her brother Kalen. They are hunted by 'Morlocks,' ape-like creatures. To save Mara, Alex enters the Morlocks' underground lair and meets an intelligent Über-Morlock. The Über-Morlock explains that the Eloi and Morlocks evolved from humans after the moon broke. The Über-Morlock warns Alex that he cannot change Emma's fate without causing a paradox. During a struggle, the Über-Morlock is pulled into the machine and dies. Alex travels to a wasteland in 635,427,810, where he realizes he must accept Emma's fate. He returns to the future, rescues Mara, and destroys the machine by jamming it with his pocket watch, creating a blast that kills the Morlocks. He ultimately chooses to stay in the future with Mara and the Eloi.
- First release year
- 2002
- Runtime (minutes)
- 96
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Simon Wells
- Writers
- John Logan · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Guy Pearce · Alexander Hartdegen; Orlando Jones · Vox 114; Samantha Mumba · Mara; Mark Addy; Jeremy Irons · Über-Morlock
- Genres
- post-apocalyptic; science fiction; action; adventure
- Themes
- Fate; Time Travel; Survival
- Tone and mood
- Action-oriented; Dystopian
- Premise and plot tags
- Time Travel; Post-Apocalyptic; Sci-Fi; Action
- Source material / true-story basis
- The 1895 novel by H. G. Wells and the 1960 film by George Pal and David Duncan.
- Reception
- The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics and grossed $123 million worldwide.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 28% · scale: percentage · review count: 156; Metacritic · score: 42 · scale: 100 · review count: 33
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Makeup · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was set in New York City instead of London.; The film's original release date was December 2001, but it was moved to March 2002 to avoid competition with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.; A scene was removed from the Moon destruction sequence showing pieces of the Moon crashing into buildings in New York because it looked too similar visually to the September 11 attacks.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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