Review of Time After Time (2011) by Mike H — 04 Dec 2010

Time travel is always a tricky subject to tackle, whether in writing or making a film. So many questions arise, usually without a clear answer. Upon reading the subject of this film, I was very reluctant to watch this. I thought, "how in the world is Jack the Ripper going to stumble across some sort of worm hole in time or some time-traveling device". However, I must say I was impressed with the first act of this film. By using the character of H.G. Wells before he wrote the classic the Time Machine, as a character who actually believes in the ideas that the book were based on, I felt made the premise work thematically.

Despite this solid first act, the film quickly begins to unravel as H.G. Wells chases Jack the Ripper into the late 1970s. It is here that the movie falls prey to cliched and, quite frankly, lame fish out of water jokes which are clearly obvious considering H.G. Wells is from the late 1800's. Wells also gets sucked into a love affair that seems somehow ridiculously out of character despite us knowing very little of H.G. Jack the Ripper, on the other hand, quickly begins to get out of character himself, not only targeting prostitutes but random woman. To my understanding, serial killers, especially to the degree of the Ripper, have a certain M.O. that they do not detract from. Apparently the writer/director wasn't concerned with that.

This film had potential. It hinted at being an interesting action romp through time. It even touched on social issues that were relevant, but underdeveloped and not executed well. In the end, it was a mess in terms on tone and character development, and though the actors do the best they could with the material, it wasn't enough.