Review of Timeline (2003) by Nigel D — 13 Jul 2009

Paul Walker and some 21st-century cohorts travel through time and wind up in a PG-13-rated "Braveheart" in order to fulfill a predestination paradox. It's not as bad as that sounds, really. Even Walker, who normally has the emotionality of a chunk of plywood, is watchable enough, and doesn't single-handedly derail what is definitely an ensemble piece.

But then, maybe that's the problem. Because nobody--from director Richard Donner on down--really excels in this movie. Everybody is just...fine. And the result is a watchable enough adventure that really just could have been something more. Walker flirts with the girl and otherwise runs around like a headless chicken. Neal McDonough plays a watered-down version of his typical tough guy. David Thewlis is not nearly crazy enough. Billy Connolly is required to play his role too straight. Michael Sheen is too puny to be menacing. Frances O'Connor and Anna Friel, as the two heroines, are neither terrible nor truly memorable. The biggest draw, I suppose, is Gerard Butler, who gives us muted shades of what he'll become in "300".

The result is a movie that doesn't, I think, deserve the drubbing it got from the critics, but doesn't rise above mediocrity, either. In a word, it's OK. Meh.