Review of Timeline (2003) by Xgary X — 29 Sep 2010

When a group of archaeologists are sent back to the past to locate their missing mentor they are caught up in the seige of the castle they were excavating during the hundred years war. Timeline was on the receiving end of a critical savaging upon its release but I can't for the life of me see why.

It's predictable, corny and the plot is about as plausible as Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure, but it's a Hollywood family friendly adventure so of course it is. Richard Donner has proved time and again he is more than capable of producing entertaining, tongue in cheek light entertainment and Michael Crichton's story is just more of his usual brand of theme-park-meets-history that goes down so well the rest of the time.

The set pieces are fun, the swashbuckling well executed and the characters are all perfectly likable (with the possible exception of the gratuitous yank sleepwalked by Paul Walker). A perfectly servicable if forgettable family adventure that's no worse than many others of its ilk; if you liked A Knight's Tale, you'll probably like this too.