Critic Reviews

Timeline (2003) Rank 2 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Movie critics combined give Timeline (2003) a score of 2.0459 out of 4
based on (254) reviews
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0
Poor
(4)
Reviews by Score:
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Sacramento News & Review (Jim Lane)Sacramento News & Review (Jim Lane)
Director Richard Donner is in good form here, and he patches up the holes in the script by keeping the action moving lickety-split. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Sacramento News & Review (Jim Lane)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Supercala.com (John Venable)Supercala.com (John Venable)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.25 out of 4 stars for ninth symphony films ninth symphony films
The merits of Paul Walker's meager acting talents aside, there is something quite unsatisfying about seeing a film where surprises don't exist and the whole experience of getting to the end credits seems to be one constant thought of, "yeah, I knew that ...read the complete Timeline movie review at ninth symphony films
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)
It's all just a game, and even with my own fairy tale fantasies of being Princess Guinevere and meeting my very own dashing Lancelot reverberating in my memory, that isn't enough to keep me interested in this muddled mess of a movie. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for San Diego Union-Tribune (David Elliott)San Diego Union-Tribune (David Elliott)
The hack novel by Michael Crichton did not inspire anyone to the level of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court . ...read the complete Timeline movie review at San Diego Union-Tribune (David Elliott)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Hollywood.com (Guylaine Cadorette)Hollywood.com (Guylaine Cadorette)
The story, acting and visual effects fail to effectively blend together into a coherent sci-fi adventure. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Hollywood.com (Guylaine Cadorette)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
I felt too much of the movie consisted of groups of characters I didn't care about, running down passageways and fighting off enemies and trying to get back to the present before the window of time slams shut. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
Couldn't be sillier if Monty Python's knights who say "Ni!" turned up for an extended cameo. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) (Bob Bloom)Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) (Bob Bloom)
Timeline fails to grab you and sustain any feeling of wonder. The time travel is treated so matter of factly ... that it, too, cannot stir the imagination. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) (Bob Bloom)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Sacramento Bee (Joe Baltake)Sacramento Bee (Joe Baltake)
A goofy, curious entertainment -- something of a guilty pleasure, a film that invites you to jeer and laugh in equal measure. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Sacramento Bee (Joe Baltake)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) (Mark Collette)Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) (Mark Collette)
Jeff Maguire, in adapting Crichton's novel, clearly had trouble explaining all the nuances of the story with the constraints of a Hollywood time limit. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) (Mark Collette)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
There is nothing particularly wonderful about Timeline , but, other than Walker's acting, nothing particularly terrible about it, either. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
As fantasy-adventures go, Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy makes this one look like a Hobbit belch. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Internet Reviews (Steve Rhodes)Internet Reviews (Steve Rhodes)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Movie Eye (Frank Ochieng)Movie Eye (Frank Ochieng)
...a cocky and contrived contraption which gingerly dances around its Medieval-themed mediocrity...[an] overwrought costume drama ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Movie Eye (Frank Ochieng)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Daily News (Rob Lowman)Los Angeles Daily News (Rob Lowman)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)
Never quite thrilling, never quite dull, its overriding virtue is its competence. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Globe and Mail (Liam Lacey)Globe and Mail (Liam Lacey)
Plays out like a 1950s B-movie with a fat special-effects budget. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Globe and Mail (Liam Lacey)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Entertainment Spectrum (Vince Koehler)Entertainment Spectrum (Vince Koehler)
This offers a mystifying look at the future with a mind-bending twist. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Entertainment Spectrum (Vince Koehler)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for The Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)The Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Entertainment Weekly (Scott Brown)Entertainment Weekly (Scott Brown)
Special kudos go to Walker, for his dead-on impression of a time-traveling 2x4, and the perpetually hysterical O'Connor, who delivers one of the most grating performances in history. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Scott Brown)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
Other things bugged me too, especially the film's concept of time travel. The film doesn't know where it stands on the possibility of changing history. One scene seems to say that history is destiny, even when it has to do with time travel. During ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Bob BloomBob Bloom
The veteran filmmaker responsible for the first (and best) Superman film as well as the Lethal Weapon series utilizes most of his skills in Timeline, adapted from the novel by Michael Crichton.However, Donner only succeeds partially, mainly because the ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Bob Bloom
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Steve RhodesSteve Rhodes
The story begins with Chris Johnston (Walker) visiting an archeological dig where his father (Billy Connolly) is working. Once Chris's dad slips into a wormhole, thanks to a sleazy hightech company (ITC), ITC gets Chris and the archeologists at the dig ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Steve Rhodes
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Minneapolis Star Tribune (Jeff Strickler)Minneapolis Star Tribune (Jeff Strickler)
There's a lot of action and nifty special effects in a climactic battle scene. But the movie pays only fleeting attention to other matters, including character development. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Minneapolis Star Tribune (Jeff Strickler)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for RopeofSilicon (Brad Brevet)RopeofSilicon (Brad Brevet)
Turning books into films has become the number one way to make a box-office hit or an Oscar® contender, but never fear Timeline won't have either of those problems. I think Timeline 's Frances O'Connor said it best in an interview with SCI-FI Wire when ...read the complete Timeline movie review at RopeofSilicon (Brad Brevet)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)
Hollywood sometimes seems to operate under some unnamed Law of Plots, where certain themes and stories must be recycled on a schedule so predictable that it makes the daily orbit of the Earth around the Sun look as ungoverned as kindergartners playing ...read the complete Timeline movie review at The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Chronicle (Carla Meyer)San Francisco Chronicle (Carla Meyer)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Dallas Observer (Gregory Weinkauf)Dallas Observer (Gregory Weinkauf)
There's a modicum of charm to Timeline, since its eager, earnest tone harks back to Donner's work from the '80s, particularly "The Goonies" and ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Dallas Observer (Gregory Weinkauf)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Liam Lacey)The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Liam Lacey)
Plays out like a 1950s B-movie with a fat special-effects budget. Brain-numbing dialogue, incoherent action and glaring improbabilities aside, it's a bearable combination of sci-fi paranoia and historical fantasy that drags modern viewers, and the ...read the complete Timeline movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Liam Lacey)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Village Voice (Ed Park)Village Voice (Ed Park)
Crudely written, haphazardly acted, and improbably fun. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Village Voice (Ed Park)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
"Timeline" is inspired by on a Michael Crichton story that's not so much about travel between the past and the present as about travel between two movie genres. After opening on an ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Netflix (James Rocchi)Netflix (James Rocchi)
Time-travel tale is a so-so action flick that plays like Jurassic Park ... but without the dinosaurs. Or stars. Or excitement. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Netflix (James Rocchi)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for eFilmCritic.com (Brian Mckay)eFilmCritic.com (Brian Mckay)
About as impressive as rival gangs of Renaissance Pleasure Faire geeks launching bottle rockets and flaming rolls of toilet paper at each other. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Brian Mckay)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Arizona Republic (Bill Muller)Arizona Republic (Bill Muller)
An overgrown TV episode, another wearisome journey into the past where modern 20-somethings gape in wonder at knights in shining armor, who respond by trying to skewer these reality-show rejects with authentic rubber swords. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Arizona Republic (Bill Muller)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Boxoffice Magazine (Christine James)Boxoffice Magazine (Christine James)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Toronto Star (Peter Howell)Toronto Star (Peter Howell)
Curiously lacking in energy, which may be the result of an obviously cut-rate production budget that skimps on the sci-fi sizzle. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Toronto Star (Peter Howell)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for LA Weekly (Scott Foundas)LA Weekly (Scott Foundas)
Scenes stop and start abruptly, and the sub–"Lord of the Rings" action is more dulling than rousing -- and yet it can be funny. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at LA Weekly (Scott Foundas)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Empire (Alan Morrison)Empire (Alan Morrison)
Timeline takes the most ridiculous movie plot ever imagined and multiplies it by ten. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Empire (Alan Morrison)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Chicago Reader (J.R. Jones)Chicago Reader (J.R. Jones)
This big-budget adventure is based on a recent Michael Crichton thriller, though its premise is too stale to instill the sense of wonder critical to great sci-fi. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Chicago Reader (J.R. Jones)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Variety (Robert Koehler)Variety (Robert Koehler)
Lacks the consistent tone, pace and point of view for either a science fiction thriller or medieval war adventure. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Variety (Robert Koehler)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)
Timeline treats the past like an amusement park, offering mid-level thrills and nothing more. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)
Features serious over-acting, lousy effects, appalling dialogue, misplaced and ill-advised romantic interludes, a complete lack of tension, nothing to link the story set in the past with the section set in the present and very bad wigs. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Jam! Movies (Louis B. Hobson)Jam! Movies (Louis B. Hobson)
Timeline is not so much a bad movie as it is bland and routine. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Jam! Movies (Louis B. Hobson)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.52 out of 4 stars for Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)
Director Richard Donner finds a few startling images for bloody battle scenes, but awful dialogue prevents the actors from giving performances of any depth. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.52 out of 4 stars for ReelViews (James Berardinelli)ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
There are times when the movie comes across as so laughably absurd that it's almost entertaining. Once or twice, I was half-expecting the Monty Python troupe to appear, searching for the Holy Grail. The lengthy battle scene at the end provides a ...read the complete Timeline movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for Denver Rocky Mountain News (Robert Denerstein)Denver Rocky Mountain News (Robert Denerstein)
It looks like a lame made-for-TV movie, features a no-name cast and revolves around a hackneyed idea. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Denver Rocky Mountain News (Robert Denerstein)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for The Movie Insider (Dustin Putman)The Movie Insider (Dustin Putman)
Flatly lensed by usually reliable cinematographer Caleb Deschanel ( The Hunted ) in order to mirror every other aspect of the film, Timeline is a lazy, mostly dull, instantly forgettable affair more suited for a first-time filmmaker than a veteran one ...read the complete Timeline movie review at The Movie Insider (Dustin Putman)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for Movie Gazette (Anton Bitel)Movie Gazette (Anton Bitel)
A promising concept squandered by bad writing and lacklustre direction - its events, whether set in the 14th Century or in the present day, are an unengaging waste of time. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Movie Gazette (Anton Bitel)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for Flipside Movie Emporium (Sean O'Connell)Flipside Movie Emporium (Sean O'Connell)
Timeline simultaneously supplies us with a hollow history lesson and an adventure that's about as thrilling as the staged joust at the heart of those traveling Renaissance Festivals. No, that's insulting to the carnies at the Renaissance Fest. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Flipside Movie Emporium (Sean O'Connell)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for ShowBIZ DataShowBIZ Data
Timeline may be an adaptation of a time-travel thriller by Michael Crichton. It may be directed by Richard Donner, who brought us Superman and the Lethal Weapon series. But if audiences react to it the way critics have, then Paramount is likely to have ...read the complete Timeline movie review at ShowBIZ Data
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for ReelViews (James Berardinelli)ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
If Timeline is a disappointment, it's because I still have some respect for director Richard Donner, despite his recent lack of success. Because of Lethal Weapon and Superman, I was willing to overlook Assassins. Before Timeline, Donner hadn't made a film ...read the complete Timeline movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for EDGE Boston (David Foucher)EDGE Boston (David Foucher)
Richard Donner brings us the latest Crighton film, sending Paul Walker and Gerard Butler back to Medieval times. The book was medoicre at best... this adaptation is insipid. ...read the complete Timeline movie review at EDGE Boston (David Foucher)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
A scene from Timeline I got my fill of summer movies when the days were longer and the nights were warmer. Timeline is a throwback to those mindless action flicks that have no business being released during the thoughtful, awards-pregnant movie ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Timeline (2003) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for Dark Horizons (Garth Franklin)Dark Horizons (Garth Franklin)
A Michael Crichton adaptation has always been a tricky thing. Crichton is the ultimate techno-thriller author, he delivers intriguing premises and puts a lot of research into his books and tricks which make it all the more compelling. Its long and ...read the complete Timeline movie review at Dark Horizons (Garth Franklin)
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Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.
Overall Rating:
2.1696
Timeline (2003) is ranked overall as  out of 4 stars
Avg Critic Score:
2.0459
Timeline (2003) is ranked overall as  out of 4 stars
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