In 1893, HG Wells (Malcolm McDowell) manages to create a time machine. When a friend (David Warner), who turns out to be Jack the Ripper, uses the machine to escape into the future, Wells follows after him to 1979, where he must stop the murderer while also having to come to terms with the shocking future, which is far from the utopia he expected it to be...
A very interesting and surprisingly lighthearted thriller/adventure, with quite a bit of comedy thrown in, 'Time After Time' has a silly and fantastic feel to it that kinda reminds me of the more young audience aimed films of the 70's and 80's.
The actors are very good. Malcolm McDowell's HG Wells is a nice counter to his usually darker roles (like in 'A Clockwork Orange' or 'Caligula'); he pulls off a brilliantly convincing and even comedic performance as the naive futurist. Likewise, David Warner is also very good as the villain; rather than making the Ripper a psychotic monster he makes for a more sophisticated, almost gentlemanly antagonist that is no less of a menace.
Mary Streenburgen is charming and cute, and has great chemistry with McDowell, making their characters' romance convincing and entertaining to watch; however I didn't like her character too much and something in her delivery felt a bit... off sometimes. For example, when she is being threatened by the Ripper her lips curl a bit, as if trying not to smile/laugh.
The plot has quite a few problems, both story-wise (the usual thriller clichés and nonsense, like the police not questioning Mary's character to check Wells' claims) and concept-wise (it is time travel based after all, though the movie smartly does not delve too much on the implications it carries); it develops quite predictably too, and sometimes far too silly at that. On the other hands, the movie does have an excellent visual quality and an excellent soundtrack, which helps bring a certain charm to the story.
Overall, 'Time After Time' is a charming and fun film with a rather good cast. Despite its nice concept, it ends up as little more than a lighthearted variation of your run-of-the-mill thriller; not so much, however, as to take away from the overall entertainment, and in the end there is more than enough of it in here.
A very interesting and surprisingly lighthearted thriller/adventure, with quite a bit of comedy thrown in, 'Time After Time' has a silly and fantastic feel to it that kinda reminds me of the more young audience aimed films of the 70's and 80's.
The actors are very good. Malcolm McDowell's HG Wells is a nice counter to his usually darker roles (like in 'A Clockwork Orange' or 'Caligula'); he pulls off a brilliantly convincing and even comedic performance as the naive futurist. Likewise, David Warner is also very good as the villain; rather than making the Ripper a psychotic monster he makes for a more sophisticated, almost gentlemanly antagonist that is no less of a menace.
Mary Streenburgen is charming and cute, and has great chemistry with McDowell, making their characters' romance convincing and entertaining to watch; however I didn't like her character too much and something in her delivery felt a bit... off sometimes. For example, when she is being threatened by the Ripper her lips curl a bit, as if trying not to smile/laugh.
The plot has quite a few problems, both story-wise (the usual thriller clichés and nonsense, like the police not questioning Mary's character to check Wells' claims) and concept-wise (it is time travel based after all, though the movie smartly does not delve too much on the implications it carries); it develops quite predictably too, and sometimes far too silly at that. On the other hands, the movie does have an excellent visual quality and an excellent soundtrack, which helps bring a certain charm to the story.
Overall, 'Time After Time' is a charming and fun film with a rather good cast. Despite its nice concept, it ends up as little more than a lighthearted variation of your run-of-the-mill thriller; not so much, however, as to take away from the overall entertainment, and in the end there is more than enough of it in here.