Time Runner

Strange that Mark Hamill could go from having one of the most enviable looking careers (in 1977) to being cast in low-budget junk like this. This movie would *still* have been bad if it was released in 1977. The effects are embarrassing and the script is lame. Who'd have guessed that Harrison Ford was the real future star in Star Wars?

You don't expect every time-travel sci-fi movie to be as exciting as "The Terminator", of course, but you don't expect it to be a cure for insomnia either, and that's exactly what "Time Runner" is. Mark Hamill is extremely boring as the lead, but then again so is the rest of the cast, though I can at least see the humor in casting Brion James as the future president of the United States! The effects are decent but the shootouts are lame (the "hero" always has to be rescued at the last moment by his unidentified sidekick). Possibly one of the least interesting films ever made on the subject of time traveling. (*)

Let's be honest, just by looking at the cast, you can tell that this is another cheesy science fiction B-movie. The special effects won't exactly knock your socks off, but they are not detrimental to the movie, an enjoyable one for a straight to video title.

The storyline is a just a new spin on the often used time travel story. Mark Hamill plays a soldier (Raynor) from the future. He is involved in a rebellion against aliens who have taken over earth. Of course, they look just like us, but don't feel pain, and are harder to kill. Just as his future earth is about to be doomed, Raynor travels back 30 years to prevent the aliens from ever coming to power. One major complication is the fact that he is to be born in just a few days, which leads to two problems.

1) If the aliens find out about him, the baby Raynor/his mother could easily be killed, hence, causing the 30 yr. old Raynor to cease to exist.

2) Only one Raynor can exist in any timeline.

Perhaps a little formulaic, and not an Academy Award candidate, this movie is good for some mindless fun. It's a must-see for any Mark Hamill fan, as Mr. Hamill played a character more than 10 years his junior admirably.

Mark Hamill tried hard to prove himself as a rising actor after

RETURN OF THE JEDI back in '83, but alas, the poor dope couldn't find anything that would bring him back to the same superstardom he

received as Luke Skywalker. With the exception of his truly excellent voice-over talent as the Joker in BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, Hamill had to work in low-budget flix, like TIME RUNNER. In what looks like another TERMINATOR-style sci-fi flick, Hamill plays a soldier from (where else?) the future, who was sent back in time to the early

90's in order to prevent a disaster from skewering the timeline. As tired as the storyline sounds, TIME RUNNER is actually an enjoyable

piece of work. Hamill plays a less-restrained performance, going gonzo on the baddies with guns instead of using the Force or light sabers. The late, great Brion James also shines, as the head honcho of the villains that Hamill's character so truly desired to eliminate.

I'll pick up a dtv title for rental if it stars the right name and well ... you know where this is going. The likable Mark Hamill. 'Time Runner' sports a not particularly good opening with cheesy special FX, bad acting cut up by overlong, drawn out credits that has six people credited with the story which isn't a good sign. It's not the worst - some parts look like they're legitimately trying - but the end sci-fi result is weak.

In 2022, Cpt. Raynor (Hamill) escapes a space station hovering above Earth just before it's destroyed while an Alien race is in the final stages of conquering the planet. Entering a wormhole, he ends up in the past crash landing on the planet in the year 1992. He doesn't have much time to get his barring or make sense of what's going on because bad MiB - alien sleeper agents - are already on his trail to make sure he can't change the future and stop the invasion.

In a plot that jumps between timelines, b-movie regular Brion James is the president elect / real deal. Rae Dawn Chong a government scientist in the present day who as part of a team finds Raynor's escape pod, personally gets involved and helps. There's a standard bit of run 'n gun action, escape sequences and of course conspiracy - who can you trust - but much of it low grade. Think 'Terminator' mixed with 'Blade Runner' done cheap.

'Time Runner' is the type of generic movie that was pumped out by the dozen back in the day. At no point did it become painful, but without Mark Hamill I wouldn't have given it the time. 90 mins moves quickly enough and there's some decent moments however it never escapes it's low budget feel, being written knee deep. Fans of his might want to give it a watch for curiosity sake, but it ain't no 'Wing Commander' or 'Star Wars'.