Time Freak

I'm a sucker for time travel movies and trying to fix what went wrong. Add a romance to that and I'm often a bigger sucker.

This movie is okay. It's sweet and silly and sometimes a bit ludicrous, but above-average fun.

I think that the biggest surprise and the movie's saving grace is Skyler Gisondo as Evan. I've never seen him before, but his work here is remarkable. He takes what could have been a thankless, ridiculous second banana role and arguably makes the whole film so much more than it would be without him.

If you watch this movie just to see what Skyler does with his part, and think about - and this is apropos for a time travel movie - the acting choices he could have made, or what another lesser actor might have done with the role, you won't be sorry.

Stillman (Asa Butterfield) is a physics genius who's girlfriend Debbie (Sophie Turner) breaks up with him and she says that it's because she is unhappy. So he creates a time machine to go back and change all the times that he made her unhappy, with the help of his friend Evan (Skyler Gisondo).

What I loved about this movie was that it doesn't take itself to seriously and there were some genuine laugh-out-loud and enjoyable moments. The acting was top notch from all three main characters. The chemistry between the struggling couple is electric and very relatable and the banter and bond between the two friends is very amusing.

But that said the writer and director (Andrew Bowler) did a brilliant job of understanding the possible consequences of changing the past and creating a "perfect" life. His message is that if we don't make mistakes and struggle in life then we don't learn or grow. We would be stuck in time, never moving forward which is expressed in a romantic "boy meets girl" rather than dramatic "save the universe" way, which I thought was a breath of fresh air.

This movie visualises a situation I for one have thought about, where often someone is the Yin to our Yang and opposites attract at first but over time one of you realises that you're growing a part. When you look back on the relationship after it has ended, your life seems to be over and it's easy to wish you could have a do-over. But that isn't how life works, we're meant to hurt, struggle, make mistakes and most of all learn from them. All so that when someone does come along who seems perfect for us we don't make the same mistakes we did in the past.

The main reason to watch this movie are the actors, they are cute kids in what amounts to a rom-com but with a semi-serious message at the end. Curiously the two leads are both British but their American accents are so good you'd never know if you didn't know.

They are in college in Denver and boy meets girl, they get along, but after some time the girl says it won't work. The boy, a Physics prodigy of sorts, decides it is his fault, so he invents a way to travel back and forth in time, figuring he can go back and correct the problems and keep the girl.

It is an entertaining movie for the most part, although it gets a bit muddled in the second half. Then too much back-N-forth time travel starts to have undesired effects. Ultimately the message they deliver is not to mess with life too much, work with what you have.

I watched it on Amazon streaming movies.

This is a fun lighthearted movie that reminds me of Being Erica or TNG episode called Tapestry - where you can go back in time and change past mistakes to produce an ideal outcome. As you can guess, the lesson learned is that manipulating the past does not lead to the perfect outcome. Good idea although nothing new.

What I like about the movie? Skyler Gisondo as the friend Evan IS the heart and humor of the movie. I would watch it again just for his comedic performance that kept me in stitches. I looked forward to each and every scene he was in and he did not disappoint.

What could have been better? I didn't feel the chemistry between the two main leads. I believe that part of the problem lies with how Stillman was written and partially the casting choice.

While Sophie Turner was okay as Debbie, I feel that Zooey Deschanel would have been a better choice. If I closed my eyes and just listened to the voices, it almost sounded like that's what Sophie was going for.

Asa Butterfield as Stillman came off as a bit conceited and whiny. It was hard to feel sympathy for him at any point. The scriptwriter could've made him more likeable and a different casting choice would've helped also. Maybe someone like Adrian Grenier in She Drives Me Crazy (1999)? Someone that you feel sorry for would've helped.

If the script was tweaked a little and different people cast in the leading roles, this would've easily been an 8. They didn't do anything wrong and there were genuinely funny moments, but it lacked that certain spark that could've really made it great.

Put this on not expecting a lot but also because I enjoy time travel movies. I am sure there will be people who didn't like it ot will spell out all the problems with the time travel theories. But if you just sit back and watch this movie and dont take it too seriously it is pretty good. Enjoyed Sansa Stark as well.

Over-all 6.4