I will always applaud a film for taking a tired storyline and injecting new life into it with a fresh spin. From bizarre sci-fi films to mediocre comedies, it almost seems like film has reached its limit in terms of how many original stories can really be told, without feeling like another film from the past. One of Netflix's newest feature films is a film that takes the time travel idea and flips it on its head. Injecting enough new elements to feel like a new premise, I was hooked just by reading the plot of the movie before watching. Sadly, although admirable, I don't believe this an effective film overall.
Upon research, I found that See You Yesterday is based on a short film of the same name and stars the exact same cast. I was unaware of this at first, but this story may lend itself better to a short film. Following CJ and Sebastian, as they invent time travel, a murder of someone close to them sends them on a mission to bring him back from the past. Although flawed as many time travel films are, this movie sets up the rules very nicely and sticks to them. In terms of the overall story, this movie works very well in blending the fun time travel journey with some very serious real-world issues.
Where this film fails for me is in the outcome. I had quite a bit of fun during the time jumps, but these characters hardly ever pull anything off successfully and there is no real resolution to the movie either. Open-ended movies usually pique my interest and make me think, sometimes making the movie better, but not this time. I found the film's conclusion to be very, very poor, due to the fact that you really have no idea how certain story threads will be tied up. The movie does a pretty solid job at setting the stage and getting you invested, but you never feel rewarded for sitting through it.
Where I found See You Yesterday to be most impressive is in its casting. Having never seen any of these actors before, aside from a small (facepalm-worthy) cameo, they really sold these characters well. Being their first feature film with a wide release, I can say they all have bright futures ahead of them. If not for their dedication, I probably would have found myself bored with this movie.
In the end, See You Yesterday benefits from a devoted cast and a first act that gets you very interested, the real world issues blended with the aspect of time travel was a very neat twist, and the time travel itself is fun at times. Sadly, this is a film that doesn't know how to properly end and ends up making for a very frustrating movie as a whole. I can't get myself to recommend this one. A decent premise with nowhere to go.
