Ritorno dal futuro

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.

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.

Time Runner looks like it has been done in someones garage. The special effects are extremlel bad as is the wooden acting, with the exception of Mark Hamill and maybe Brion James. I'd recommend this to someone who wants to see a bad cheasy sci-fi film.

Okay, I admit it, I like Mark Hamill, he's Luke Freaking Skywalker for cryin out loud, but that said COME ON!. Granted the premise for this flick is undeniably clever. Another case of sneaky alien scum duping the human race, the aliens in this case appear human at first and the only way to tell them apart from humans is that they don't feel pain. The film starts out in the future where our hero is bravely battling the alien menace (and so totally losing) he then gets sent back in time by some desperate scientists to avert the original alien take over. Okay fairly predictable. This is the sort of flick that at best is a guilty pleasure, so bad its hysterically funny. The 'scientific base' of the plot is ridiculous. The effects are 'good enough' -remember it was 1992- so considering the times no real complaints there. The actors are less than good but slightly above god awful. All in all I'd say rent it with a grin, don't expect any awards and its running time may seem like a prison sentence at times but remember, you're name isn't attached to this lovable junker so feel free to turn it off and catch your breath, you're going to be laughing, A LOT.