95ers: Time Runners

It starts like it's recapping the previous episode in a crazy sci fi series, trying to bring you up to speed. It actually highlights some of the events in the movie itself. Really??

Usual problem here - writer/director. No one to question or query his grand vision. Desperately needed in such a potentially complex story.

Initially, some of the voices sound like they've been dubbed. And there are some brilliant(!) shots of actors talking with their mouths covered by various objects. One can only assume the writer/director was trying to plug holes in the plot by explanations. Maybe he was listening to someone. Unfortunately, not enough.

The direction/editing is poor in many places and really flags it as amateur/low budget. And there are some poor casting choices.

Some of the dialogue is just off plot and character. At one point it descends into totally incongruous family argument.

The whole plot is very convoluted, confused and unclear. You could be half way through the movie before you understand who everyone is and what's going on. And even 2/3rds of the way through, it's still confusing.

Of course, being a time travel movie, there are the inevitable anomalies. Unfortunately, there are a few glaring ones. It's not a suspension of disbelief thing, but the way time and time travel is supposed to work in the movie - it varies to support the plot.

There is a sort of twist or two but by this time you're probably not bothered and the attempt at the twisty reveal thing at the end was so predictable.

And the music jars terribly. Some of it's just really annoying but most of the time it's waaaaaay over the top. Oh, writer/director and composer have the same surname. Nepotism, perhaps?

The result is a bitty, scrappy, movie that does no favours for anyone, especially time travel fans. The subject matter alone gives it a second star but time travel fans will miss nothing (but a poor movie) by giving this a miss.

A very small budget Science fiction movie, possibly made for TV that kept me entertained throughout. I am a sucker for time travel, but it had some original ideas that impressed me. The effects are really not that important, use your imagination, the plot kept me interested and the acting was reasonable. Special note for the character called Brego, a person from the distant future with a wonderfully camp South West English accent, put a smile on my face every time he opened his mouth. Anyone who is a lover of Sci-fi should give this movie a try, far better than some of the Hollywood rubbish.

Apparently, TIME RUNNERS took many years to get made. You wonder why all the effort, because this turns out to be a very ordinary movie, one whose admittedly interesting premise is ruined by a dreadful, TV movie-style execution which makes the whole thing look and feel cheesy. It feels like a rip-off of TIMECOP, except with the action heroes of that film replaced by a pregnant housewife trying to solve the mystery of her husband's death.

This housewife has a special ability, which is to rewind time by five seconds, something that comes in very handy during some fun fight scenes that are interspersed throughout. Sadly, the interest level remains low, thanks to some VERY cheesy performances, particularly the guy with the exaggerated British accent who made me cringe every time he spoke. The special effects are on par with your average SyFy Channel movie, leaving this a disappointing "could have been" viewing experience.

For me,in general,a movie has to be pretty awful to merit anything less than 3 stars.........and this one came pretty close.

I don't expect a lot from low budget affairs. As long as a decent effort has been made to entertain the viewer,then much can be overlooked or forgiven.This movie however, (and I use the word "movie" in the loosest term) has probably some of THE worst acting I have ever the misfortune to witness. The performances from all concerned are so stiff and wooden,that you could turn the awful script into a baseball bat and hit a home run!! Particularly annoying is Joel Bishops narration throughout this mess.It really does sound like a 5 year old reading from a school play script and is pretty soulless in it's delivery.In fact a 5 year old could have done a better job. The rest of the cast really don't fare much better either.Nobody puts in a decent enough performance to make their characters convincing and look like they'd really rather be somewhere else. It really was unforgivable.I'm sorry.........if you want to put yourself in front of a camera and entertain,then you really should at least try to do better than this!!.

I did,however,note that "some" effort was made in the special effects department,and given the budget,they weren't bad at all.

Oh sorry......the plot.

Forget it.......

It's something to do with time travel but really,please don't waste your time.It's so confusing that I really cannot explain exactly what the hell was going on.

I dare say that with a bigger budget,script writer and cast,this could be made into something better.

Apparently this was based on a book.I wish I had read that instead.

3 out of ten and that's only because I've seen worse........

No really I have!!

Watch at your peril

Well, I can honestly say I was very surprised. Many will complain it's slow, I will agree that it is, indeed. If you like "Timecop" type flicks you'll be better off skipping this one. I like the approach it takes on the meddling with time lines and I love the aesthetics of the "science" and machinery in it. I thought that maybe, from the critics I had heard, I would be bored of watching it after as little as 15mn but here's the thing, I didn't. It's one of these movies you have to try for yourself. If you start it, do finish it. In the end, I feel it's worth it once you go beyond its pacing. Even that improves dramatically in the end. Not a popcorn flick, rather a brainy type of time paradox movie.