Time travel is a common theme in fiction and has been depicted in a variety of media. It can be the central theme of the plot, or merely a plot device to set the story in motion. In some science fiction stories, time travel is included in the plot or at least normal time speed is slowed down. Whereas hard science fiction may restrict time travel by examining the causes and effects of time travel paradoxes, soft science fiction and science fantasy may ignore these aspects and focus on fantastic wonders and adventures. With that being said I'm going to bring you my top 10 favorite time travel films of all-time. So without further ado...
10. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
I'm a huge fan of the Star Trek franchise and this is one of my favorite entries to the franchise. It's the 23rd century, and a mysterious alien power is threatening Earth by evaporating the oceans and destroying the atmosphere. In a frantic attempt to save mankind, Kirk (played by William Shatner) and his crew must travel back in time to save the Earth and its people from total destruction. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing and Best Original Score and it has a rating of 85% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Back to the Future Part II
This is probably my favorite trilogy of all-time and this film just adds to the magnificence of the trilogy. Things have barely settled from the excitement and resolve of the original Back to the Future, when in pops that crazy inventor Dr. Emmett Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) with news that in order to prevent a series of events that could ruin the McFly name for posterity, Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox ) and his girlfriend are whisked into the future to the year 2015, where Marty must tangle with a teen rogue named Griff (played by Thomas F. Wilson) , who's obviously the descendant of Biff (played by Thomas F. Wilson), the first Future film's bully. Marty foils Griff and his group when he jumps on an air-foil skateboard that flies him through town at rakish speeds with the loser bullies beaten again. Marty gets a money-making brainstorm before hopping in the time-traveling DeLorean, and he purchases a sports almanac. He figures that back in 1985 he'll be able to place sure-fire bets using the published sports scores of the games that are yet to happen. Unfortunately for Marty, Dr. Brown disapproves of his betting scheme -- he feels too much messing with time is very dangerous -- and he tosses the almanac. A hidden Biff overhears the discussion about the almanac, sees it get tossed out, and grabs it. Thus begins a time-traveling swirl to make the head spin. Biff swipes the DeLorean, heads back to 1955, and with the help of the unerring almanac, bets his way to power. The now-altered "Biff world" has turned into a nightmarish scene with Biff the mogul, residing in a Vegas-styled pleasure palace and running everything. It's all our hero Marty can do to pull the pieces together this time, as he must jump between three generations of intertwined time travel. Back to the Future Part II was nominated of the Academy Award for Best Visual effects and it has a rating of 64% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. The Butterfly Effect
This is probabaly one of the most underrated films of all-time. Evan Treborn (played by Ashton Kutcher) wants to free himself from his disturbing childhood memories. As a kid, he often blacked out for long periods of time and tried to detail his life in a journal. As a young adult, he revisits the journal entries to figure out the truth about his troubled childhood friends Kayleigh (played by Amy Smart), Lenny (played by Elden Henson), and Tommy (played by William Lee Scott). When he discovers he can travel back in time in order to set things right, he tries to save his beloved friends. However, he finds out that relatively minor changes can make major problems for the future. The Butterfly effect has a rating of 33% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. Planet of the Apes (1968)
This is an amazing sci-fi film and a great cultural piece on the outlook of life. George Taylor (played by Charlton Heston), one of several astronauts on a long, long space mission whose spaceship crash-lands on a remote planet, seemingly devoid of intelligent life. Soon the astronaut learns that this planet is ruled by a race of talking, thinking, reasoning apes who hold court over a complex, multilayered civilization. In this topsy-turvy society, the human beings are grunting, inarticulate primates, penned-up like animals. When ape leader Dr. Zaius (played by Maurice Evans) discovers that the captive Taylor has the power of speech, he reacts in horror and insists that the astronaut be killed. But sympathetic ape scientists Cornelius (played by Roddy McDowell) and Dr. Zira (played by Kim Hunter) risk their lives to protect Taylor -- and to discover the secret of their planet's history that Dr. Zaius and his minions guard so jealously. In the end, it is Taylor who stumbles on the truth about the Planet of the Apes. Planet of the Apes was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Original Score and Best Costume Design and it has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
This is a fun little cult classic and has a few good history lessons. Bill Preston (played by Alex Winter) and Ted Logan (played by Keanu Reeves) are two totally excellent dudes facing one most heinous history exam. With the help of Rufus an ultra-cool messenger in a time traveling phone booth, the triumphant two-some bag a bevy of historical heavy weights like the "Bodacious Philosopher Socrates (played by Tony Steedman), "One Very Excellent Barbarian" Genghis Khan (played by Al Leong), the "Short Dead Dude" Napoleon (played by Terry Camilleri) and Noah's Wife Joan of Arc (played by Jane Wiedlin) to stage the most hysterical high school project ever. History's about to be rewritten by two guys who can't even spell. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure has a rating of 81% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Looper
So far in my elaborate film viewing history, this is the only film to actually get time travel right. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a "looper" - a hired gun, like Joe (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) - is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good... until the day the mob decides to "close the loop," sending back Joe's future self (played by Bruce Willis) for assassination. Looper has a rating of 93% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Hot Tub Time Machine
This film is hilarious and was sleeper hit in 2010. "Hot Tub Time Machine" follows a group of best friends who've become bored with their adult lives: Adam (played by John Cusack) has been dumped by his girlfriend; Lou (played by Rob Corddry) is a party guy who can't find the party; Nick (played by Craig Robinson)'s wife controls his every move; and video game-obsessed Jacob (played by Clark Duke) won't leave his basement. After, a crazy night of drinking in a ski resort hot tub, the men wake up, heads' pounding, in the year 1986. This is their chance to kick some past and change their futures - one will find a new love life, one will learn to stand up for himself with the ladies, one will find his mojo, and one will make sure he still exists! Hot Tub Time Machine has a rating of 63% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
This without a doubt one of the greatest sequels of all-time as well as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all-time. Sarah Connor (played by Linda Hamilton), now a single mother to rebellious teen John Connor (played by Edward Furlong), during the late nineties. Having been informed by a time-traveling soldier in the first film that John will one day grow up to become humanity's savior from a computer-controlled Armageddon, Sarah has responded by becoming a muscle-bound she-warrior bent on educating John in survival tactics and battle strategies. Her ranting about humankind's future has landed Sarah in an insane asylum and John in the foster care system. The rebellious John has responded to his situation by getting into scrapes with the law. When a new and improved Terminator android called the T-1000 (played by Robert Patrick) arrives from the future to eliminate John, an older model T-800 (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent to protect the boy. The T-1000, however, has the ability to morph itself into any shape it desires, allowing it chameleon-like powers and near indestructibility. The T-800 saves John's life and helps break Sarah out of the institution. Staying only one step ahead of the dogged T-1000, Sarah leads her son and the T-800 to the headquarters of Cyberdyne Systems, the company that will invent a robotic intelligence that will eventually take over the world. There, they attempt to convince inventor Miles Dyson (Joe Morton) to help them stop the future from ever occurring by destroying his work. Dyson sacrifices himself in an explosion to save the world, leading to a final showdown between the two Terminators at a steel foundry. Terminator 2: Judgement Day was nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Film editing while winning 4 (Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects) and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. Back to the Future
Not only is it a great time travel film, it is also one of the greatest films of all-time. Contemporary high schooler Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) doesn't have the most pleasant of lives. Browbeaten by his principal at school, Marty must also endure the acrimonious relationship between his nerdy father (played by Crispin Glover) and his lovely mother (played by Lea Thompson), who in turn suffer the bullying of middle-aged jerk Biff (played by Thomas F. Wilson), Marty's dad's supervisor. The one balm in Marty's life is his friendship with eccentric scientist Doc (played by Christopher Lloyd), who at present is working on a time machine. Accidentally zapped back into the 1950s, Marty inadvertently interferes with the budding romance of his now-teenaged parents. Our hero must now reunite his parents-to-be, lest he cease to exist in the 1980s. It won't be easy, especially with the loutish Biff, now also a teenager, complicating matters. Back to the Future was nominated for 4 Academy awards including Best Song, Best Original screenplay, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing while winning 1 (Best Sound Editing) and it has a rating of 96% non rottentomatoes.com.
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
I know this film just came out but its just that good. The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original "X-Men" film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from the past, "X-Men: First Class," in order to change a major historical event and fight in an epic battle that could save our future. X-Men: Days of Future Past has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite time travel films and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
10. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
I'm a huge fan of the Star Trek franchise and this is one of my favorite entries to the franchise. It's the 23rd century, and a mysterious alien power is threatening Earth by evaporating the oceans and destroying the atmosphere. In a frantic attempt to save mankind, Kirk (played by William Shatner) and his crew must travel back in time to save the Earth and its people from total destruction. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing and Best Original Score and it has a rating of 85% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Back to the Future Part II
This is probably my favorite trilogy of all-time and this film just adds to the magnificence of the trilogy. Things have barely settled from the excitement and resolve of the original Back to the Future, when in pops that crazy inventor Dr. Emmett Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) with news that in order to prevent a series of events that could ruin the McFly name for posterity, Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox ) and his girlfriend are whisked into the future to the year 2015, where Marty must tangle with a teen rogue named Griff (played by Thomas F. Wilson) , who's obviously the descendant of Biff (played by Thomas F. Wilson), the first Future film's bully. Marty foils Griff and his group when he jumps on an air-foil skateboard that flies him through town at rakish speeds with the loser bullies beaten again. Marty gets a money-making brainstorm before hopping in the time-traveling DeLorean, and he purchases a sports almanac. He figures that back in 1985 he'll be able to place sure-fire bets using the published sports scores of the games that are yet to happen. Unfortunately for Marty, Dr. Brown disapproves of his betting scheme -- he feels too much messing with time is very dangerous -- and he tosses the almanac. A hidden Biff overhears the discussion about the almanac, sees it get tossed out, and grabs it. Thus begins a time-traveling swirl to make the head spin. Biff swipes the DeLorean, heads back to 1955, and with the help of the unerring almanac, bets his way to power. The now-altered "Biff world" has turned into a nightmarish scene with Biff the mogul, residing in a Vegas-styled pleasure palace and running everything. It's all our hero Marty can do to pull the pieces together this time, as he must jump between three generations of intertwined time travel. Back to the Future Part II was nominated of the Academy Award for Best Visual effects and it has a rating of 64% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. The Butterfly Effect
This is probabaly one of the most underrated films of all-time. Evan Treborn (played by Ashton Kutcher) wants to free himself from his disturbing childhood memories. As a kid, he often blacked out for long periods of time and tried to detail his life in a journal. As a young adult, he revisits the journal entries to figure out the truth about his troubled childhood friends Kayleigh (played by Amy Smart), Lenny (played by Elden Henson), and Tommy (played by William Lee Scott). When he discovers he can travel back in time in order to set things right, he tries to save his beloved friends. However, he finds out that relatively minor changes can make major problems for the future. The Butterfly effect has a rating of 33% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. Planet of the Apes (1968)
This is an amazing sci-fi film and a great cultural piece on the outlook of life. George Taylor (played by Charlton Heston), one of several astronauts on a long, long space mission whose spaceship crash-lands on a remote planet, seemingly devoid of intelligent life. Soon the astronaut learns that this planet is ruled by a race of talking, thinking, reasoning apes who hold court over a complex, multilayered civilization. In this topsy-turvy society, the human beings are grunting, inarticulate primates, penned-up like animals. When ape leader Dr. Zaius (played by Maurice Evans) discovers that the captive Taylor has the power of speech, he reacts in horror and insists that the astronaut be killed. But sympathetic ape scientists Cornelius (played by Roddy McDowell) and Dr. Zira (played by Kim Hunter) risk their lives to protect Taylor -- and to discover the secret of their planet's history that Dr. Zaius and his minions guard so jealously. In the end, it is Taylor who stumbles on the truth about the Planet of the Apes. Planet of the Apes was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Original Score and Best Costume Design and it has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
This is a fun little cult classic and has a few good history lessons. Bill Preston (played by Alex Winter) and Ted Logan (played by Keanu Reeves) are two totally excellent dudes facing one most heinous history exam. With the help of Rufus an ultra-cool messenger in a time traveling phone booth, the triumphant two-some bag a bevy of historical heavy weights like the "Bodacious Philosopher Socrates (played by Tony Steedman), "One Very Excellent Barbarian" Genghis Khan (played by Al Leong), the "Short Dead Dude" Napoleon (played by Terry Camilleri) and Noah's Wife Joan of Arc (played by Jane Wiedlin) to stage the most hysterical high school project ever. History's about to be rewritten by two guys who can't even spell. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure has a rating of 81% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Looper
So far in my elaborate film viewing history, this is the only film to actually get time travel right. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a "looper" - a hired gun, like Joe (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) - is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good... until the day the mob decides to "close the loop," sending back Joe's future self (played by Bruce Willis) for assassination. Looper has a rating of 93% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Hot Tub Time Machine
This film is hilarious and was sleeper hit in 2010. "Hot Tub Time Machine" follows a group of best friends who've become bored with their adult lives: Adam (played by John Cusack) has been dumped by his girlfriend; Lou (played by Rob Corddry) is a party guy who can't find the party; Nick (played by Craig Robinson)'s wife controls his every move; and video game-obsessed Jacob (played by Clark Duke) won't leave his basement. After, a crazy night of drinking in a ski resort hot tub, the men wake up, heads' pounding, in the year 1986. This is their chance to kick some past and change their futures - one will find a new love life, one will learn to stand up for himself with the ladies, one will find his mojo, and one will make sure he still exists! Hot Tub Time Machine has a rating of 63% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
This without a doubt one of the greatest sequels of all-time as well as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all-time. Sarah Connor (played by Linda Hamilton), now a single mother to rebellious teen John Connor (played by Edward Furlong), during the late nineties. Having been informed by a time-traveling soldier in the first film that John will one day grow up to become humanity's savior from a computer-controlled Armageddon, Sarah has responded by becoming a muscle-bound she-warrior bent on educating John in survival tactics and battle strategies. Her ranting about humankind's future has landed Sarah in an insane asylum and John in the foster care system. The rebellious John has responded to his situation by getting into scrapes with the law. When a new and improved Terminator android called the T-1000 (played by Robert Patrick) arrives from the future to eliminate John, an older model T-800 (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent to protect the boy. The T-1000, however, has the ability to morph itself into any shape it desires, allowing it chameleon-like powers and near indestructibility. The T-800 saves John's life and helps break Sarah out of the institution. Staying only one step ahead of the dogged T-1000, Sarah leads her son and the T-800 to the headquarters of Cyberdyne Systems, the company that will invent a robotic intelligence that will eventually take over the world. There, they attempt to convince inventor Miles Dyson (Joe Morton) to help them stop the future from ever occurring by destroying his work. Dyson sacrifices himself in an explosion to save the world, leading to a final showdown between the two Terminators at a steel foundry. Terminator 2: Judgement Day was nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Film editing while winning 4 (Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects) and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. Back to the Future
Not only is it a great time travel film, it is also one of the greatest films of all-time. Contemporary high schooler Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) doesn't have the most pleasant of lives. Browbeaten by his principal at school, Marty must also endure the acrimonious relationship between his nerdy father (played by Crispin Glover) and his lovely mother (played by Lea Thompson), who in turn suffer the bullying of middle-aged jerk Biff (played by Thomas F. Wilson), Marty's dad's supervisor. The one balm in Marty's life is his friendship with eccentric scientist Doc (played by Christopher Lloyd), who at present is working on a time machine. Accidentally zapped back into the 1950s, Marty inadvertently interferes with the budding romance of his now-teenaged parents. Our hero must now reunite his parents-to-be, lest he cease to exist in the 1980s. It won't be easy, especially with the loutish Biff, now also a teenager, complicating matters. Back to the Future was nominated for 4 Academy awards including Best Song, Best Original screenplay, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing while winning 1 (Best Sound Editing) and it has a rating of 96% non rottentomatoes.com.
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
I know this film just came out but its just that good. The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original "X-Men" film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from the past, "X-Men: First Class," in order to change a major historical event and fight in an epic battle that could save our future. X-Men: Days of Future Past has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite time travel films and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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