A recent post on TopTenz offered the Top 10 time travel movies. With all due respect it’s not clear that “time travel” was an important concept in this list. For example, in the Terminator movies there is a single time travel event at the very beginning of the movie and then nothing more. While the characters attempt to change the future there is no evidence they succeed. There is no foreknowledge or time loop or time machine. I would not call this a time travel movie because time travel is not possible for anyone after the beginning of the movie. As for Star Trek movies, they just aren’t serious enough. The time machine is their spaceship, and apparently they can travel in time whenever they like.
I think a time travel movie should have
1 A time machine or time travel mechanism right there in full view
2 Multiple instances of time travel
3 A time loop or paradox
4 Tension associated with the time-travel, a chance of temporal disaster.
So here is my own list of the Top 10 Time Travel Movies (free of Amazon links)
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1 Primer
2 12 Monkeys
3 Back to the Future I, II, and III
4 Timecop
5 The Time Machine (new and old versions)
6 Time Bandits
7 Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
8 Frequency
9 Timeline
10 Butterfly Effect I ( II was not good enough for this list)
Unfortunately there is a dramatic difference in quality towards the end of the list. I think Hollywood should look at this an opportunity.
8 responses so far ↓
1 TopTenz // Jun 19, 2008 at 11:45 am
Just visiting from TopTenz. We’ll have to agree to disagree on T2, but I think the list should have included Primer. Glad to see we did agree on a few movies.
Thanks for visiting and commenting on TopTenz.net.
2 Mike // Jul 7, 2008 at 10:11 am
How can you consider Back to the Future as more serious than Star Trek? A spaceship isn’t a serious time travel machine, but a Delorean is? Come on. You should revise the list and take out any comedies. Besides, listing Back to the Future I, II and II as one entry is a cop out.
3 Sean // Jul 7, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I’m thinking more about the time machine and time paradoxes. Star Trek always brushed aside the time machine stuff, saying “We just fly towards the sun, then back”.
4 daedric // May 20, 2009 at 7:46 pm
“3 A time loop or paradox”
No, no, NO!
This should not be a “criteria” for the list. This item is a common DEFECT of such stories, but should not be considered a staple. For example, one can have a solid time-travel story with no paradox or loop. Not common but it is possible.
Why include this item?
Also, why MULTIPLE instances?
A Time-Travel movie should be a movie where Time-Travel is essential to the story. The story cannot be told without it, or it is central to the message of the story.
5 Sean // May 20, 2009 at 9:48 pm
I’m surprised to hear you don’t like Primer, or Timecop, or Back to the Future, or 12 Monkeys because they have time loops/paradoxes. These are outstanding movies and they would break badly if the loop/paradox were removed.
I claim that Terminator is not a time travel movie because the single time travel event happens early and after that time travel is irrelevant to the story. If you aren’t time travelling then it’s not a time travel movie.
6 An excellent time travel movie: Timecrimes | Space Time Stories // Apr 23, 2010 at 1:14 pm
[...] met many of my criteria for a good time travel movie: It had a time machine and they used it several times, there was a [...]
7 Stage1411 // Aug 9, 2010 at 8:24 am
You missed out Timecrimes. Great Movie
8 Sean // Aug 9, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Interesting, apparently I never published the post where I raved about that movie.
I agree, Timecrimes is an outstanding time travel movie.
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