I just finished watching ‘Bodies’ and we have to agree on one thing:
Timecrimes is the only proper time travel movie ever made.
Spoilers below…
Every other movie either tries to take time travel seriously (Primer, Minority report, Travelers) and fails by creating paradoxes or takes it lightly (Back to the future, Hot tub time machine, Groundhog day) and is not a real SciFi movie. Timecrimes is the only perfect loop and hence the only movie that avoid paradoxes. And what a loop at that. The reveal is just perfectly timed giving away each detail step by step. You basically figure it out together with the protagonist and watch him change his decisions as he realizes what’s going on. The loop is the entire point of the movie and that’s the only proper way to do it.
Bodies was close but of course they had to add a happy ending there and break the loop in the last episode which was pretty weak.
Timecrimes forever.
That’s all I had to say. Thank you.
You’re sleeping on 12 Monkeys
People really don’t think it loop, but it do.
They break the loop in the very last scene, right? The scientists is on the plane if I remember correctly.
Yes, one of the future scientists is on the plane in the (second to?) last scene. Why does that break the loop though?
The entire point of the movie was that they didn’t knew who started the pandemic and were travelling back in time to try and figure it out. The scientists on the plane next to the guy who created the virus means that they did figure it out now, right? Or was is supposed to just be a huge coincidence?
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen 12 Monkeys. My impression has always been that the end was meant to be tragic. That they were so close to being able to figure it out (the one person having actually been there at the time), but ultimately they never did, and never prevented it because it always happened. The scientists in the future are so focused on the 12 Monkeys group that the person that actually released the virus sits comfortably in their blind spot.
Oh, my interpretation was that after what we see in the movie, they now know the 12 monkeys is not the cause and get to the real terrorist to stop him.
Iirc, the future government (? I guess) weren’t trying to find the source to stop the release, but to get a pure sample to study so as to cure the disease in the future. The lady on the plane was there to get the sample.
I (same as the other user) thought that Bruce Willis manages to send a message saying that it’s not 12 Monkeys and that’s how they figure out it’s the guy on the plane.
Also, the scientists in the future wait for a message on the answering machine. The message on the machine changes based on what Bruce does in the past so it’s clearly not a perfect loop. Actions in the past influence the future so you’re back to paradoxes.
> Back to the future, Hot tub time machine, Groundhog day) and is not a real SciFi movie.
Dem are fightin words.
Those are all good, fun movies but Marty slowly fading away while playing guitar is not really ‘science’.
As opposed to the very real science of time travel? Marty fading was an excellent visualisation of how Marty’s altering the past, and hinted that there’s a level of housekeeping the timeline does to keep the world consistent. It’s just one of many theories about time travel that have been depicted in film, even if it’s not your personal favourite theory.
Not a movie, so maybe not a counter point, but I rather liked the show Dark on Netflix. I think they handled the subject matter well, without getting spoiler-y.
Started watching it but it was soooo slow. Is it a perfect loop?
Dark was amazing but I couldn’t finish it. I was so lost in the last season. I need to rewatch and not be distracted while watching.
I really liked the way Predestination tackled the topic.
This movie almost ruined my relationship with my then girlfriend/now wife. I saw it and thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. So I super recommended it to her and she… Did not agree :P It’s a very weird movie though, so I get it.
I really liked the movie but I have yet to have anyone else like it. Same thing happened with The Thin Red Line.
Well you’ve found 2 more that love it!
Wasn’t that the one with one guy sitting in the bar telling a story?
There is a scene like that in the movie.
I gave up after about 30 minutes because it felt like watching someone tell me about a movie instead of watching a movie.
Waiting for a film version of the Chrononauts comic book. They just went all out “fuck causality!” and RAN with it. It’s quite literally insane.
https://sktchd.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Panels-from-Chrononauts-2.jpg
I just re-read this the other night. The original comic run is fantastic and I forgot it was going to get made into a film but it’s been several years since that announcement.
Have you seen Primer?
Yes, I mentioned it in my post. The idea that you can only travel back in time to the moment the machine was turned on is great and helps you avoid many paradoxes. It’s a very close second to Timecrimes but the ending was very confusing with too many timelines created at the same time.
The Edge of Tomorrow is my favorite. Now I didn’t exactly like that the alien’s primary form of attack was “Beyblade” mode, but everything else about the movie was pretty great.
Why does a time travel movie have to have a perfect loop to be “correct”? I’m personally a fan of time travel stories that result in branching timelines, where nothing is written in stone and everything is fair game for alteration. A loop is just boring, as nothing has any consequence.
Essentially anything that isn’t talking about stable time loop have to be either be written by the greatest sci fi writer ever or never be written at all. Humans really need causality.
NT humans need causality.
