Time After Time

PG

Released Aug 31, 1979

1 hr. 52 min.

Drama

List

88%

32 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) has built a time machine, and he plans on using it to travel to a Utopian paradise in the future. But before he can, Jack the Ripper (David Warner), on the run from the police, uses it to escape and travel to 1979. Wells follows, and enlists the help of a bank teller named Amy (Mary Steenburgen) to catch Jack before he continues his killing spree. As they work together, Wells falls for Amy, even as she has a hard time believing his wild story of time travel.

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Critics Consensus

With the three principal actors clearly having fun with their roles, Time After Time becomes an amusing, light-hearted fantasy lark.

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Eye C

A romantic perspective of the time travel, naive and childish, but with a good premise. I don't hate it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/19/24

Full Review

Alec B

I'm not crazy about the love story, but its a mostly entertaining piece of science fiction pulp. Malcolm McDowell and David Warner shine in their perspective roles of H.G. Wells and Jack the Ripper.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/13/23

Full Review

Susan B

This is one of my all-time favorite movies! Malcolm McDowell, and Mary Steenburgen were so good at this! And I don't remember the bad guy's name, but he was so good too. I would watch this again!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/18/23

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steve d

It didn't work for me and seemed like something I would have loved.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

dave s

When Jack the Ripper (David Warner) hops into H.G. Wells' (Malcolm McDowell) time machine and evades police by transporting himself to 1979 San Francisco, Wells quickly follows but finds himself distracted from his attempts to apprehend the killer when he falls for Amy (Mary Steenburgen). Time After Time is a thriller. It's a romance. It's a sci-fi film. Each of the individual genres work on their own terms, but when combined they eventually manage to take the wind out of the sails of the film. The sci-fi elements kill the romance angle. The romance angles kill the thrills. And the cycle just keeps repeating itself. It is entertaining enough and is an interesting idea, but could and should have been so much better. And, as a footnote, the limited special effects are embarrassingly bad.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Tony S

It's too dumb for sci-fi and too lackluster to be compellingly entertaining. This movie just plain and simply has too many dumb plot contrivances and holes. Yes-yes, its synopsis practically screams that it isn't trying to be an intricate thriller. But there are too many straws on this dead camel for it to not become apparent that the script is just winging it, thinking that its concept will cover all the stupid stuff in it. From kill-switches outside the time machine that serve no purpose other than to be used in the finale, to a woman roofing herself while a serial killer is out to get her, to the police conveniently not sending a squad to an address given to them by a suspect because, obviously, the woman there cannot be in danger, only to release the suspect when they eventually find a chopped up body there. It is infuriatingly dumb and transparent. Soundtrack is incredible and does not let the movie down. McDowell and Warner do play off each other very well. And it's a delight to watch them together, but those scenes are sparse. One who is not sparse is Mary Steenburgen. There must be something wrong with me because every word from this woman's mouth was akin to a block of chalk being smashed into a whiteboard. Horrible accent, leading to just annoying acting and character. However, the charm of the high concept is undeniable. Regardless of the fact that these are very basic bitch interpretations of H.G. Wells and Jack. Are you seriously going to pretend Wells was a prude? He bred like a rabbit.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/22/22

Full Review

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Nicholas Meyer

Director

Malcolm McDowell

H. G. Wells

David Warner

Jack the Ripper - John Leslie Stevenson

Mary Steenburgen

Amy Robbins

Charles Cioffi

Actor

Laurie Main

Inspector Gregson

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Robert Osborne

Hollywood Reporter

Such a scrambling of fact, fiction and imagination in itself deserves back-patting and, for the most part, the rendering is as delightful as the basic idea.

Sep 30, 2020

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

A delightful, entertaining trifle of a film that shows both the possibilities and limitations of taking liberties with literature and history.

Jun 5, 2007

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Clever and well calculated.

Jun 5, 2007

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A clever piece of entertainment that offers some amusing culture-clash gags scattered throughout a solid thriller.

Rated: 3/4

May 18, 2023

Full Review

Amanda Mazzillo

Film Joy

Time After Time is a delightful film offering an alternative version of a real persons life utilizing the staples of their fiction. The performances ... make this light-hearted romantic fantasy thriller one you will not soon forget.

Mar 8, 2022

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a briskly-paced thriller that benefits substantially from its strong performances and proliferation of irresistible time-travel elements...

Rated: 3/4

Aug 14, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) has built a time machine, and he plans on using it to travel to a Utopian paradise in the future. But before he can, Jack the Ripper (David Warner), on the run from the police, uses it to escape and travel to 1979. Wells follows, and enlists the help of a bank teller named Amy (Mary Steenburgen) to catch Jack before he continues his killing spree. As they work together, Wells falls for Amy, even as she has a hard time believing his wild story of time travel.

Director: Nicholas Meyer
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts, Orion Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 31, 1979, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 18, 2010
Sound Mix: Surround

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