Such a simple idea – H. G. Wells builds a time machine, Jack the Ripper steals it and Wells has to chase him into the future – it’s a wonder no one thought of it before. This isn’t heavy SF, the effects, what few there are, aren’t what you called jaw dropping but the films is more concerned with character than exploring the fantastical elements of the story. There are no time paradoxes here, no fear of changing the past or the future, of destroying the fabric of reality; instead we get a love story.
Malcolm McDowell’s Wells is a stranger in a strange land, everything is alien to him and he brings a whimsical quality to the film. As his nemesis, David Warner gives the film its edge. Even though the Ripper is never really explored, we don’t find out what made his tick, why he does what he does, Warner still manages to make him real, not just a one dimensional bogeyman. The films best scene is their confrontation in a hotel room. It not only shows what great actors the pair are but also the contrast between the characters, with Warner’s Dr Stevenson as at home in the ‘70s as Wells is out of place.
What gives the film its centre is the relationship between Wells and Amy Robbins. It’s a relationship that shouldn’t really work, a bank employee falling for this strange Englishman should stretch credibility too far but thankfully Mary Steenburgen got the part. Steenburgen is, frankly, a bit odd. She’s not the actress you pick if you want normal but for a quirky romance she’s just right. She’s as perfect a match for Wells as she would be for Doc Brown years later in Back to the Future Part III. Of course it helps that McDowell and Steenburgen were falling for each other in real life.
Nicholas Meyer isn’t a prolific director. This was his first film and in the twenty-eight years since he’s only made seven more but with the exception of breathing life into the Star Trek movie franchise with The Wrath of Kahn this is his finest hour. There aren’t many films that have taken science fiction elements and blended them into a romantic thriller with such wit and charm and it’s stood the test of time extremely well.
Horror and Western film buff, Marvel comic geek, music lover and occasional gamer. 