time travel movie actors

Screen Rant

The 15 greatest time travellers in movies and television.

We list the greatest time travellers of the past, present, and future.

The concept of time-travel pre-dates modern science fiction by centuries. Often in antiquity there were stories and fables of people who slept for decades, or even centuries and awoke in a strange new world which had changed around them.

The concept of time-travel as being achieved via science was popularised by H.G Wells in his 1895 novel The Time Machine. With the advent of the 21 st century, and the theory of relativity, science fiction stories often included an element of time travel as a narrative device. This “Distancing Effect” allows for the audience to address contemporary issues in a metaphorical way.

Here are the 15 Greatest Time Travellers in Movies and Television.

15. Max Walker (Timecop - 1994)

Timecop is largely forgettable fare, mainly only notable as being the highest-grossing movie of Jean-Claude Van-Damme’s career, taking over a hundred million dollars (which was a lot back then).

The concept is pretty smart, if simplistic. A corrupt senator assigned to watch over the time enforcement division (the timecops) uses time-travel technology to invest heavily in the past using knowledge of the future. Becoming vastly wealthy, he uses his money, power, and influence to run for president, presumably to abuse that position also - not that anyone would ever do that in the real world, of course. He’s defeated by Max Walker, a timecop who is tortured by the mystery of his wife’s unexplained murder ten years previously. Through time-travel trickery, Max’s wife survives her own murder. When he returns to his proper place in the time stream, the two are reunited.

Timecop is pretty clumsy and the use of paradoxes, and the over-played “Two Jean-Claudes” trick seen in several of his movies (one is more than enough), make it a fun, if forgettable ‘90s action flick. What makes it great is the concept. Cops chasing through time in order to maintain the time stream is pretty cool, even if it’s wildly underdeveloped here. If there’s one movie on this list crying out for a reboot, it’s Timecop .

14. Hank Morgan (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - 1949)

Bing Crosby may be an unlikely time-traveller, but in this 1949 musical comedy he’s just that. Based on the 1889 novel of the same name, the movie is about a mechanic (Crosby) who bang his head and finds himself in Arthurian Britain in the year 528AD.

Befriending a knight, Hank uses his knowledge of futuristic technology to become a knight and prevents Merlin and Morgan LeFay from usurping Arthur’s throne. He returns to his own time, heartbroken that he had to leave behind the woman he had fallen in love with in the past, Alisandre La Carteloise.

The movie ends with Hank visiting Britain, and on a tour of an ancient castle, meets a young woman who looks exactly like his lost love.

13. Hiro Nakamura (Heroes - 2006)

“ Save the cheerleader, save the world. ”

While later series are generally considered to be of much poorer quality, there’s no denying the phenomenon that was the first season of Heroes . Central to the success of the series was the time-travelling antics of Hiro Nakamura, the office worker-turned master of time and space.

At the beginning of the first season Hiro believes he can manipulate spacetime, but is having trouble proving it. When he finds himself six months in the future, halfway around the world, he witnesses a nuclear blast destroying New York, teleporting back to his own time and place at the last instant.

With only a comic book from the future, depicting his own journey, to guide him. He seeks out clues to his destiny, eventually not only mastering his powers, but being instrumental in defeating the supervillain Sylar by impaling him with a Katana he comes into the possession of along the way.

While the show had an ensemble cast, Hiro was undoubtedly the heart and soul of the show. His optimism and child-like wonder provided a counterbalance for the often very dark atmosphere.

12. The Observers (Fringe 2008)

The observers were a race from the far future that had evolved from present-day humanity. In early seasons they seemed content to merely observe moments of historical importance and record their findings. As the show progressed, they seemed to have a vested interest in preserving the lives of people who ensured the timeline would play out in the manner they needed.

Eventually, it was discovered that the Observers were planning to invade the Earth, having destroyed the ecology of their native time. One of their number, known as September, opposed their plans, feeling that humanity deserved to live.

Convoluted, and sometimes confusing, Fringe had one of the richest mythologies in modern television. The observers were key to the early mystery of the show, and by the final season had become the primary antagonist.

11. The Enterprise Crew (Star Trek: The Voyage Home - 1987)

Easily the funniest of the original run of Star Trek movies, and one of the few that didn’t have a primary antagonist. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home sees the original crew of the Enterprise using a commandeered Klingon ship to travel back in time hundreds of years to 1987 San Francisco in order to bring two humpback whales to their time in order for he humpbacks to communicate with a probe which is inadvertently destroying the planet. Despite the urgency of the mission, the movie is very light-hearted and plays out almost like a comedy. The cast shot many scenes on location and ad-libbed with regular people who were unaware they were being filmed.

Most of the humour revolved around the customs of the era seeming to be more alien to the crew than the aliens they encountered in their usual adventures. Many of the jokes revolve around their misinterpretations of the era, contemporary peoples' reactions to the crew, and frequent misuse of slang.

The crew is successful in their endeavour: they repair their ship, return to their own time, and save the planet along with the whales which can repopulate the ocean.

10. Rip Hunter (DC Comics – since 1959 and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow - 2016)

In the original DC comics storylines, Rip Hunter is an ordinary man who uses his invention, the Time Sphere, to travel through time. Due to numerous revisions of the time stream, usually due to the various “Crisis” events, his history has changed many times. He is currently written as the son of fellow time traveller, and superhero, Booster Gold. After the Crisis on Infinite Earths event, Rip retains his memories from the previous timeline, unlike the rest of the universe. There also exists another version of Rip, native to this timeline, making him a literal man out of time.

In the TV series Legends of Tomorrow , Rip Hunter (played by Arthur Darvill) is portrayed as a Time Master, sworn to protect the time-line from alteration, who goes rogue in order to prevent the rise of the immortal villain Vandal Savage. As the show progresses, it becomes apparent that Savage has killed Rip’s son and their enmity is deeply personal.

Failing to kill Vandal Savage in the past, Rip assembles a team of super humans who are expendable to history and uses them to battle Savage in various times throughout history.

9. Doc Brown and Marty McFly (Back to the Future - 1985)

Probably the most famous franchise involving time-travel, the adventures of Doc Brown and Marty McFly take them from their original time in 1985 to 1955, 2015, and 1885. In each of these timelines they find numerous cases of history repeating itself, with the McFly family being central to the events in each era.

Initially Marty uses the DeLorean time machine to evade Libyan terrorists and accidentally jumps thirty years into the past. He inadvertently alters the circumstances of his parents falling in love and has to restore the time-line quickly before he erases himself from history and causes a paradox.

In the sequel, he travels to the future to prevent his childrens' lives going off the rails. In doing so, he allows his nemesis Biff Tannen to use the time machine to change the events of his life. Marty then chases through time to an alternate 1985, then 1955 to restore events to their natural state.

The third installment finds Marty in 1885, to recover Doc after they had been separated. Once again finding that the time machine cannot function properly, the two devise a plan involving a stolen steam locomotive to transport them back to the future once more.

8. The Time Traveller (The Time Machine - 1960)

Following the novel of the same name, the time traveller (given the name H. George Wells here after the author, unnamed in the novel) invites several friends to his home in January of 1900. He shows them his miniature time machine which disappears into the time stream. They remain unconvinced by this parlour trick, and leave. He bids them farewell, and heads to his basement where he enters his full-sized time-machine, which sends him 17 years into the future.

In 1917, he meets the son of his friend, Filby, and learns of the beginning of The Great War. He then travels to 1940 and discovers that the world is once again at war, this time World War 2. He then travels to 1966 (the future of the 1960 audience) to discover his neighbourhood is a futuristic metropolis but is under threat of nuclear war.

Escaping a nuclear blast, The Time Traveller finds himself in 802,701 AD when the nuclear winter is finally over and mankind has become two separate species, the docile Eloi, and the cannibalistic subterranean Morlocks. George explores this strange new world before it becomes too dangerous and returns to his home in 1900.

His friends, still dubious of his claims, examine a flower from the future which does not exist in their time. Filby believes him, and upon returning discovers both George and the machine missing, seemingly having gone back to the future timeline of the Eloi.

7. Kyle Reece (The Terminator- 1984)

While the Terminator franchise has seen many time-travellers attempt to change the course of history, none have been able to measure up to the originals. Kyle Reese is a young soldier who grew up after a nuclear bombardment who knows nothing but war with the machines, sent to protect the mother (Sarah Connor) of the future human resistance leader (John Connor). A terminator robot is sent to the past with orders to kill Connor, guaranteeing the machine victory in the future.

Kyle is traumatised by his life, he rarely sleeps and when he does his dreams are filled with nightmares of a never-ending war. Despite his doubts over whether the technology exists in the 1980s to destroy a Terminator, he travels naked and alone to protect a woman he has never met, prepared to give his life to save her. It is revealed that in the future the leader of the human resistance, John Connor, had given Kyle a photograph of Sarah many years before. Kyle had fallen in love with the woman in the photograph, and volunteered to save her.

Kyle dies trying to stop The Terminator, but it is Sarah who delivers the final blow to the machine. Kyle’s bravery, and warnings of the future, inspire Sarah to raise the son she has created with Kyle to be the leader he needs to be.

The Terminator is notable for being a paradox. The future war cannot take place without two key elements, the rise of the machines, and the birth of John Connor. Neither of these things can happen without the use of time travel as the machines cannot rise without Skynet being developed from tech harvested from the destroyed Terminator, and John cannot be sired unless Kyle travels in time. Future movies muddy the waters even further, but what remains is the story of Kyle Reese who is willing to cross time for the woman he loves.

6. Bill and Ted (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure - 1989)

Bill S. Preston, Esquire, and Ted “Theodore” Logan are two high school metalhead slackers with dreams of one day being rock stars (despite being terrible musicians). In the future of 2688, they have become legendary figures whose music has become the inspiration for a utopian society. The leaders of this utopian world send their agent, Rufus, to 1989 to ensure Bill and Ted pass high school so that they may take their place in history. Should they fail, Ted’s father plans to send Ted to a military academy ending their plans for their band and changing the future. Rufus arrives in a time machine (disguised as a phone booth) and sends them on a mission through time to learn about history, thereby passing their history final, and therefore high school.

Bill and Ted travel throughout the past, recruiting historical figures such as Napoleon, Billy the Kid, Sigmund Freud, Beethoven, Genghis Khan, and Joan of Ark among others. They also meet and fall in love with a pair of medieval princesses. Escaping from the princess’ angry father, the booth is damaged and the pair briefly end up in the utopian future they help to forge through their music.

Eventually the pair arrive back in their own time with their new friends in tow. They make an event out of their history final, and ensure the future comes to pass as it should.

5. Ash (Army of Darkness - 1992)

Army of Darkness picks up from where the previous movie ( Evil Dead II ) leaves off, with series protagonist and deadite-destroyer, Ash, being transported back in time through a mystical portal to 1300AD where he must battle an army of the dead before he can return home.  Ash also has to confront and destroy an evil version of himself “Bad Ash” that represents his dark side. Having lost his right hand in the previous movie, Ash replaced it with a chainsaw. In this movie, he builds a gauntlet to use in place of it when not in combat.

Unlike the previous two entries in the series, this one has an element of time-travel. It also has two very different endings. The first, and intended ending, has Ash defeat the Army of Darkness and drink a potion which will allow him to sleep until his own time. He drinks too much and awakens in a post-apocalyptic future instead. In the alternate ending, and the ending most familiar to US audiences, Ash simply rides off into the sunset before reappearing in the present. He is seen back at work, boasting about his success in defeating the Army of Darkness, but is suddenly interrupted when a co-worker also becomes corrupted by an evil spirit and becomes a deadite.

4. James Cole (12 Monkeys - 1995)

*This article refers to the 1995 film, not the ongoing television series of the same name*

In an alternate 1996, a mysterious virus has wiped out most of humanity, leaving the few survivors to flee into underground tunnels for survival. In 2035, James Cole (Bruce Willis) is a prisoner selected to go back in time to 1996 to search for clues as to the virus’ origins and the mysterious organization known as the 12 Monkeys, who are believed to have been the cause of the outbreak.

Due to time travel being an inexact science, Cole arrives in 1990 instead of 1996. He is sent to a mental institute as his prophesies about the impending apocalypse are seen as delusions. While he is there, he encounters Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt) a fellow inmate with fanatical views, but a possible insight to the impending outbreak. Due to Cole shifting back and forth across time, he not only witnesses the true source of the outbreak and is unable to stop it, but his child self witnesses his death as an adult, a moment that haunts Cole his entire life and shows that despite trying to change destiny, events play out exactly as they were always going to.

3. Tim Lake (About Time - 2013)

What would you do if you discovered that you could effortlessly travel backwards and forwards in time? When Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) is told by his father that all male members of his family have this power, he is sceptical. Upon discovering his father is telling the truth, his initial thoughts are that he could use the gift to become wealthy, but his father discourages this saying that his uncle is vastly wealthy but it never made him happy. Tim decides that he will dedicate his life to the highest ideal: love.

After an aborted attempt to woo his sister’s friend, Charlotte (Margot Robbie) he meets and immediately falls for Mary (Rachel McAdams). Due to altering the time-line to help an acquaintance, he realizes that he has never met Mary in this new timeline. He seeks her out once more, and using his knowledge of their previous encounter, woos her once again.

Tim travels back and forth numerous times and has an idyllic life with Mary; they marry and have a daughter. Tim’s sister hasn’t been so lucky in her life. She struggles to build any sort of career, and her drinking causes her to have a car crash. Tim tries to alter the events of her life, but realizes that should he go back to before his children are born, he risks wiping them out of existence entirely. He must simply let his sister make her own choices and accept the consequences, like everyone else.

When he discovers his father has terminal cancer, he is heartbroken. He also realizes that time-travel cannot change it. His father tells him that he has travelled back and forth numerous times himself, making the most of his life, and is content to let his life run its course. He imparts some wisdom to Tim, he tells him to live each day twice. Once with all the tensions and worries that make our lives as they are, and again, making no changes, but noticing the world for how wonderful it truly is.

After Tim’s father dies, he comes to realize that he needs to only live each day once, appreciating the beauty of the world as if he were living it for the second time. The film ends with him having given up time-travelling and living each day to the fullest.

2. Sam Beckett (Quantum Leap - 1989)

“ Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Doctor Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Doctor Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home… ”

The opening to each episode nicely sums up the show. Doctor Sam Beckett travels to numerous places and times to correct historical mistakes, sometimes involving key moments in history, but generally just helping to put regular people on the right path.

Eventually, after years of leaping, he arrives in a strange place, at the very moment of his birth, not in the form of another person, but as himself. He meets a mysterious barkeeper who seems to be aware of Sam’s predicament. He assures Sam that Sam is in control of his leaping, and that Sam can leap home any time he wants to. Sam chooses to leap to a point when his best friend Al is missing in action, and tells Al’s wife to wait for him, thus ensuring Al’s life is much happier than it had been. Sam then leaps away once more and the closing narrative explains that Sam continues to leap, but never returns home.

1. The Doctor (Doctor Who - 1963)

The Doctor is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels through both time and space in his TARDIS, a time machine that resembles a 1950s Police Box from Britain that is bigger on the inside. The Time Lords, one of the oldest species in the universe, dedicated themselves to overseeing all of time and space. The Doctor, a rebel amongst his people, chose to leave his home and stole an obsolete TARDIS to explore the universe, usually along with human companions. His name is unknown to most, and he is only ever referred to as either “The Doctor” or simply “Doctor”. He chose this name for himself, essentially as a promise - " Never cruel nor cowardly. Never give up. Never give in. "

Very little information on The Doctor’s childhood has ever been given. The original series made some references to his time training at the academy on Gallifrey. The more recent series has given occasional insights such as in the episode “The Sound of Drums” where it is shown that at age 8 Time Lords are shown the time vortex, a gap in space and time which shows them infinity. He says that some are inspired, some go mad (such as his nemesis, The Master) and others run away. When asked, he says that he ran away and has never stopped running.

Due to The Doctor’s alien heritage, when his body dies, it regenerates into a new form (allowing the actor playing him to be replaced numerous times). The Time Lords have a limited number of lives, but The Doctor was given a new set of lives when his expired, allowing for yet more regenerations and continued adventures throughout time and space.

More of an explorer than a warrior, The Doctor has been forced to take up arms against his foes more often than he'd like. None of his adversaries have matched the horrors inflicted by the Dalek race, who have threatened all existence numerous times. These Daleks have hounded The Doctor, and the other Time Lords across time and space and remain his most persistent enemies.

Got any great time-travellers we haven’t mentioned here? Let us know about them in the comments and we may feature them in future… or even in the past!

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The 25 Greatest Time-Travel Movies Ever Made

It must say something, surely, about humans, how often time-travel movies are about returning to the past rather than jumping to the future. As Mark Duplass’s forlorn character says in Safety Not Guaranteed , “The mission has to do with regret.” With all the potential to explore the unknown world of the future, so often when our minds conspire to bend the rules of time it’s instead to rehash the old. It’s compelling to watch a character in a movie do what we cannot — right past wrongs or uncover the reason for or meaning behind the events in their lives, whether they be emotionally catastrophic or merely geopolitically motivated.

So absent is the future from the canon, in fact, that when it is involved, typically future dwellers are leaving their own time to come back to the present. Back to the Future Part II aside, it seems as if there’s something about going forward in time that just doesn’t track for humans. (Of course, you could argue that this is because the present-day concept of bidirectional time travel would infinitely multiply or change beyond recognition any future that may occur, but that’s a knot for another article.)

In any case, the time-travel stories deemed worthy of Hollywood budgets aren’t always straightforward in their mechanics. Some films on this list barely qualify as time-travel movies at all; others could hardly qualify as anything else. There are movies about trips through time but also ones about the bending and fracturing and muddying thereof; then there are those about, as Andy Samberg aptly puts it in Palm Springs , “one of those infinite time-loop situations you might have heard about.” There’s even a movie in which we get only 13 seconds’ worth of time travel, when it functions more like a joke whose punch line hits at the film’s climax.

What these films all do have in common is a fascination with changing the way time works. That being said, the list leaves out movies in larger, more extended franchises in which time meddling is a one-off dalliance thrown into a sequel with little by way of foreshadowing: think Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Avengers: Endgame , and Men in Black III . (It also leaves off perhaps the Ur-time-travel movie, Primer , and the quite good Midnight in Paris because their directors don’t deserve the column inches.) We’re looking at self-contained stories using time mechanics from the start, with preference given to those that involve themselves more intently with the ins and outs of time travel; that ask questions about time, aging, memory and so forth; and that try to succeed at it in new and interesting ways. So let’s get to it.

25. Galaxy Quest (1999)

Does Galaxy Quest really count as a time-travel movie? Some compelling reasons argue that it doesn’t: Time travel isn’t a major factor in the plot, and the time traveling that does occur is, yes, only a 13-second jump. But its use of time travel is meaningful insofar as the movie itself is a loving spoof of Star Trek , which makes use of time travel in three films ( one of which made this list ), not to mention dozens of episodes across its various TV iterations. Tacking on time travel as a deus ex machina for the actors in a Star Trek– like show pressed into service as an actual space crew by an endangered alien race is the exact right amount of ribbing in a movie that’s as on point as it is hilarious.

Galaxy Quest is available to rent on Amazon .

24. Happy Death Day (2017)

Pick away at the surface of a time-loop movie and you find a horror movie. Most of the entries on this list are covered in enough feel-good spin to land as comedies, but Happy Death Day stares the horror of the time-loop phenomenon right in the face. (It’s also quite funny.) Reliving the same day over and over is an unimaginably potent form of psychological torture, and adding murder to the equation does little to dull that edge. The film follows a college-age protagonist struggling to escape from a masked slasher hell-bent on killing her again and again while she tries to solve the mystery of how she got stuck in a time loop.

Happy Death Day is available to rent on Amazon .

23. Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Seriously, this may be the only good movie in which the film’s whole focus is using a time machine to travel into the future. The fact that it’s a sequel is telling — the characters already traveled into the past in the first movie , and the filmmakers decided to save “traveling even further into the past“ for the third film in the trilogy. Still, Back to the Future Part II is a fun time that makes great use of sight gags and references, recasting scenes from the first film in the distant future year of 2015 with all its hoverboards and self-lacing Nikes.

Back to the Future Part II is available to rent on Amazon .

22. See You Yesterday (2019)

It’s a dirty little secret of time-travel movies that they tend to be, well, pretty white. Tenet ’s Protagonist aside, if Hollywood’s sending someone through time, they’re almost certainly not a Black person, and for obvious reasons: Most of post-contact North American history is deeply unfriendly to people of color, and the problems a person running around out of time and place is going to encounter are deeply compounded if they’ll likely be the target of racist abuse or violence — which makes See You Yesterday all the more compelling. Produced by Spike Lee and featuring one of filmdom’s most famous time travelers in a cameo role, it follows a Black teenage science prodigy who uses a time machine to try to save her brother from being killed by a police officer.

See You Yesterday is streaming on Netflix .

21. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

No offense to the Back to the Future franchise, but time travel never looks more fun on film than it does in the first Bill & Ted movie. It’s a concept that feels distinctly of a different era, so pure is its zaniness, that it’s hard to imagine anyone concocting it today. The titular duo, Californian high-school students in the ’80s, travel through the past looking for historical figures in order to ace a history project, then bring them all back to the present. High jinks ensue! We get Genghis Khan in a sporting-goods store and Mozart on an electric keyboard. What more could you want?

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is streaming on HBO Max .

20. Source Code (2011)

Time-travel-film aficionados know this won’t be Jake Gyllenhaal’s only stop on this list, but no matter. Source Code finds him repeating the same eight minutes over and over as he struggles to find the culprit in a train bombing — with each replay ending in his own death by explosion. For some reason, a romantic subplot is shoehorned into this, along with a bunch of frankly unnecessary technical mumbo-jumbo, but the core idea is a compelling mix of the time-loop movie and the train whodunit that Gyllenhaal is a perfect fit for.

Source Code is available to rent on Amazon .

19. 12 Monkeys (1995)

Some sort of law of nature dictates that every genuinely good idea and/or piece of true art has to at some point be turned into a Hollywood movie. Thank God La Jetée was adapted into something that can stand on its own feet artistically. 12 Monkeys may not retain its source material’s black-and-white look or stripped-down, static-image presentation, but it is a rollicking good time nonetheless. That’s in no small part due to director Terry Gilliam getting the best out of Bruce Willis and a young Brad Pitt, and recasting World War III as a planet-decimating virus. Which, like at least one other movie on this list , “speaks to the present moment,” or whatever.

12 Monkeys is available to rent on Amazon .

18. Run Lola Run (1998)

Unlike almost all of the other films on this list, the terms time travel and time machine don’t show up anywhere in Run Lola Run . Rather, it’s a sort of de facto time-loop scenario in which the protagonist tries repeatedly to pay a ransom to save her boyfriend’s life. In fact, if not for a few key details, it could easily be characterized (and often has been) as an alternate-endings movie rather than a time-travel film. But the fact that Lola seems to be learning from her past attempts with each successive one suggests that she is, indeed, using knowledge gained from previous loops to bring a satisfactory end to this situation.

Run Lola Run is available to rent on Amazon .

17. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

One of the most striking things about Groundhog Day is the mutability and replicability of its core conceit. Perhaps the best case in point is Edge of Tomorrow , sometimes known as Live. Die. Repeat. after its original tagline. It’s the kind of physically grueling movie only an actor as genuinely unhinged as Tom Cruise could pull off. A noncombatant thrust into a war against invading aliens, Cruise’s character finds himself reliving day one of combat over and over, slowly but surely refining his techniques in order to survive the extraterrestrial onslaught. Like the central twosome in the much less violent Palm Springs , he winds up with a partner in (war) crime, teaming up with the similarly time-trapped Emily Blunt, and the explanation for the replay glitch here is actually pretty satisfying.

Edge of Tomorrow is streaming on Fubo TV .

16. Star Trek (2009)

If you could create some sort of an advanced stat to measure controversy generated per unit of interesting filmmaking decisions, J.J. Abrams would have to be near the top in terms of his ability to rig up movie drama from almost nothing. This is a guy whose filmography is like Godzilla rip-off, Spielberg homage, safe reboot of cherished IP, repeat. Star Trek may be his best film, though, a sure-footed reinvention of a dorky sci-fi franchise that made it, well, cool. Somehow, the beauty of Spock and Kirk’s bromance being woven through chance encounters with future selves kind of … works?

Star Trek is available to rent on Amazon .

15. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

There’s a relative dearth of time travel in animated film, which perhaps is a function simply of the fact that it’s less impressive to stage in a world that’s already unreal. If you can Looney Tunes your way through physics, what’s so special about grabbing the flow of time and tying it into a bow? Still, the original Girl Who Leapt Through Time deserves mention here. It’s a beautiful story that interlaces the complexity of time leaping with the intensity of teenage emotion and the thorny process of growing up where the opportunity to redo things leads, over time, to growth — a less shitty Groundhog Day , in a way.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is available to rent on Amazon .

14. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

She may not be the most famous, decorated, or emulated actress of her generation, but Aubrey Plaza is someone whose personality spoke to the irony-soaked 2010s in a way that simply could not be denied. Her character on Parks and Recreation , April Ludgate, was, by all accounts, created specifically to channel Plaza’s real-life personality to the screen, and she plays essentially the same character in Safety Not Guaranteed . Here, she’s a sarcastic intern at a magazine working on a story about a would-be time traveler and using her feminine wiles to slowly gain his trust. The chemistry between Plaza and Mark Duplass is probably the film’s high point; the subplot about the FBI feels like it was clipped out of a bad X-Files episode.

Safety Not Guaranteed is streaming on Tubi .

13. La Jetée (1962)

At only a 28-minute run time, La Jetée is arguably too short to merit inclusion on this list. However, what it lacks in content (and in, well, moving images; it’s almost exclusively a collection of static black-and-white shots set to voice-over), it more than makes up for in inventiveness and influence, and it would be a travesty to leave it out in favor of more recent by-the-book fare. Tracing the tale of a man held prisoner in post-WWIII Paris being used in time-travel experiments as his captors seek to remedy the postapocalyptic state of the world, he’s sent into both the future and the past and ends up unraveling a lifelong personal mystery while he’s at it.

La Jetée is streaming on the Criterion Channel .

12. Planet of the Apes (1968)

Unlike the worse but more straightforwardly time-traveling Tim Burton remake, the relationship between the original Planet of the Apes and time travel is inexact — technically, the astronaut crew that lands on the titular planet does travel forward 2,000 years, but it’s not done via a time machine. The travel isn’t instantaneous: It literally does take them 2,000 years to get there; they’re just unconscious and on life support. Still, the way the film’s ending handles the iconic reveal is exactly in line with the best of the time-travel canon, the telescoping, mise en abyme feeling of the world shifting in front of your very eyes without your moving an inch.

Planet of the Apes is available to rent on Amazon .

11. Groundhog Day (1993)

The famous Bill Murray vehicle essentially invented the infinite-time-loop genre (and it’s hardly a movie that succeeds on the strength of its concept alone), but the idea at its core is so steeped in the casual misogyny of late-’80s and early-’90s cinema that it’s hard to watch today without cringing. Murray’s character employing what amounts to PUA-style techniques over and over and over in a desperate bid to fuck his hapless co-worker just doesn’t hit the way it did back then. If the story arc didn’t present a guy detoxifying himself of the worst aspects of masculinity in order to be worthy of a woman’s love as the primary way for a 20th-century white man to achieve full personhood, this would be much higher on the list.

Groundhog Day is streaming on Starz .

10. Predestination (2014)

This is probably the most complicated film on the list. Following a “temporal agent” (played by Ethan Hawke) who’s trying to prevent a bombing in 1970s New York, it’s based on a Robert A. Heinlein short story and features Shiv Roy herself, Sarah Snook, in a star-making turn as someone with a complicated backstory and a secret. Like the best sci-fi, the film’s premise raises all kinds of fascinating questions about the titular concept and throws in some interesting musings on sex, gender, and the self in the process.

Predestination is streaming on Tubi .

9. Looper (2012)

Wes Anderson gets a lot of flak for his overwrought twee visuals, but Rian Johnson has a knack for making movies that feel and function like dioramas even if they don’t look it. Narratively speaking, everything here is constructed just so — and there’s a certain beauty in that — but who ever had a profound experience of art by looking at a diorama? Looper was probably Johnson’s least precious pre– Star Wars film, which is nice because the temptation to drastically overmaneuver the mechanics of a time-travel story can lead to disaster. The tech used to Bruce Willis–ify Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s face is distracting, and the third act’s retreat from the postapocalyptic city of the future to the postapocalyptic corn farm of the future is a brave choice that the film struggles to land. Still, Johnson’s vision of a future in which organized crime runs time travel is compelling and well worth a watch.

Looper is streaming on Netflix .

8. Donnie Darko (2001)

Donnie Darko is a bit of a genre mash-up. Part high-school movie, part sci-fi flick, part bleak meditation on the soullessness of late-’80s America, it’s nevertheless a weirdly successful piece of filmmaking that makes fantastic use of a young Jake Gyllenhaal, a great supporting cast (Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Jena Malone, and Patrick Swayze among others), and an absolutely iconic haunting cover of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World.” Watching high schoolers navigate parallel universes, wormholes, and time travel is a dicey proposition, but director Richard Kelly makes it work, somehow.

Donnie Darko is streaming on HBO Max .

7. Back to the Future (1984)

While it’s clearly superior to the sequel (and leagues ahead of the final film in the trilogy), the original Back to the Future is a bit of a mess (John Mulaney was right , to be honest). Its racial and gender politics are cringey, and the incest subplot is weird (“It’s your cousin Marvin. Marvin Pornhub . You know that new plot element you’ve been looking for?”), but there’s a clear interest in time travel beyond its shimmering surface: the very real addressing of the “grandfather problem” in time travel via the slow disappearance of Marty from his family photo, the accidental invention of rock music, and a genuine curiosity about the nuts-and-bolts mechanics of time machines. Ahh, what the hell. It’s a romp.

Back to the Future is available to rent on Amazon .

6. Palm Springs (2020)

No offense to Gen-Xers and boomers, but the best time-loop movie of all time is Palm Springs . The film isn’t without its missteps, but it’s much more curious about life than Groundhog Day was through the eyes of Murray’s misanthrope. Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg‘s characters, stuck in the loop together, are a perfect comedic match, and their shared humanity makes for a beautiful arc. The film raises questions about what’s worth doing in life when nothing lasts and how to stay sane when every day is the same. Of course, as a sort of polar opposite of Tenet , it benefited from coming out during the pandemic by speaking, as it does, to the experience of lockdown.

Palm Springs is streaming on Hulu .

5. Tenet (2020)

Interstellar wasn’t enough for Chris Nolan, apparently. Tenet ’s legacy may end up being little more than that of the COVID action movie no one saw — a bloated thriller that Nolan fought to get into theaters and bar from home viewing reportedly to swell the size of his own pockets. It really did suffer from bad timing, though, because this is genuinely a quintessential big-screen popcorn movie whose absurdity is all the more palatable when it’s given the audiovisual bombast it deserves. Ambitious in scope as it traces a war on the past by the future (yes, you read that right), Tenet is as enamored of action tropes as it is in bucking them, and its investment in rendering visible the brain-bendingly knotty mechanics of moving through time is laudable, even when the movie itself remains opaque — as impenetrable as the future, as hazy as the past.

Tenet is streaming on HBO Max .

4. The Terminator (1984)

A partner to Blade Runner in the mid-’80s invention of sci-fi noir, The Terminator is a stunning film in many ways, despite the third act’s now-iffy visual effects. While it’s not James Cameron’s debut, and it would go on to be bested by its sequel , it functions as an incredible showcase for an emerging young director who would exclusively make big stories for the rest of his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as the relentless, unemotional killer cyborg sent back from the future to terminate the mother of the eventual resistance leader, and the film’s romantic subplot has just the perfect amount of time-travel-induced cheesiness for it to work.

The Terminator is streaming on Amazon Prime Video .

3. Interstellar (2014)

It’s not inaccurate to say Christopher Nolan is a director who’s more interested in scale and scope than in expressing the minutiae of the human experience in its purest form. But in Interstellar, a Nolan movie in its titular ambitions, there’s a core element of time travel wrought not as sci-fi fireworks but as a paean to the sheer force and will of the power of love. It both does and doesn’t work, depending on your capacity for cheese in space, but even besides that, Nolan’s use of time as story arc — the way Miller’s planet functions, in particular — is conceptually masterful in the best kind of time-travel-movie way.

Interstellar is streaming on Paramount+ .

2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Whereas the franchise’s first movie spends more time on the question of time travel, in the second it takes a bit of a back seat to the action itself. It’s hard to fault director James Cameron for this decision; T2 remains one of the best action movies of the ’90s and — along with Jurassic Park and The Matrix — one of the decade’s best when for special effects. The groundbreaking T-1000 would honestly be enough to get this movie on the list; a tween John Connor grappling with questions of predestination and the fact that he is vicariously responsible for his own conception feel almost like icing on the time-travel cake. Much as in 12 Monkeys , time travel here is mistaken for delusion, as valiant Sarah Connor, in a Cassandra-esque nightmare, has to battle against the future only she knows is coming. Of course, Cassandra never had access to any firepower stored in underground desert arsenals.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is streaming on Netflix .

1. Arrival (2016)

It’s fair to wonder whether Arrival really is, in fact, a time-travel movie. The Ted Chiang short story it’s based on isn’t about time travel per se; rather, it’s an exploration of alternate forms of temporal understanding. The linguist protagonist, played by Amy Adams, doesn’t travel through time so much as come to experience it differently. Still, the plot ends up hinging on foreknowledge that she is granted not via visions but by actually experiencing her future simultaneously with her present and past. For our purposes, though, that’s time fuckery enough to merit inclusion, and boy howdy does the film deliver in overall quality. Partly, that’s simply a question of the source material. Chiang is arguably the most talented (and possibly the most decorated) American sci-fi writer of his generation. But the source story is not especially Hollywood friendly, and director Denis Villeneuve has adopted it lovingly, borrowing a plot device from another of Chiang’s stories, the more straightforwardly time-travel-based “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” in order to add some third-act blockbuster flavor. The result is a beautiful meditation on love, choice, and courage that packs art-film ethos into a genuine sci-fi blockbuster.

Arrival is streaming on Hulu and Paramount+ .

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55 Best Time Travel Movies Of All Time Ranked

One of the fun things about time travel movies (apart from, you know, the time travel part) is that they're not married to one particular genre. Hopping from one year to the next is a narrative device that benefits everything from romantic comedies to slasher films. If you have a preferred genre, there is a very good chance that there's a time travel film within it just waiting to blow your mind. On the other hand, if you're not picky about your watch habits and are just as keen to watch a Western as a psychological thriller, time travel films are a great way to experience a generous swath of genres while keeping one thematic element consistent: messing with the sanctity of the space-time continuum. 

Below you'll find 55 of the best time travel films that the sub-genre has at its disposal. Along the way, you'll notice a couple of recurring narrative trends. More than one pair of lovers find themselves separated by a decade (or a century). Time-traveling protagonists are forced to accept the messiness of the past after attempting to right the wrongs of history. There are also fish out of water comedies galore, from helicopter-piloting samurai to modern-day teenagers stranded in the Wild West. So with all that said, feel free to take notes, synchronize your watches, and settle in for a look at the best time travel films cinema has to offer ... at least in this timeline.

55. A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court

You may be familiar with that holiest of fish-out-of-water scenarios: "man from the present gets transported back to medieval times." The third installment in the "Evil Dead" franchise, which may or may not feature later on this list, is one example. The 2001 Martin Lawrence vehicle "Black Knight" is another. But there's something especially charming about Tay Garnett's 1949 film, "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court," which adapts Mark Twain's 1889 novel of the same name. 

Inspired by Twain's text, the film follows a crooning mechanic (Bing Crosby) who is launched back to 6th-century England after receiving a blow to the head. There, he finds allies, lovers, and rivals as his modern ways inevitably clash with the antiquated traditions of a medieval court. "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" is an easy-breezy Saturday matinee flick that highlights Crosby's undeniable charm.

54. G.I. Samurai

Criminally underseen outside of Japan, Kōsei Saitō's 1979 film "G.I. Samurai" follows an elite squad of soldiers who accidentally slip through the cracks of time to an era when roving samurai clans warred in hopes of securing dominance over the country. Starring comedic legend Sonny Chiba (who, as ever, does most of his own stunts), the film is undoubtedly one of the strangest entries on this list. That said, don't let that stop you from checking out this violent genre mish-mash. "G.I. Samurai" (which also goes by the equally accurate name "Time Slip" and the utterly baffling "I Want To") is a charming if eccentric adventure through time.

53. The Visitors

Directed by Jean-Marie Poiré (who also helmed the 2001 English-language remake "Just Visiting"), "The Visitors" follows two poor medieval souls who accidentally stumble into modern times, landing in the early 1990s thanks to a bumbling, not-all-there magician. With his loyal servant (Christian Clavier) in tow, brazen knight Godefroy de Malfête (Jean Reno) must navigate such futuristic horrors as concrete roads, dentistry, and bowl cuts no longer being a fashion-forward haircut choice. Wacky to its core and endlessly over the top, "The Visitors" is a fish out of water time travel romp that's just about as goofy as they come.

52. The Butterfly Effect

While "The Butterfly Effect" wasn't particularly well-regarded when it first premiered in 2004 (as its low score on Rotten Tomatoes testifies), Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber's high-concept time travel film has since enjoyed a modern reevaluation, emerging as one of the more interesting sci-fi horror offerings of the early naughties. The film follows Evan (Ashton Kutcher, playing against type), a young man who struggles to remember his past, thanks to a history of harrowing abuse. By chance, Evan discovers that reading from his old journals allows him to literally embody his younger self, changing the most traumatic parts of his past by making different decisions. Unfortunately, as the film's title suggests, Evan's meddling in the past, however seemingly insignificant, produces a domino effect of tragic consequences for not just his own life, but the lives of those around him.

51. The Final Countdown

Plenty of films on this list have time machines. Heck, one of those time machines is even a DeLorean. But only one film has a time-traveling nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Released in 1980, "The Final Countdown" tells the story of a US military vessel that has the misfortune of traveling back in time to December 6th, 1941, the day before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Once the crew (which includes the talents of Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen) comes to terms with the moral implications of their situation, a "Twilight Zone"-like dilemma breaks out as to whether they ought to intervene and change the course of history, or allow a national tragedy to unfold. Part B-movie science fiction romp, part recruitment tool for the US Navy, "The Final Countdown" is utterly unlike any other time travel film on this list.

50. Somewhere in Time

Released in 1980 and starring three of the hottest people to ever exist (Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer, respectively), "Somewhere in Time" follows a young playwright named Richard (Reeve) who has an uncanny experience on the opening night of his first stage play: An old woman, who he has never met before, begs Richard to come back to her. Obsessed by the mystery-laden encounter, Richard does what any self-respecting romantic would do and travels back in time to find her via self-hypnosis. Directed by French filmmaker Jeannot Szwarc (whose 1975 creature feature "Bug" gives William Castle a run for his B-movie money), "Somewhere in Time" is both charming and emotionally devastating. You've been warned!

49. 13 Going on 30

One of the more straightforward romantic comedies on this list, "13 Going on 30" follows a young dorky teen named Jenna who makes a wish on her thirteenth birthday to grow up faster (specifically, she wants to be, "30, flirty, and thriving"). And just like that, Jenna is catapulted into the future, waking up as a 30-year-old woman with 30-year-old problems (first and foremost, the naked man she finds in her new apartment, to her considerable disgust). While the thrills of independence and adulthood are exhilarating at first (what 13-year-old doesn't dream of disposable income?) Jenna soon finds that being older comes with its own set of challenges. A contagiously charming document of all the fashion crimes the early naughties had to offer, "13 Going on 30" is notable for highlighting the considerable talents of its main cast, especially Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, and the ever-delightful Judy Greer.

48. Déjà Vu

Marking the reunion of director Tony Scott and actor Denzel Washington after 2004's "Man on Fire," "Déjà Vu" is a bombastic (pun intended) time-traveling romance that also dares to be a straight-laced crime thriller. The film follows Doug Carlin (Washington), a federal agent who is summoned to investigate a horrific bombing on the Mississippi River. When Carlin proves himself to be a competent ally, an experimental FBI team invites him to participate in a new, super-secret form of investigation: A device, dubbed "Snow White," that allows users to take brief glimpses back into the past. But as the investigation persists, Doug grows less interested in catching the perpetrator in the present day, instead looking to alter history to prevent the accident from ever happening. With Denzel Washington's engaging presence, "Déjà Vu" is thrilling and heart-wrenching in equal measure.

47. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

While there's certainly a debate to be had about whether or not being cryogenically frozen counts as time travel, around these parts we're liable to vote yes. As far as we're concerned, superspy Austin Powers (Mike Myers) going to sleep in the swinging '60s and thawing out in the 1990s absolutely makes the cut. And with his bald-headed nemesis Dr. Evil (also Mike Myers) equally de-thawed and back with a vengeance, it's up to the shagadelic international man of mystery to acclimatize to these modern times in order to save the day. The first (and best) entry in the "Austin Powers" series, Jay Roach's 1997 film is brimming with sly nods and genuinely insightful critiques of its source material (namely, the "James Bond" films). A hoot from start to finish, "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" stands tall in the genre of spy parodies.

46. Army of Darkness

The third entry in the flawless "Evil Dead" trilogy, "Army of Darkness" was director Sam Raimi's vision of a horror film set in the past. This tale of the medieval dead reunites us with the series' incredibly groovy hero Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell), who was sucked through a wormhole (book of the dead-hole?) at the end of "Evil Dead II" that transported him to the year 1300 A.D. Somehow goofier than its predecessor, "Army of Darkness" follows Ash as he wins over the hearts, minds, and women of a walled city besieged by nefarious deadites. As he attempts to woo his crush and banish evil from the land, our strong-jawed hero is preoccupied with figuring out how to return back to his own time. Bonkers to its core and unabashedly full of both Raimi and Campbell's love of physical comedy, "Army of Darkness" is a blast from the past in more ways than one.

45. Happy Death Day 2U

Yeah, we hear you: Everything was tied up in one neat little bow at the end of the original 2017 film, "Happy Death Day." How could there be a sequel? What could possibly be worse than getting trapped in a time loop where you are killed over and over again by a killer wearing a creepy baby-faced mask? Well, all of you who answered "getting stuck in a parallel dimension where you're stuck in a time loop again " deserve a pat on the back. Yes, Tree Glebman (Jessica Rothe) may have escaped the maddening time loop in  her dimension, but thanks to the science experiment of some neighboring dorks, she's lost all that hard-won narrative closure and must fight for her life (well, lives ) once again. Matching its predecessor in charm and creativity, "Happy Death Day 2U" is an arguably unnecessary yet still delightful sequel.

44. Slaughterhouse-Five

Based on Kurt Vonnegut's novel of the same name, "Slaughterhouse-Five" follows the time-tripping exploits of Billy Pilgrim (Michael Sacks), an aptly named man who is "unstuck in time" after becoming a prisoner of war in 1940s Germany. Slipping in and out of his past, present, and future, Billy trips in and out of decades and major life events (including being abducted by aliens). Directed with a dreamy, atmospheric competence by George Roy Hill (the man behind "The Sting" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"), even Vonnegut himself praised the movie as "a flawless translation ... I drool and cackle every time I watch that film." And if praise from the horse's mouth doesn't do it for you, the film just so happens to enjoy critical acclaim across the board.

If you know one thing about 2004's "Primer," it's that it's famously difficult to explain without sounding like you spent a lot of time in a glue factory. That said, let's have a go at it: "Primer" follows four tech bros who build a machine in their garage that does ... something. They're not sure what, exactly. But it's something . One of the bizarre effects of their creation is that time appears to work differently inside the machine, making it a kind of "time machine," if you will. After much discussion, the foursome decide to experiment with it, only to discover a strange side effect: Whatever passes through the machine creates a double. A puzzle of a film full of paradoxes, loopholes, and sequences of events that overlap, dovetail, and intersect, "Primer" is a feisty, wildly ambitious indie movie that holds its own amidst the bigger blockbusters of the genre.

42. Triangle

Packaged as a typical slasher movie, Christopher Smith's 2009 psychological horror film follows a group of shipwrecked survivors who seek refuge on a mysteriously deserted ocean liner. At first, they think they are alone. Then a shotgun-wielding masked killer emerges out of the woodwork to make an already terrifying situation even worse as they pick everyone off one by one. To say much more than that (or how any of this has to do with time travel) would give away the film's secrets. So we will say no more! Featuring an innovative mid-film plot twist, "Triangle" is an unexpected delight with a captivating lead performance from Melissa George as the mentally fragile Jess. An expectation-subverting watch, "Triangle" will unquestionably win over adventurous fans of the slasher genre.

41. Happy Death Day

Grounded by a charming and sardonic performance by Jessica Rothe, Christopher Landon's 2017 horror-comedy sticks the slasher and time-travel genres in a blender with hilarious results. "Happy Death Day" follows Tree (Rothe), a mean-spirited sorority girl with a tragic past who finds herself reliving the day of her murder over and over again. Some psycho wearing the very creepy mask of their college's mascot has it out for her. And somewhere between being stabbed and electrocuted, Tree starts to suspect that uncovering the identity (and motive) of her die-hard killer is the only way to get out of this cursed time loop. But when the effects of being murdered in a variety of brutal ways start catching up with her, Tree realizes that she doesn't have much time (ironically enough) to solve the mystery. "Happy Death Day" makes dying repeatedly look super fun, and if that isn't a stamp of approval, we don't know what is.

40. Trancers

We have a fair number of time travel methods on this list: cars, hypnosis, telephone booths, you name it. But "Trancers," in all of its 1980s wisdom, takes a different approach: time travel via drugs. Set in the far-flung future of 2247, our hero is the improbably named Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson), a bounty hunter hot on the heels of a psychic villain (Michael Stefani) capable of entrancing his victims with his mind. When Deth finally learns that his foe has traveled back to the 1980s to assassinate the ancestors of future City Council members, it's up to Deth to follow him to the past and stop the nefarious mesmerist from executing his violent scheme. With more laser special effects than you can shake a stick at, "Trancers" comes courtesy of the ingenious low-budget mastermind Charles Band. Ripoffs of "The Terminator" are a dime a dozen, but they're rarely this entertaining.

39. About Time

While you could certainly say that all of the films on this list are about time, only one film is really "About Time." The 2013 sci-fi rom-com follows a young man named Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) who learns that he's inherited the ability to travel in time and change the course of his life. Written and directed by Richard Curtis — a New Zealand-born filmmaker who readers may know from the likes of "Love Actually" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral" — "About Time" has charm to spare, with one of the most lovely onscreen father-son dynamics of the 2010s. A film that is the cinematic equivalent of a warm bowl of soup, "About Time" is a high watermark for one of the more persistent themes in time travel cinema: learning to accept things just as they are.

38. Back to the Future Part II

While admittedly falling short of the lighting in a bottle effect of its predecessor, "Back to the Future Part II" succeeds in being better than most sequels and most time-travel films. Directed once again by Robert Zemeckis, the 1989 film sees scrappy teen Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and his geriatric pal Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) journeying forward in time to the unthinkably futuristic landscape of 2015. The objective is to stop Marty's future son from making a mistake that will land him in the slammer. As you'd imagine, things don't go exactly according to plan, leaving the future (and the past) a little shaken in the wake of Doc and Marty's meddling. A solid if decidedly more chaotic sequel, "Back to the Future Part II" is full of charms of its own.

37. Frequency

Released in the year 2000 and directed by Gregory Hoblit (the man behind the Richard Gere vehicle "Primal Fear"), "Frequency" follows John Sullivan (Jim Caviezel), a New York City detective who accidentally stumbles on a way to communicate across time with his now-deceased father (Dennis Quaid) using a HAM radio. Overcome with joy at the possibility of saving his father's life, Gregory warns his father of his cause of death, triggering a series of events arguably more tragic than his dad's fiery demise. "Frequency" is a suspense-riddled character study that also makes for a solid (and probably weepy) Father's Day watch.

36. The Muppet Christmas Carol

Are all movie adaptations of Charles Dickens' cautionary ghost story time travel stories? In our estimation: yes. The story spends Christmas with Ebenezer Scrooge, a real jerk who begins his journey to becoming a better person after he is visited by three ghosts that show the miserly curmudgeon his past, present, and future to gain some much-needed perspective. While everyone has their own favorite "Christmas Carol" adaptation, we're going to make an executive decision here: The best "Christmas Carol" movie is 1992's "The Muppet Christmas Carol," the directorial debut of Brian Henson. Roll your eyes all you want at the presence of the titular Muppets, but this film features one of Michael Caine's finest performances as the cold-hearted Scrooge. Also, it's a musical. What more could you want?

35. The Time Machine

Based on H.G. Wells's novella of the same name, which was literally the work that popularized the concept of a "time machine" , George Pal's 1960 film follows a fancy and adventurous Victorian Englishman (Rod Taylor) who travels into the far-flung future only to find humanity divided into two warring factions: the child-like Eloi and the brutish Morlocks. While the inventor had hopes that the future would be a paradise of new, utopic developments, it would seem that the warring tendency in our species is bound to persist throughout the centuries unless we change our ways. Warmly received by critics , the 1960 adaptation of "The Time Machine" is campy in all the right places with plenty of charm to spare.

If you ask us, "Tenet" is less about the convoluted ins and outs of using time travel to prevent World War III than it is about the vibes (and the friendship between John David Washington and Robert Pattinson). Look, it's totally possible to enjoy a movie without having the faintest idea what it's about. Then again, director Christopher Nolan has always been interested in non-linear filmmaking, from the memory-loss of "Memento" to the languid dream logic of "Inception." "Tenet" is Nolan leaning fully into his love of temporal logistics and while it's disorienting, there can be no denying that it's a hell of a good time. Despite any flaws it may have, "Tenet" is what you get when you put James Bond and time travel in a blender (in the best possible way).

33. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Directed by Leonard Nimoy (yes, the same Leonard Nimoy who plays the pointy-eared Spock), the fourth feature film in the "Star Trek" franchise begins in a far-flung future on the edge of disaster. An alien probe is wreaking havoc on Earth's environment, drying up our oceans and polluting our atmosphere. (Are we sure it's an extraterrestrial threat? Sounds like plain old climate change to us.) In order to save humanity from the impending apocalypse, the swashbuckling Captain Kirk (WIlliam Shatner) and his intrepid crew voyage back in time to the year 1986, where they hope to locate a soon-to-be-extinct animal that can respond to the mysterious probe. Pivoting the series' sci-fi into more comedic waters, "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" leans hard on the chemistry of its cast to buoy the severity of its environmentalist message. If you're going to watch one of the older "Star Trek" films, this is the one to seek out.

32. Peggy Sue Got Married

There is no time machine, per se, in "Peggy Sue Got Married." Instead, the titular character (played by Kathleen Turner) travels back in her own memories. Or maybe it's an especially vivid daydream. Who's to say? When you faint at your high school reunion, anything can happen! In any case, middle-aged Peggy Sue unintentionally travels back to her teenage days in the early 1960s, where she plays with the idea of breaking off her marriage to her high school sweetheart before it even has the chance to start. With a stellar ensemble cast, including Nicolas Cage, Helen Hunt, and Jim Carrey, Francis Ford Coppola's 1986 film is a bittersweet gem.

31. Back to the Future Part III

Very few films as excellent as "Back to the Future" are succeeded by a sequel that doesn't disappoint. And it's even rarer for such a film to produce two excellent sequels. Enter: "Back to the Future Part III," which catapults spunky skateboarder Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and the white-haired Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) back to the 19th century. The pair find themselves stranded in the Wild West, contending with saloon brawls, rowdy dames, and deadly gunfights. As always, the time-hopping duo must lay low while attempting to find a way back to their own time. There are adorable frontier romances, villains with the faces of modern-day bullies, and plenty of adoring references to old cowboy films. Although it doesn't always get the credit it deserves , "Back to the Future Part III" is a sweet-natured love letter to the Western genre.

30. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

In the first of three films charting the time-traveling/dimension-hopping adventures of Bill S. Preston (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves), our titular doofuses are tasked with a harrowing objective: passing history class. Unbeknownst to these two Southern Californian himbos, the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, because at some point in the future, Bill and Ted write a rock song so great it actually achieves world peace. But in order for the dynamic duo to rock out, they first need a passing grade. Armed with a time machine helpfully supplied by an ally from the future (George Carlin), the pair journey through the past to amass a gang of history's most prolific figures. Lighthearted and energetic, "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" is a profoundly silly journey through history with two of cinema's most radical dudes who have charm (and air guitar riffs) to spare.

29. The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey

A wildly strange film on a list full of kooky adventures, Vincent Ward's 1988 fish-out-of-water time travel jaunt is truly an under-discussed, one-of-a-kind experience. The surreal and atmospheric Australia/New Zealand co-production was selected in competition for  the highest prize at the Cannes film festival and received eleven awards from the Australian Film Institute . With a dream-like approach to storytelling, "The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey" follows a psychic nine-year-old named Griffin (Hamish McFarlane) who has trippy visions of an alternate reality that looks completely different from his 14th-century mining village. With the Black Plague at their door, the villagers heed Griffin's warnings and follow his directions to dig deep below the earth. On the other side, the medieval peasants emerge into a bold and bizarre new land: 20th century New Zealand. Full of fantasy and imagination that flies in the face of the film's modest budget , "The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey" is an underrated classic.

28. Jubilee

"Jubilee" boasts one of the wackiest concepts as far as time travel films are concerned. Get this: Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen herself, travels forward in time with the help of occult magic to visit 1970s Britain. Instead of a futuristic new world full of utopian progress, Elizabeth (Jenny Runacre) finds a crumbling country riddled with anarchy, social unrest, and debauchery. Directed by Derek Jarman (who also helmed the evocative 1986 biopic "Caravaggio"), "Jubilee" vibrates with undeniable punk rock energy, both critical and celebratory. So, the next time you're living your best nihilistic teenage dream, think to yourself: what  would  Queen Elizabeth I think?

27. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Released in 2006, Mamoru Hosoda's animated feature film follows the teenage Makoto (voiced by Riisa Naka), a high school girl who acquires the ability to literally jump into the past after stumbling upon a mysterious device in the science lab. Being a teen, Makoto uses her new gift for trivial, self-serving adjustments, acing pop quizzes and side-stepping embarrassing situations with ease. But when Makoto begins to realize that her adjustments have consequences for others, she resolves to only use her powers for good, and begins uncovering the mystery behind these strange abilities in the process. A decidedly personal (and relatable) approach to sci-fi fantasy, "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" captures audiences' hearts.

26. Time After Time

This 1979 film may share a name with a melodramatic ballad, but don't be fooled! "Time After Time" is way kookier than anything Cyndi Lauper could dream up. Behold, the plot: "War of the Worlds" author H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) hunts down infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper (David Warner), who has traveled to the 20th century after stealing the writer's time machine. With little interest in its pseudo-science and a romantic subplot that often gets in the way of the suspenseful thrills, "Time After Time" is an odd duck that manages to charm in spite of its idiosyncrasies. Then again, when your lead actors are having this much fun with a premise this bananas, you're bound to conjure up a good degree of movie magic.

25. Timecrimes

Easily scampering away with the best title on this list, "Timecrimes" follows Héctor (Karra Elejalde), a middle-aged nobody whose lazy day is ruined when a blood-soaked madman chases him into a secret lab in the woods. Inside, he meets a suspiciously unfazed scientist (played by writer-director Nacho Vigalondo) who casually instructs Héctor to hide in a big vat of sci-fi liquid. Sure enough, Héctor is launched back in time by one hour, forced to navigate (and solve) a string of disasters perpetrated by different iterations of himself. Few films on this list have a protagonist this stupid. But that is, in effect, part of the charm of "Timecrimes:" Héctor is just some dude who winds up at the center of an increasingly complicated web of cause and effect. Inventive, moody, and effective for its smaller scope and scale, "Timecrimes" is a pure delight.

24. Je t'aime, je t'aime

One of the older films on this list, Alain Resnais' 1968 film blends time travel with romantic obsession. From the director of "Last Year at Marienbad," the film sees a depressed young man named Claude (Claude Rich) reeling after the end of his relationship with Catrine (Olga Georges-Picot). Claude agrees to participate in a human experiment with a time travel device that promises to send its user back in the past by one year, for one minute. But when the machine malfunctions, Claude finds himself stuck reliving his nightmarish past out of sequence. Navigating fluidly through time, memory, and trauma, "Je t'aime, je t'aime" is arguably the most heartbreaking film on this list, an emotionally draining experience that must be seen (and wept over) to be believed.

23. Time Bandits

From the demented, hyper-imaginative mind of director Terry Gilliam, 1981's "Time Bandits" follows a young history nerd named Kevin (Craig Warnock) who is whisked away by six time-hopping criminals on an adventure to steal treasures from different historical eras, thanks to some convenient holes in the fabric of space and time. With whimsy to spare and an approach towards fantasy that charms both kids and adults alike, "Time Bandits" is simultaneously silly as hell and bursting with technical prowess, it contains the absurdism and production design that distinguishes Gilliam's cinematic output.

22. Safety Not Guaranteed

A bizarre ad shows up in the classifieds section of a local Washington newspaper. Someone is looking for a partner to travel back in time with them. They stress that it isn't a joke, and that they have only traveled in time once before. Tasked with covering the ad as an amusing fluff piece, a group of reporters, including the listless college grad Darius (Aubrey Plaza), set off to find and meet this clearly unhinged individual (Mark Duplass).There's no way that this lunatic actually invented a time machine, right? Unapologetically quirky, this indie rom-com could not be more twee if it tried. But sometimes adorable awkward dorks finding happiness and love while trying to journey through the ages together is exactly what the doctor ordered.

21. Il Mare

This 2000 South Korean romantic comedy follows a love story that transcends time itself ... literally. When Eun-joo (Jun Ji-hyun) in "Il Mare" abandons her seaside home for the city, she leaves a card in the mailbox for the next owner so that they can forward her any mail. Two years earlier , a young man named Sung-hyun (Lee Jung-jae) receives Eun-joo's letter. The pair soon realize that the beach house's mailbox can traverse time and space, and begin a really long-distance relationship. Remade stateside six years later as the Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock romance "The Lake House," Lee Hyun-seung's original is a captivating love story that is worth seeking out.

20. Predestination

Based on Robert A. Heinlein's short story, "Predestination" follows a time-hopping government agent (Ethan Hawke) who is hot on the heels of a serial terrorist equally unstuck in time. In his quest to catch the notorious Fizzle Bomber, the agent allies with a mysterious individual (Sarah Snook) who writes under the pseudonym "The Unmarried Mother." It is difficult, if not impossible, to dig into the "chicken or egg" delights of "Predestination" without giving away key plot details, so you'll just have to seek this one out to see for yourself. It's ambitious, imaginative, and a must-watch for anyone who enjoys a head-scratcher (you may have to whip out a corkboard and some red string once the credits roll).

Did  you  know that Wong Kar-Wai, the acclaimed Hong Kong director behind "Chungking Express" and "Fallen Angels," made a time travel pseudo-sequel to "In the Mood For Love"? If not, you do now. Spanning multiple timelines, real and imagined, "2046" follows a sci-fi author named Chow Mo Wan (Tony Leung) as he writes about, and lives within, a hotel filled with memories. Like much of Wong Kar-Wai's work, "2046" is deeply interested in missed connections, the painful "what-ifs?" that haunt you long after they've come and gone. With aching melancholy, Chow Mo Wan recounts his experiences with the mysterious titular room and all the lost souls who pass through it. Many films can be summarized by the mournful thesis that "love is all a matter of timing," but few are able to tease out the visual poetry of such a statement quite like Wong Kar-Wai.

18. Source Code

Directed by Duncan Jones, who more than proved himself in the sci-fi genre with 2009's "Moon," "Source Code" tells of Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), a soldier dropped into the body of an unknown man aboard a commuter train en route to Chicago. Soon enough, he realizes his mission: There's a bomb on board, and he's the only one who can prevent the catastrophe from taking place. Reliving the last eight minutes of his host's life again and again, Colter must piece the clues together to thwart further bombings. More action-heavy than many of the films on this list, "Source Code" is a kinetic take on the time loop format grounded by a brilliant and demanding lead performance by Gyllenhaal.

The third feature film from "Knives Out" director Rian Johnson, 2012's "Looper" takes place in a future where mob bosses use time travel to dispose of bodies. Joe Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is one such time-traveling hitman, raking in the big bucks with dreams of retiring to a quiet life in France. Then, one day during a hit, Joe is shocked to come face-to-face with his future self (Bruce WIllis). A game of cat and mouse ensues, with mob intrigue, paradoxes, and determinism galore. A thinking man's sci-fi time travel thriller, "Looper" will satisfy viewers who enjoy world-building, masterful plotting, and inventive takes on the noir genre.

16. 16. Midnight in Paris

One of the many entries in the "Rachel McAdams is romantically involved with a time traveler" cinematic universe, "Midnight in Paris" follows Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), an aspiring novelist with his head in the clouds who accidentally stumbles through time while vacationing in Paris with his fiancé (McAdams). Brushing shoulders with literary idols, infamous artists, and starry-eyed creatives, Gil soon finds that the draw of the past easily outweighs his obligations to the present. Featuring an all-star ensemble cast and an undeniably charming romantic attitude, "Midnight in Paris" is an enjoyable viewing experience (especially if you cover your eyes and ears when the director/writer credits flash on screen).

15. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

What's a "Harry Potter" film doing on a list of time travel movies? Well, if you'll recall, the third film in the franchise features a third-act plot device called a Time-Turner that allows our wizarding heroes to rewrite history, saving the father figure of hero Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) from a fate worse than death. Sure, the Time-Turner primarily features in the story as a way for bookworm Hermione (Emma Watson) to attend multiple overlapping classes. But, as we'll quickly learn, rules (and the space-time continuum) are meant to be broken. Directed by Mexican New Wave wunderkind Alfonso Cuarón, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" follows Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione as they contend with yet another life-threatening development: the escape of notorious convict Sirius Black (Gary Oldman).

14. Donnie Darko

A moody teen named Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) narrowly avoids being incinerated by a plane crashing into his bedroom when he is lured outside by a giant, demonic-looking bunny rabbit. You know. Typical teen stuff. The rabbit, Frank (James Duval), informs Donnie that the whole world is going to end in less than a month. As Frank continues to pull the strings of Donnie's life, the teen is nudged to commit mischief, arson, and yes, time travel. Famously confusing, with tangential universes and deterministic quandaries galore, "Donnie Darko" is the kind of film that will make your brain hurt ... hopefully in a good way. Featuring one of the greatest soundtracks of the 1990s (INXS and Tears for Fears? In this economy ?), Richard Kelly's "Donnie Darko" is one of the defining films of the early 2000s.

13. Arrival

While Ted Chiang's 1998 short story was long thought to be unfilmable, director Denis Villeneuve has a talent for bringing high concept stories to the screen (there's a reason he was drawn to "Dune"). In Villeneuve's 2016 film "Arrival," a renowned linguist named Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is summoned to assist with a bizarre development: Twelve mysterious, smooth-edged alien crafts have touched down across the world. It's up to Dr. Banks to devise a way to communicate with the beings inside the craft and determine if the extraterrestrial visitors are friends or foes. As Dr. Banks discovers, the key to cracking the code may lie in the aliens' nonlinear experience of time. A quiet masterpiece that benefits from repeated viewings, "Arrival" is an intelligent and hopeful slice of science fiction.

12. Palm Springs

Some time travel films see folks hurtling forward (or backward) in time. Others, like 2020's "Palm Springs," have time travelers moving in circles over and over again. One of the most inventive spins on the time loop sub-genre, Max Barbakow's feature film debut follows Nyles (Andy Samberg), a man who has been attending the same wedding over and over again in sunny Palm Springs. After Nyles is shot with an arrow during an impulsive hook-up with Sarah (Cristin Milioti), the depressed maid-of-honor joins the nihilistic Nyles in perpetually sun-drenched purgatory. Released during the beginning of the pandemic when every day really did feel the same, "Palm Springs" embraces the Sisyphean metaphor inherent in the time loop structure.

11. Planet of the Apes

Now, look. If this film's inclusion on this list has you scratching your head, that can only mean one of two things: You haven't seen the original "Planet of the Apes" film,  or you've been living under a pop-culture rock and have somehow avoided stumbling across the iconic twist ending of the 1968 sci-fi classic. Indeed, as we learn at the film's end, our resilient hero George Taylor (Charlton Heston) hasn't actually traveled through space at all ... just time. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, "Planet of the Apes" couches some genuine existential horror in the seemingly campy premise promised by its title. It's an oldie but a goodie that will reward the patient viewer with one of the greatest rug-pulls sci-fi filmmaking has to offer.

10. Interstellar

Are all movies set in space time travel movies? It's certainly a question worth asking. Aging in a relativistic biological space-time is one hell of a drug, after all. Without getting too deep into Albert Einstein's twin paradox , long story short: We age slower when we're zipping about in space. Christopher Nolan's 2014 sci-fi film "Interstellar" not only features some heartbreaking moments of time dilation, but a third act reveal that the power of love can bend the fabric of space and time itself. The film begins with an apocalyptic scenario: A global blight is turning Earth into a pile of ash and dust. A plan forms to find humanity a new home planet and a team, including former NASA test pilot Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), is sent out into the galaxy to scout the three potential candidates. Operatic, inventive, and brimming with intergalactic spectacle, "Interstellar" is an epic space saga of the highest quality.

9. 12 Monkeys

In the alarmingly not-too-distant future of 2035, mankind has been driven underground by a deadly viral pandemic. James Cole (Bruce Willis), a mild-mannered, soft-spoken convict, "volunteers" to act as a time-traveling guinea pig. His mission is to voyage back to 1996, the year of the outbreak, and discover its cause. However, when Cole is accidentally transported back too far into the past, his sweaty warnings about the impending disaster come across as the ravings of a lunatic, and he is promptly incarcerated in a mental health facility. There, he meets two individuals who will profoundly impact not only his life, but the future of the human race: a compassionate psychiatrist and a fellow mental patient who just so happens to be the son of a prominent virologist. Directed by the imaginative former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam, "12 Monkeys" balances its gritty surreal gait with an uncomfortable degree of plausibility.

8. Edge of Tomorrow

Arguably the greatest video game movie ever made (despite not being directly based on any one particular video game), "Edge of Tomorrow" (also known by its more plot-accurate title "Live, Die, Repeat") tells of a future in which mankind is engaged in an apocalyptic battle with an alien force that is giving humanity a real run for its money. Major Bill Cage (Tom Cruise), a smooth-talking PR man who's never held a gun (or piloted a mech-suit), finds himself on the frontlines of a naval landing meant to turn the tide. The catastrophic invasion quickly claims the life of the inexperienced Cage, who dies slathered in the corrosive blood of an especially large alien foe. Then Cage wakes up, startled to find that he is very much alive and apparently stuck in a time loop reliving the disastrous day of the invasion over and over again. With creative action set pieces and an inventive approach to the time-loop sub-genre, "Edge of Tomorrow" is a tremendous amount of fun.

7. Run Lola Run

On the face of it, "Run Lola Run" doesn't seem to be an obvious entry in science fiction cinema. The 1998 German film follows a young woman (the titular Lola, played by Franka Potente), whose forgetful boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreau) accidentally leaves a big chunk of change on a subway car that belongs to a dangerous criminal. It's up to Lola to rustle up the funds and rendezvous with Manni in 20 minutes to avoid disaster. Over the course of the film, we witness three different timelines of Lola's sprint, each deviating significantly thanks to the butterfly effect. Experimental, kinetic, and brimming with undeniable 1990s energy, "Run Lola Run" is a breezy, fast-paced meditation on chaos theory, determinism, and all the mind-breaking side effects time travel entails. "Run Lola Run" might not have a time machine, but its detailed, hyper-specific concern with the fallout of how small decisions shape our lives more than justifies its presence on this list.

6. La Jetée

Directed by the prolific experimental filmmaker Chris Marker, this 1962 French-language film may be short, clocking in at just under 30 minutes, but its influence on science fiction cinema is vast. "La Jetée" follows an unnamed man (Davos Hanich), a prisoner of a future war that has driven all survivors below the surface to survive the post-apocalypse. Tapped as a reluctant test subject to be launched back in time (presumably to learn more about and ultimately prevent World War III), the man is hurtled backward and forward through the decades in search of a solution to humanity's "present" predicament. If this brief plot synopsis sounds familiar, that's because "La Jetée" served as the source material for the aforementioned "12 Monkeys." Still, the 1962 film stands on its own and is absolutely worth checking out, even if you're only familiar with Terry Gilliam's quasi-remake.

5. Groundhog Day

One of the best "time loop" films and one of the best romantic comedies of all time, 1993's "Groundhog Day" follows a grumpy, self-centered weatherman named Phil (Bill Murray) who is dispatched to a small town to cover the titular rodent-related holiday. To Phil's horror (and our amusement), the cranky newsman finds that he can't leave the humble borders of Punxsutawney even if there weren't a snowstorm. Trapped reliving the same day over and over again, Phil's anger and despair eventually transform into something far more endearing and productive. A comedy classic that makes full use of Murray's dual mastery of crankiness and charm, "Groundhog Day" is a cinematic gem worth revisiting again (and again and again).

4. The Terminator

The original 1984 "Terminator" film is the real deal. Straddling genres with mercurial ease (Is it a slasher? Science fiction tech-noir? All of the above?), "The Terminator" follows Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), who finds herself the target of a nightmarish foe: a machine wearing the flesh of a man, tasked to kill her. Unbeknownst to her, Sarah is going to give birth to the leader of the human resistance in an impending machine-led apocalypse. And while the titular muscle-bound hunk of junk (Arnold Schwarzenegger) aims to kill her son before he can be conceived, an agent of the resistance (Michael Biehn) has been tasked to protect her. Textured, brutal, and methodical, "The Terminator" is the slow-stalking progenitor of its much more bombastic follow-ups. Respect where respect is due, we say.

3. Your Name

Do you know what all of these films about time travel were missing? If you answered "romantic comedy body-swapping" you are correct . Directed by Makoto Shinkai (who readers may know from his 2019 film "Weathering with You"), "Your Name" follows the story of two 17-year-old high schoolers, Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and Mitsuha (Mone Kamishiraishi) who repeatedly switch bodies at random. To say much more, or how the story relates to time travel, would give too much away. Suffice to say, "Your Name" was a runaway commercial success , surpassing the international box office of "Spirited Away" and garnering critical praise to match. If you like to cry, "Your Name" is the film for you — a heartbreaking and visually stunning story that features some of the most strikingly well-realized teenage characters in cinema, animated or otherwise.

2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" holds a number of high-octane superlatives: it's one of the best time travel films of all time, one of the best sci-fi action films ever made, and one of the best sequels. Taking a decidedly punchier approach than its moodier horror-adjacent predecessor, "Terminator 2" sees John Connor, leader of the human resistance against the AI apocalypse, sending Arnold Schwarzenegger's unstoppable machine back in time to protect his younger self (Edward Furlong). After breaking John's survivalist mom Sarah (Linda Hamilton) out of a psychiatric institution, the trio set off to prevent doomsday before it can happen. Hot on their heels is the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), an advanced AI assassin capable of morphing its liquid-metal body to imitate anyone it pleases. Packing a genuinely emotional center into its back-to-back action sequences and time-defying special effects, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" deserves all the praise it receives.

1. Back to the Future

Spunky teen Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) joins his senior citizen pal, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) for a nighttime science experiment: a test drive of a time machine that also happens to be a DeLorean. But an unexpected run-in with a gang of terrorists sends Marty fleeing to the year 1955. Through no fault of his own, Marty accidentally threatens his own existence by forming a love triangle with his own parents that would make Freud spin in his grave like a wind turbine. It's up to Marty to make his own parents fall in love and reconnect with the younger version of Doc Brown to find a way back ... to the future. Full of crackerjack silliness and goofy plotting, the secret strength of "Back to the Future" is its simple message that your parents, believe it or not, are people too. Bouncy and full of the charm that makes director Robert Zemeckis a pillar of the 1980s, "Back to the Future" is pure candy-coated perfection.

Best time travel movies of all time

Journey through cinema and science fiction history as we run down the best time travel movies of all time, from simple trips to other eras to time loops.

Mankind has been fascinated by the possibility of travelling to a different age for over a century. This hypothetical activity, now widely recognized in philosophy and fiction, was popularized by H.G. Wells’ 1895 novel The Time Machine. But it was cinema that made it a recurring science fiction premise in mainstream works. Such movies have kept evolving and taking time travel in wildly different directions, so we have ventured across time and space to bring you our ranked list of the best time travel movies of all time.

A good time travel movie doesn’t need to try too hard to take the subject seriously, as the core concept itself and the mechanics surrounding it remain a mystery and purely hypothetical. Of course, there are stories that leave massive plot holes throughout, but even time travel movies which go for more “realistic” approaches have to make up their own sets of rules. As a result, our list covers both movies that are steeped in the science of the genre and those which simply use time travel as a vehicle for shenanigans. One-way trips through black holes ? Parallel timelines ? Mind-bending paradoxes? It’s got a bit of everything.

For other great sci-fi genres, check out our guides to the best alien invasion movies , the best zombie movies , the best disaster movies , and the best giant monster movies of all time. If you’re in the mood for hands-on time travel fun, our list of the best time travel video games you can play right now is a must-read too. 

15. The Time Traveler’s Wife 

• Release date: August 14, 2009
• Cast: Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston

The original marketing of The Time Traveler’s Wife, based on the novel of the same name, was billed as a sappy romance movie akin to anything from Nicholas Sparks. While it does have its romantic moments, the movie’s commitment to a deep, compelling story of a man who cannot control his own movements through time is a well thought out original take on the concept. Think of it more as a romantic sci-fi drama.

As Henry DeTamble (Bana) travels through time, he cannot control when or where he appears. Luckily, at least, he often is among the same people, specifically, his future/present wife, Clare Abshire (McAdams). Their relationship develops and is bruised by his time shifts, which creates strain as well as successes for both of them throughout the movie. 

The Time Traveler’s Wife takes its premise seriously. It allows for the concepts of paradoxes by only ensuring that he directly affects what would, in theory, already occur. Henry is more enacting a prescribed timeline, rather than trying to fight it. It works, and it’s great.

• Release date: October 8, 2004
• Cast: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden

Primer is the quintessential movie for any fan of time travel. With a low budget of only $7,000, it grossed over $800,000 at the box office, making it one of the most successful independent movies of all time. It deserves its success as well, as it brings hard science to audiences in a way that, at first, seems impenetrable, but worms its way into our minds and keeps us analyzing the movie long after it’s over. 

When two engineers accidentally create a time travel apparatus during their own experiments, they begin using it for personal gain. As their ideologies on the preservation of time begin to diverge, however, their relationship is pushed to its limits alongside the fraying timeline they alter. 

Primer demands multiple viewings, each one illuminating hidden moments throughout the movie that hint at its own finale. Audiences looking for a dense, no-frills look at what time travel would mean if given to an average (albeit genius) Joe, will find it in Primer.

• Rent or buy Primer on Amazon.

13. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure

• Release date: February 17, 1989
• Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin

The Bill and Ted franchise are considered family hits for a reason. With the charm of two goofy leads that bumble their way through major historical moments, the movies rely on the time travel conceit to build out and support their silly sense of humor. While the historical moments are considered overly cliché by some, and it’s true that they often misrepresent the moments they are based on, the point of the movie is not to relish in accuracy, but to parody those that try to stick to history all too closely. 

In order to ensure a future utopian society created by the titular characters, Rufus travels back in time to the 1980s to help Bill and Ted pass a history class. In order to understand the perspective of the historic figures they are supposed to be researching, the trio travel through time to meet each of them. 

Without going into spoilers, decisions made by the pair of heroes as well as Rufus would, if not for the movie completely ignoring them, destroy history as it is known. While this is frustrating for anyone looking for a movie that takes paradoxes seriously, that doesn’t keep Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure from being a fun, engaging flick that should be watched with brains mostly turned off.

12. Deadpool 2

• Release date: May 18, 2018
• Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin

While many movies are poorly received due to their failure to properly respect their own laws of time, Deadpool 2 was given generally positive reviews from critics for intentionally doing the same. In true fashion of the character, Deadpool 2 pokes fun at time travel clichés and tropes, finding ways to both incorporate as well as deride them. 

After Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool joins the X-Men they take a young mutant, Russell, under their care. However, his actions in the future lead the mutant cyborg Cable to travel back in time in order to kill Russell and prevent his own tragedy from occurring. 

Multiple fourth-wall breaking jokes are made about the villains striking similarities to a certain futuristic machine that is mentioned later in this list. And also similarly, the movie strikes a balance in approaching the anti-hero trope that is often associated with these androids from the future. We’re looking at you Dragon Ball Z.

11. Source Code

• Release date: April 1, 2011
• Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga

Source Code is an exciting sci-fi thriller which shows a lot of restraint despite the sheer audacity of its premise: Army Captain Colter Stevens finds himself in someone else’s body and quickly discovers he’s part of an experimental US government program that wants him to find the person behind the bombing of the train where he wakes up. The catch is that he can only be there for the last 8 minutes before the bomb goes off, being stuck in that loop until he can catch the bomber.

Director Duncan Jones had already wowed sci-fi aficionados with the remarkable Moon (2009), so expectations surrounding Source Code were quite high. While the final result might not be a masterpiece, it ranks easily among the most interesting time travel flicks in recent times. It’s also relatively easy to follow despite its kooky premise thanks to its limited scale.

10. 12 Monkeys

• Release date: January 5, 1996
• Cast: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt

Let’s be honest, if someone were to run up to you on the street and say they were from the future and had come back to stop a society-destroying virus, would you believe them? Well, at this point, we probably would too. But, that certainly wasn’t the case when 12 Monkeys came out in the 90s. 

When James Cole (Willis) is sent back in time from 2030 to stop a devastating virus from ever being spread, he is immediately captured and committed to an insane asylum, because that’s what would realistically probably happen. There he meets Brad Pitt’s Jeffery Goines, who is a staunch anti-corporate activist and an environmentalist. You can see where this is probably going.

With plenty of back and forth time travel for Cole, and a sincerely harrowing story about the dangers of trying to intervene in the development of a horrific future, 12 Monkeys creates a narrative that looks at the actual implications of time travel. It’s a must see for any action-thriller science-fiction fan.

9. Groundhog Day

• Release date: February 12, 1993
• Cast: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott

There’s always been discussion surrounding Groundhog Day and whether it’s really a time travel movie, but you know what? It doesn’t really matter. A simple time loop can be more interesting than a straight-up time-travelling odyssey. In fact, this movie is more of a fantasy comedy that poses the question of what would a regular person do if trapped inside a time loop they cannot explain nor fix.

It's an endearing movie that, despite many creative differences behind the scenes, ended up resonating with audiences thanks to its smaller scale and impeccable comedic timing, all built around a script which is undoubtedly clever, but lacks pretension. Many movies in this list are downbeat or serve as cautionary tales, so we thought it’d be great to inject a healthy dose of optimism.

8. Predestination

• Release date: August 28, 2014
• Cast: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor

Predestination might be one of the most overlooked sci-fi movies in recent years, mainly because it didn’t get a very wide international release following its global premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Fanatics of time travel movies and loopy sci-fi thrillers made sure as many people as possible heard about it though.

The movie is based on the 1959 short story “All You Zombies” by Robert A. Heinlen, and follows a temporal agent as he pursues one criminal that has eluded him throughout time. The chase quickly turns into a mind-bending exploration of love, fate, and identity that questions the very foundations of time travel as explained in-universe. This one’s a big head-scratcher that requires your full attention, but it’s also far from a slog due to its (mostly successful) action thriller ambitions.

7. Tenet 

• Release date: August 26, 2020
• Cast: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki

We’re still trying to wrap our heads around some of the wilder mechanics featured in Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller, so that alone gives Tenet some weight among the genre’s best. It’s true that some of the character arcs aren’t as fleshed out as they could’ve been, plus its spy-movie villain – played by Kenneth Branagh – can often be unintentionally funny, but it’s hard to find a bolder big-budget action thriller in recent times.

The story follows a former CIA agent who must learn to master “time inversion” and prevent a renegade Russian oligarch from starting World War III. The problem is the attack will come from the future. As the plot unfolds, weirder concepts come into play, and everything isn’t what it seems at first glance. This is a time travel movie unlike anything we had seen before, mainly because it takes a while to adjust to the mind-bending mechanics of its universe and how they play out in parallel to regular action.

6. Edge of Tomorrow 

• Release date: June 6, 2014
• Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton

Edge of Tomorrow was one of the biggest surprises of 2014 thanks to a tight, action-packed script which masterfully mixed the alien invasion subgenre with time-travel shenanigans, so you’re killing two birds with one stone if you choose to watch this banger for the first time.

Based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s novel All You Need Is Kill, Edge of Tomorrow presents a near future in which most of Europe has been taken over by a hostile and unstoppable alien species. Major William Cage, a PR officer, is forced to join an operation against the aliens, only to end up experiencing a time loop that could be the key to defeating the invaders if he can convince the right people. Edge of Tomorrow is both funny and dark, but above all, a true rollercoaster ride.

5. Interstellar

• Release date: November 7, 2014
• Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, the man behind other “I lost my wife” movies such as Inception, The Prestige, and the more recent Tenet, Interstellar is a time travel movie that uses theoretical laws of physics to alter the perception of time for its protagonists. While Tenet may be a more direct time travel movie, Interstellar surpasses it in its writing, emotional character beats, and the spectacle of its space travel. 

After food sources on Earth have been depleted, Cooper (McConaughey) and a team of astronauts go out in search of a habitable planet beyond the solar system. During their journey, time shifts with them depending on the planets they are on, or how close they are to the black hole at the center of their travels. 

While none of the characters go back in time, they do experience time travel by how fast or slow their own perception of time is compared to the characters back home. And a particularly interesting point using the black hole does allow information and communication to be sent backwards, which we think totally counts.

• Release date: September 28, 2012
• Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt

Bruce Willis’ most recent foray into time travel, Looper is a mind-bending movie that attempts to tackle the grandfather paradox. Although it falls a bit short of this lofty goal, it still maintains a good narrative that builds to an intense climax that uses the universe’s rules against the main villain in unique ways. 

Time travel is ubiquitous in the world of Looper. Unfortunately, a crime syndicate has figured out a way to use this to “lose bodies” by sending their victims back in time to be killed by employees working in the past (or present, if you’re the employee). When Joe, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is hired to kill his older self, played by Bruce Willis, he fails to do so, setting off an intense chase for JGL to correct his mistake.

Ultimately, the movie sets out its own rules for time travel. When young Joe gets a cut, a scar appears on old Joe. This concept progresses through the movie to an ending that may not be temporally possible, but that works to bring closure to the loop.

• Rent or buy Looper on Amazon.

3. Avengers: Endgame

• Release date: April 26, 2019
• Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo

As the culmination of a storyline spanning over 20 movies, Avengers: Endgame had a serious amount of great moments to look back on in its finale of the Avengers’ stories. After having gone through far-flung cosmic adventures, as well as into subatomic realms, there was only one novel place the Avengers could go: Back in time. 

After Thanos wipes out half of all life in the universe with the Snap (or the Blip) in Infinity War, he destroys the Infinity Stones before being killed by a vengeful Thor. With the stones destroyed, the remaining Avengers travel back in time to collect them from various points in the timeline, so that they may restore the universe to what it once was. 

During their travels, the Avengers are met with spectacular fight scenes, heart-wrenching deaths, and great callback moments that reward long-time fans of the series. While it can be viewed just alongside Infinity War as a sequel, it needs to be seen after having watched all of the MCU in order to appreciate just how far the Avengers have come.

2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

• Release date: July 3, 1991
• Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong

When it comes to famous time travel action movies,  Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the best of them all. With cutting-edge effects for the time that still hold up today, James Cameron’s sequel took what made the original great and expanded on it in ways that only few other sequels have ever managed to do. 

When a new Terminator, the T-1000, is sent back in time to kill John Connor, the one person responsible for protecting humanity’s future, the futuristic resistance also sends back Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator to protect him. Now there’s a great premise.

Schwarzenegger was able to bring humanity and empathy to the cruel, menacing robot that he had characterized in the first movie. Plus, Robert Patrick’s T-1000 became a villain that, to this day, is synonymous with the idea of unrelenting pursuit. The movie is pure blockbuster thrills bookended by a time travel story that could change the future of all humankind.

• Watch Terminator 2: Judgment Day free on Pluto TV.

1. Back to the Future

• Release date: July 3, 1985
• Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson

We gotta go back! Back to when time travel as a concept was still fresh in popular cinema. Back when it hadn’t yet become a TV and movie trope that is often used as a plot device when all other options have been exhausted. Back to when the concept was held with reverence as well as with glee. 

Robert Zemeckis’ 1985 classic follows Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) as he travels back in time to the 1950s in order to rescue his mentor, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd). After Marty is accidentally rescued by his own mother in her teenage years, he has to work to ensure that not only can he make it back to the present, but that his parents get together so he’ll even exist. 

Back to the Future is full of time travel twists that wind their way into a viewer’s brain and beg to be dissected. This is a movie that’ll appeal to everyone – it has a nostalgic pull for older adults and it’s a great, fun way for a younger generation to connect to the sci-fi genre.

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The 20 best time-travel movies – ranked!

As Adam Driver accidentally winds up 65m years ago , facing not just dinosaurs but an asteroid, we count down the best films about going backwards, or forwards, through the ages

20. Timecop (1994)

Regardless of what anyone says, I believe in my heart that Timecop was greenlit because someone showed a studio executive a picture of Jean-Claude Van Damme and said the word “Timecop” out loud, at which point they had to throw a script together as quickly as possible. Nothing about Timecop makes sense. It is the most 90s film ever made.

19. Tenet (2020)

I have to be careful here, because Tenet might not be a time-travel movie. Certainly time passes in it and some of the people are going backwards in time in it. But I’ve seen this movie twice now, and it mainly just seems to be about people mumbling everything, except for Kenneth Branagh, who gets to shout very loudly three times. Anyway, here it is.

18. Cavegirl (1985)

Finally, a film that uses time-travel for the correct reason; to allow a horny 1980s high school student to go back to prehistory so that he can convince a smoking hot, bikini-wearing cavegirl to have it off with him. You will note I’ve ranked this above Tenet .

17. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Weird to think that Austin Powers was originally a fish-out-of-water comedy, in which the promiscuous titular character had to navigate the (then) uptight world of the 1990s. That all fell apart for the sequel, where Powers was sent back to the 60s to shout his catchphrases at people who actually appreciated them. That makes it a time-travel movie, right?

16. The Butterfly Effect (2004)

God, this film. In summary: Ashton Kutcher plays a man who experiences blackouts, only to learn some years later that he can travel back in time and inhabit his younger self’s mind during the blackouts. But in doing so, he unleashes a world of unintended consequences. He becomes a murderer and loses limbs. Seek out the director’s cut if you can, because it ends with Kutcher’s character deliberately strangling himself in the womb with his umbilical cord. No, really.

15. The Tomorrow War (2021)

Wherein Chris Pratt is drafted into a war that takes place 26 years later, because the invading aliens have already killed all the soldiers who were alive at the time. It’s a great premise for a film – we all pay the price for the actions of other generations – let down by a truly confusing ending. Admit it, you forgot this film even existed, even though it cost $200m to make and only came out 18 months ago.

14. The Time Travelers (1964)

A 1964 movie made on the cheap with genuinely terrible effects, The Time Travelers is about a group of scientists who travel to the future, fight some mutants and then return. What sets it apart, though, is its crazed ending. The film ends with the scientists venturing into the distant future, whereupon the film plays through again, faster and faster and faster until it cuts away to a still of the galaxy. Are they trapped in a loop? Is free will an illusion? Did the producers just run out of money? We may never know.

13. The Adam Project (2022)

In which a young boy’s life is turned upside down when he is visited by an older version of himself from the future. The good news? He grows up to be a fighter pilot. The bad news? He also grows up to have all the cadences and surface-level snarky patter of Ryan Reynolds. What follows is a buddy movie where the two buddies are the same person.

12. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

So seminal that it was namechecked in Avengers: Endgame . A flat-out comedy that primarily exists to allow a bunch of middle-aged men to act like teenagers, Hot Tub Time Machine is a film about an enchanted Jacuzzi that sends people back to the mid-1980s. Possibly a bit too bawdy for its own good, there’s a hint of a message about the unreliability of nostalgia here.

11. Flight of the Navigator (1986)

This family film involves a young boy who goes missing in a Fort Lauderdale ravine, only to show up eight years later having not aged. There are UFOs and rubbery little creatures and whatnot, but there’s a real emotional wallop to the moment when the boy realises that the world has moved on without him, right down to the scene (that plays out like a horror movie) where the boy realises that his parents have become unrecognisably ancient, even though they are probably only in their early 40s.

10. Primer (2004)

Some see Shane Carruth’s Primer as the gold standard of what a time-travel film should be. It’s the sort of movie that seems unnervingly realistic, from the down-at-heel engineers to the unshowy nature of time travel itself, where people in effect just get in and out of some boxes. Almost entirely unwilling to explain itself, for years Primer fans have come to rely on a series of graphs and charts to figure out what the film actually is.

9. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

A time-travel movie that may or may not have any actual time-travel in it, Colin Trevorrow’s Safety Not Guaranteed is a delicate wonder of a thing. A man places an ad in a magazine asking for a time-travel companion – “Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before” – and the respondents slowly come to realise that all is not quite as it seems.

8. Planet of the Apes (1968)

If you haven’t seen Planet of the Apes, then the fact that I’ve put it on a list of time-travel movies is probably quite a heavy spoiler, and for that I’m sorry. But what a reveal this is – what seems at first like a silly movie about Charlton Heston being persecuted by some monkeys quickly becomes something darker and much more sinister. That new Adam Driver movie probably could have achieved something similar, if it hadn’t blabbed its big secret in the trailer.

7. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Endgame is a lot, so much so that it is effectively a time-travel movie bookended by two entirely separate movies. And, yes, it takes a lot of liberties with time-travel, from Tony Stark’s “Huh, I did it” invention to the lazy referencing of other time-travel movies as a shorthand for what the characters can do. Nevertheless, when they get to it, the film nails it. The Battle of New York is the obvious highlight, with Captain America fighting Captain America and the Hulk embarrassed by his unreconstructed former self, but the heart of the film really comes when Tony meets his father as a man and learns to let go of the past.

6. Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar is also a lot. But at its core is a simple ethical quandary: would you try to save the world if it meant missing your children’s entire lives? Matthew McConaughey has to touch down on a planet during a space trip. The problem is that every hour he spends there is equal to seven years on Earth. Is the trip important enough for him to miss seeing the wonder of his children grow into adults? Technically, if you want to be fussy about this, Interstellar is a time dilation movie rather than a time-travel movie. But it gets a pass, largely because McConaughey sells the agony of the moment so beautifully.

5. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

There are times when Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure feels like it was written by a toddler off his face on pop. But that’s a deliberate ploy, a way to camouflage all the careful rigour that underpins the script. The lead characters are initially reluctant to embark on their time-travel adventure, until they’re visited by versions of themselves from the near future who compel them to do it; a beautiful and hilarious example of predestination in action. Extra points are awarded thanks to the film’s total lack of interest in consequences. Swiping Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon from their respective eras has no bearing on world history whatsoever, which is probably quite lucky.

4. Looper (2012)

One problem with time-travel movies is that the rules always need to be explained upfront. In lesser hands, this can lead to all manner of clunky, stilted exposition. But when Rian Johnson dabbled in the genre with Looper , he gave us a masterclass in “show, don’t tell”. The sequence where poor Paul Dano’s character is tortured at two different points in time simultaneously, with the older version following instructions carved into the younger version’s arm, is arguably one of the most inventive uses of time-travel in the entire history of cinema. All that plus this is Bruce Willis’s last truly great performance.

3. The Terminator (1984)/Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

The lure of the first two Terminator movies were the killer robots running around murdering everyone. But they were very smartly built around a framework of pure time-travel. We only see the future in brief flashes, but what’s important is the present. It is very, very important that Kyle Reese (a guy from the future) has sex with Sarah Connor (a woman from the present), because only that will save humanity as we know it. It’s a hell of a pickup line, but the device also elevates what could have simply been a shonky B-movie into the realm of the classics.

2. Idiocracy (2006)

The smartest time-travel movies use the device as a mirror, telling us more about the times we live in now than the times the characters visit. Enter Idiocracy, Mike Judge’s stinging satire about modern times. An average person is cryogenically frozen and wakes up in the future, shocked to discover that the global IQ has fallen off a cliff in the intervening years. Surrounded by aggressive stupidity, he single-handedly saves the US from famine by suggesting that they use water – and not an electrolyte drink – to grow crops. We are conservatively 15 years from this happening in real life.

1. Back to the Future (1985)/Back to the Future Part II (1989)

The only conceivable first choice. The first two Back to the Future films (the third, which is basically just a western, is far less imaginative) have come to define time-travel as a genre. They deliver a complex set of hard sci-fi rules about what can and cannot happen during time-travel and – miraculously – manage to do it in a way that kids can understand. Good music, cool clothes, a million catchphrases and, in the case of the second film, an unnervingly prescient prediction of how Donald Trump would turn out. Just perfect.

• Science fiction and fantasy films
• Back To The Future
• Avengers: Endgame
• Interstellar

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26 Best Time Travel Movies of All Time (Updated!)

In the realm of cinema, time travel has provided fertile ground for some of the most beloved and thought-provoking movies of all time. From action-packed adventures to mind-bending explorations of the nature of time itself, there are tons of time travel movies that have captured the imagination of audiences for decades.

So, as lovers of time travel sci-fi movies , we thought we would take a look at the best time travel movies of all time, examining what makes them so special and why they continue to resonate with viewers. From the classic films that set the standard for the genre to more recent releases that have pushed the boundaries of what is possible, these movies are sure to transport you to another time and place.

Whether you’re a sci-fi fan, an adventure junkie, or just looking for a great story, there’s something on this list for everyone. So grab a bag of popcorn and prepare to embark on a journey through time with the best time travel movies of all time.

1 Army of Darkness (1992)

Writer(s): Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi Director: Sam Raimi Starring: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert

Army of Darkness is one of our favorite horror comedies of all-time and it belongs on this list as well. It was directed by Sam Raimi and starred Bruce Campbell. The movie follows the adventures of Ash Williams (Campbell), a man who is transported back in time to medieval Europe and is forced to fight an army of the undead to save humanity. The film is the third in the Evil Dead franchise and is known for its mix of horror, comedy, and time travel elements.

The movie begins where Evil Dead II ends , with Ash being transported back in time to the 14th century. The time travel elements in the movie are integral to the plot, as Ash must find a way back to his own time while also battling an army of the undead. Ash is initially captured by Lord Arthur and his men, who mistake him for a spy from a rival kingdom. He is then thrown into a pit where he has to fight a monstrous creature known as the Deadite. Ash is able to defeat the creature with the help of a chainsaw, which he has attached to his arm.

As Ash sets out to find the Necronomicon, a book that he believes can help him return to his own time, he is confronted by the army of the undead. The army is led by Ash’s evil doppelganger, who has also been transported back in time. The time travel elements in the film allow for a number of humorous scenes, such as when Ash introduces a shotgun to medieval knights and they mistake it for “boomstick”.

One of the most memorable scenes in the movie involves Ash creating a robotic hand using medieval technology. This scene highlights the mix of medieval and modern technology that the movie plays with, and it’s a great example of the creative ways that the film uses time travel elements to drive the plot.

2 The Terminator (1984)

Writer(s): James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd, William Wisher Director: James Cameron Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Beihn

1984’s The Terminator follows the story of a cyborg assassin known as a “Terminator” (Schwarzenegger), sent back in time from the year 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Hamilton), the mother of the future leader of the human resistance against the machines. A soldier from the future named Kyle Reese (Biehn) is also sent back in time to protect Sarah from the Terminator and ensure the survival of the resistance.

The movie is a classic example of a time travel movie, as it involves characters traveling through time to change the course of history. The time travel element is a central part of the plot, as the future that the characters come from is shaped by events in the past. The Terminator is sent back in time by Skynet, a sentient artificial intelligence that has taken over the world in the future, in order to prevent Sarah Connor from giving birth to her son, John, who will lead the resistance against Skynet. In order to stop the Terminator and save Sarah, Reese must also travel back in time, creating a time loop that is a key element of the film’s plot.

The film explores themes of fate and free will, as the characters struggle to change the future while grappling with the idea that some events may be predetermined. The Terminator’s mission is to kill Sarah Connor, and it seems at first that his actions are predestined to succeed. However, as the film progresses, it becomes clear that the actions of the characters in the present can have a significant impact on the future. Reese tells Sarah that she has a choice in how she lives her life, and that the future is not set in stone.

It’s also notable for its groundbreaking special effects (at the time, at least), particularly in its depiction of the cyborg assassin. The film’s use of practical effects and miniatures, combined with Schwarzenegger’s imposing physical presence, helped to create a sense of realism and menace that has made the character one of the most iconic villains in film history.

The Terminator is a classic time travel movie that combines thrilling action sequences, complex characters, and thought-provoking themes to create a compelling sci-fi story. The film’s success spawned a franchise that includes multiple sequels, spinoffs, and adaptations, but the original remains a beloved classic of the genre.

3 Groundhog Day (1993)

Writer(s): Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis Director: Harold Ramis Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliot

Okay, so technically speaking, Groundhog Day  isn’t actually a time-travel movie but a frozen-in-time movie. Still, it’s often listed among the best movies about time travel.

The movie is a 1993 comedy directed by Harold Ramis and starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. It follows Phil Connors (Murray), a weatherman who is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover the annual Groundhog Day festival. However, Phil finds himself trapped in a time loop, reliving the same day over and over again.

At first, Phil is frustrated and confused by the situation, but he soon realizes that he has the opportunity to make the most of his situation. He starts using his knowledge of the day’s events to his advantage, manipulating people and situations to his liking. He tries to seduce his producer Rita (MacDowell) and uses his knowledge of the day to become a hero, saving a boy’s life and preventing a couple from breaking up.

As Phil continues to relive the same day, he begins to despair, realizing that he is unable to escape his predicament. He becomes increasingly reckless and selfish, indulging in drugs, alcohol, and reckless behavior. However, as time goes on, Phil begins to change. He realizes that he has been given the chance to improve himself and help others. He begins to learn new skills, such as playing the piano, and uses his knowledge of the day to help people in need.

Groundhog Day explores the concept of time loops and it’s still one of the best movies to do just that. The film uses this concept to explore the theme of personal growth and transformation. Phil is given the chance to learn from his mistakes and become a better person, ultimately breaking the time loop by changing himself.

4 The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)

Writer(s): Bruce Joel Rubin, Audrey Niffenegger Director: Robert Schwentke Starring: Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Ron Livingston

The Time Traveler’s Wife is a romance drama flick released in 2009, based on the time travel book of the same name. The film is directed by Robert Schwentke and stars Eric Bana as Henry DeTamble, a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel involuntarily, and Rachel McAdams (how many time travel movies is she in, anyway??) as Clare Abshire, his wife. The movie follows the couple’s love story, which is obviously complicated by Henry’s time-traveling abilities.

The movie begins with Henry’s first time travel experience as a child when he disappears from a public library and reappears in a meadow, where he meets his future self. Henry’s time travel is genetic and uncontrollable, and he travels to various points in his past and future without warning. He often finds himself in dangerous situations and struggles to keep his time travel a secret from those around him.

The movie explores the emotional depth of their unique relationship as Henry struggles with the impact of his time travel on their lives. Clare also experiences the emotional toll of living with a partner who is constantly disappearing and reappearing. The movie also touches on the theme of fate as the couple questions whether their love is predetermined or if they have the power to change their future.

The Time Traveler’s Wife also features strong performances from the lead actors. Eric Bana delivers a heartfelt performance as Henry, portraying the character’s vulnerability and emotional turmoil convincingly. Rachel McAdams also shines as Clare, conveying the character’s strength and determination to make their relationship work despite the challenges they face.

It is a poignant and thought-provoking film that explores the complexities of love and relationships in the context of time travel. The film’s non-linear narrative, emotional depth, and strong performances make it a standout entry in the time travel genre.

5 Source Code (2011)

Writer(s): Ben Ripley Director: Duncan Jones Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga

Source Code is a sci-fi thriller directed by Duncan Jones and released in 2011. The movie is a thought-provoking exploration of the concept of time and reality, as well as the consequences of making difficult choices. It received critical acclaim for its unique storytelling, strong performances, and innovative approach to science fiction.

The film’s protagonist is Captain Colter Stevens (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), a U.S. Army helicopter pilot who is recruited into a top-secret government program called the “Source Code.” The program allows Colter to enter the last eight minutes of a deceased person’s memory in order to investigate a terrorist bombing that occurred on a commuter train in Chicago.

As Colter enters the Source Code, he finds himself inside the body of a schoolteacher named Sean Fentress, who was one of the passengers on the train. Colter’s mission is to identify the bomber and prevent a larger attack from happening. He must repeat the same eight minutes over and over again until he can figure out who the bomber is and how to stop him.

As the story unfolds, Colter begins to uncover the truth behind the bombing and the people responsible for it. He must also confront his own mortality as he realizes that his time inside the Source Code is limited. He must make difficult choices and sacrifices in order to complete his mission and save the lives of those on the train.

Source Code is a complex and engaging film that challenges viewers to think deeply about the nature of reality, the ethics of government surveillance, and the consequences of our actions. The film combines elements of science fiction, action, and romance to create a very unique and memorable movie.

6 The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Writer(s): Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber Director: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Melora Walters

The Butterfly Effect is a psychological thriller film released in 2004. The film is directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber and stars Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, and Elden Henson. The movie tells the story of a young man named Evan Treborn, who has the ability to travel back in time and alter events in his past, thereby changing the course of his life.

The movie begins with Evan (Kutcher) as a college student who has suffered from blackouts and memory lapses for most of his life. He discovers that by reading entries from his childhood journals, he can transport himself back in time to relive past experiences. However, each time he changes something in the past, he finds that the consequences are far-reaching and often disastrous.

As the movie progresses, Evan learns that he can change events not only in his own life but also in the lives of his friends and loved ones. He uses his ability to try and fix things that have gone wrong in the past, but each time he does so, the future is altered in unexpected and often tragic ways.

One of the key themes of the movie is the concept of the butterfly effect , which suggests that even the smallest of actions can have far-reaching and unpredictable consequences. The movie explores this idea in depth, showing how even minor changes in the past can have a major impact on the future.

Throughout the movie, the audience is taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions as Evan tries to make sense of his past and come to terms with the consequences of his actions. The movie is not afraid to tackle complex and difficult issues such as child abuse, mental illness, and suicide, which gives it a level of depth and intensity that is rarely seen in Hollywood blockbusters.

The Butterfly Effect is a gripping and thought-provoking movie that challenges the audience to consider the implications of time travel and the power of our actions to shape our own destinies. With strong performances from its cast, a well-crafted script, and stunning visual effects, it remains a popular and highly regarded movie among fans of science fiction and psychological thrillers.

7 About Time (2013)

Writer(s): Richard Curtis Director: Richard Curtis Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy

About Time is a romantic comedy-drama film that was released in 2013. The film was directed and written by Richard Curtis, who is known for his work on other romantic comedies such as Love Actually and Notting Hill . The movie explores the concept of time travel and its effects on relationships and the meaning of life.

The movie follows the story of Tim Lake, played by Domhnall Gleeson, who learns at the age of 21 that he has the ability to time travel. Tim’s father, played by Bill Nighy, explains that all the men in their family have this ability and that they can only travel back to places and times that they have been before. Tim uses his newfound ability to try to improve his life and find true love.

Throughout the film, Tim goes back in time to fix his mistakes and improve his relationships with his family and friends. He falls in love with a woman named Mary, played by Rachel McAdams, but their relationship faces challenges due to Tim’s time travel. The movie explores the idea that while time travel can fix certain mistakes, it cannot change the fundamental aspects of life, such as death and the passing of time.

One of the central themes of the movie is the idea that time is a precious commodity that should be used wisely. Tim learns this lesson as he comes to terms with the limitations of his time travel and the importance of living in the present moment. The movie presents a thought-provoking perspective on the value of time and encourages the audience to cherish their moments with loved ones.

In addition to the time travel aspect, About Time is also a heartwarming romantic comedy. The chemistry between Tim and Mary is palpable, and the audience is invested in their relationship. It also features a strong supporting cast, including Tom Hollander, who plays Tim’s friend Harry, and Lindsay Duncan, who plays Tim’s mother.

About Time is a unique and touching film that combines elements of romance, comedy, and time travel. The movie’s exploration of the value of time and its impact on relationships makes it a poignant and thought-provoking experience.

8 Timecrimes (2007)

Writer(s): Nacho Vigalondo Director: Nacho Vigalondo Starring: Karra Elejalde, Candela Fernandez, Barbara Goenaga

Timecrimes is a Spanish science fiction horror film that was released in 2007. The film was written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo and stars Karra Elejalde, Candela Fernández, and Barbara Goenaga. The film has gained a cult following since its release and is known for its clever storytelling, tense atmosphere, and mind-bending plot. In this article, we will provide a lengthy overview of the film.

The film begins with a middle-aged man named Hector (Karra Elejalde) and his wife Clara (Candela Fernández) arriving at their new home in the countryside. As they are settling in, Hector decides to explore the surrounding forest and comes across a mysterious laboratory. While investigating the laboratory, he is attacked by a man with a bandaged face, who chases him into a large machine. Hector emerges from the machine and finds himself in the same location but at an earlier point in time.

From this point on, the film becomes a time loop narrative, as Hector tries to figure out what is happening to him and how he can get back to his own time. He encounters a series of increasingly bizarre and terrifying events, including encountering his past self and being forced to make difficult choices that have life-altering consequences.

The film is a masterful exercise in suspense, as the audience is kept on the edge of their seats trying to piece together the various threads of the plot. As Hector begins to unravel the mystery of what is happening to him, he must navigate a complex web of relationships and timelines, each with its own set of rules and consequences.

One of the most impressive aspects of the film is how it handles its time travel mechanics. Rather than relying on high-tech gadgets or explanations that are difficult to understand, the film keeps things simple and focused on the characters and their actions. The time machine in the film is a simple contraption that looks like a large tank, but its implications are far-reaching and profound.

The film’s visual style is also noteworthy, as it is shot in a muted, desaturated color palette that reinforces the film’s sense of foreboding and unease. The use of tight, claustrophobic framing and unsettling sound design adds to the film’s sense of tension and dread.

Timecrimes is a gripping, intelligent, and highly entertaining sci-fi movie that deserves to be seen by a wider audience. It is a masterful example of how to tell a compelling story using time travel as a narrative device, and it will leave viewers thinking and questioning long after the credits have rolled.

9 Time Bandits (1981)

Writer(s): Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam Director: Terry Gilliam Starring: Sean Connery, Shelly Duvall, John Cleese

Yes, it’s quite a bit campy and might not resonate with younger viewers in 2023, but  Time Bandits  was ahead of its time when it was released back in 1981.

It’s a fantasy adventure film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam and Michael Palin. The film follows the adventures of a young boy named Kevin who discovers a group of time-traveling dwarfs who have stolen a map that leads to the locations of holes in the fabric of time, which they use to travel through time and steal valuable objects.

The film features an all-star cast, including John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, and Ian Holm, and was a critical and commercial success upon its release. It has since become a cult classic and is considered one of the best time travel movies of all time.

One of the reasons why Time Bandits is such a beloved film is its unique blend of fantasy, comedy, and adventure. The film is a wild ride from start to finish, with the dwarfs taking Kevin on a series of time-traveling adventures that range from ancient Greece to Napoleon’s France to the Titanic. Each time period is presented with great attention to detail and features a host of memorable characters and situations.

Time Bandits is a biting satire of modern society. The film takes aim at consumer culture, materialism, and the pursuit of wealth and power, portraying these values as empty and ultimately destructive. The dwarves, who are themselves victims of this culture, are motivated by greed and selfishness, and their actions lead to the destruction of the universe itself.

The film’s themes are supported by its stunning visuals and imaginative design. Gilliam’s signature style, which combines practical effects, miniatures, and creative camera work, is on full display in Time Bandits. The film is full of intricate and detailed sets, from the Greek gods’ palace to the inside of a giant’s stomach, and each one is a delight to behold.

Time Bandits is a great time travel movie because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The film is full of jokes, both subtle and overt, and the characters are quirky and memorable. The dwarfs, in particular, are a delight to watch, with each one having a distinct personality and way of speaking.

Time Bandits is a classic film that has stood the test of time. It is a unique and imaginative blend of fantasy, comedy, and adventure, with a biting satire of modern society and stunning visuals. It’s a film that can be enjoyed by both adults and children, and it remains one of the best time travel movies ever made.

10 Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

Writer(s): Josh Heald, Sean Anders, John Morris Director: Steve Pink Starring: John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson

If you like your time travel films with a bit of ridiculousness, look no further than  Hot Tub Time Machine from 2010.

It’s a sci-fi comedy film directed by Steve Pink and starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke. The movie tells the story of four friends who, tired of their dull and unhappy lives, decide to take a trip to a ski resort they used to visit as teenagers. After a wild night of partying and drinking in a hot tub, the friends wake up to find themselves transported back to 1986, the year they first visited the resort.

As they adjust to their new surroundings, the friends realize that they have been given a second chance to relive their lives and make different choices. However, they soon discover that even small changes can have significant consequences, and they must be careful not to alter the course of history too much.

The movie is a hilarious take on the classic time travel trope, using humor to explore the themes of regret, nostalgia, and the power of friendship. The chemistry between the four lead actors is fantastic, and they all deliver excellent performances that keep the audience engaged and entertained throughout the film.

One of the standout aspects of Hot Tub Time Machine is its clever use of 80s nostalgia. The movie is packed with references to iconic movies, music, and pop culture from the decade, making it a delight for anyone who grew up during that time. However, the film doesn’t rely solely on nostalgia to carry it, as it also delivers plenty of fresh and original humor.

Another strength of the movie is its willingness to embrace the absurdity of its premise. Rather than trying to explain the time travel mechanics in detail, the film simply accepts the concept and uses it to create absurd and hilarious situations. This approach keeps the movie from becoming bogged down in exposition and allows it to focus on what it does best: making the audience laugh.

Hot Tub Time Machine is a hilarious and enjoyable movie that successfully combines humor, nostalgia, and time travel into one entertaining package. Its witty writing, excellent performances, and clever use of 80s nostalgia make it the funniest time travel movie ever made.

11 12 Monkeys (1995)

Writer(s): Chris Marker, David Webb Peoples, Janet Peoples Director: Terry Gilliam Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt

12 Monkeys is a science fiction movie released in 1995. Directed by Terry Gilliam, the film is set in a dystopian future where humanity has been forced to live underground due to a deadly virus that wiped out most of the world’s population. The film follows the story of James Cole, a prisoner from this future who is sent back in time to find the source of the virus and prevent its release.

The film stars Bruce Willis as James Cole, Madeleine Stowe as Dr. Kathryn Railly, and Brad Pitt as Jeffrey Goines. These three actors deliver powerful performances that make the film’s complex plot and themes more accessible to audiences.

The story begins with James Cole being sent back to 1990, where he is first placed in a mental institution after being mistaken for a mental patient. There he meets Dr. Railly, who initially dismisses his claims of time travel and a viral apocalypse. James is later released from the institution after convincing Dr. Railly to help him find the “Army of the Twelve Monkeys,” the group responsible for releasing the virus.

As James and Dr. Railly’s search for the Army of the Twelve Monkeys continues, James’ own mental stability becomes increasingly questionable. Throughout the film, James has flashbacks to his time in the future and struggles with the reality of his situation. Meanwhile, Dr. Railly becomes more convinced that James is telling the truth about the virus and time travel.

As the story progresses, it becomes clear that there are many layers to the plot. The Army of the Twelve Monkeys may not be what it seems, and James’ motivations for being sent back in time are not entirely clear. The film also explores the concept of causality and whether events can truly be changed by time travelers.

One of the most notable aspects of 12 Monkeys is its use of non-linear storytelling. The film jumps between different time periods and locations, which can be confusing at first but ultimately adds to the film’s overall themes. This style of storytelling keeps the audience on their toes, never quite sure what will happen next.

The film’s visual style is also noteworthy, as Terry Gilliam’s unique directorial vision shines through in the film’s sets and costumes. The dystopian future is grim and dark, with a heavy emphasis on industrial decay and decayed infrastructure. Meanwhile, the past is colorful and vibrant, a stark contrast to the bleak future.

12 Monkeys received critical acclaim upon its release, with particular praise given to its script, performances, and unique visual style. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and has since become a cult classic. Its exploration of themes like mental illness, time travel, and causality continue to make it a thought-provoking and engaging science fiction film.

12 Time After Time (1979)

Writer(s): Karl Alexander, Steve Hayes, Nicholas Meyer Director: Nicholas Meyer Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, David Warner

Time After Time is a science fiction film released in 1979, directed by Nicholas Meyer, and based on a novel by Karl Alexander. The film tells the story of author H.G. Wells , who discovers that his friend, Dr. John Leslie Stevenson, is actually Jack the Ripper, a notorious serial killer from the 19th century. Stevenson uses Wells’ time machine to escape to modern-day San Francisco, and Wells follows him in an attempt to stop him and bring him back to his own time.

The film begins in 1893, with Wells, played by Malcolm McDowell, showing off his new invention, a time machine, to his friends, including Stevenson, played by David Warner. Stevenson leaves early, and the next morning, Wells discovers that he has disappeared, along with several items from his laboratory. Wells eventually discovers that Stevenson is Jack the Ripper, and he has used the time machine to escape into the future.

Wells follows Stevenson into modern-day San Francisco, where he meets Amy Robbins, played by Mary Steenburgen. Robbins becomes Wells’ love interest and helps him adjust to life in the 20th century. Wells also enlists the help of the police, who are initially skeptical of his story but eventually come to believe him.

The film explores the clash between the ideals of the Victorian era and modern society. Wells is initially shocked by the changes he sees in the future, including the prevalence of violence and sexual promiscuity. However, he eventually comes to appreciate the freedom and individualism of modern society.

It also features elements of suspense and action, as Wells and Stevenson engage in a cat-and-mouse game across San Francisco. The film’s climax takes place at the San Francisco Museum of History, where Stevenson attempts to escape in the time machine, and Wells and Robbins attempt to stop him.

Time After Time was praised for its clever concept and strong performances, particularly from McDowell and Warner. The film was also notable for its use of real-life locations in San Francisco, including the Palace of Fine Arts and the Golden Gate Park Conservatory.

Time After Time is a unique and entertaining time travel film that combines elements of suspense, romance, and social commentary. Its portrayal of a time-traveling H.G. Wells and his pursuit of Jack the Ripper in modern-day San Francisco remains a classic of the genre.

13 Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Writer(s): Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth Director: Doug Liman Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton

I know, I know—I’m not  exactly  a big fan of Tom Cruise, either. But  Edge of Tomorrow works, and it works well.

This 2014 science fiction action film was directed by Doug Liman, and stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. The film is based on the Japanese light novel “All You Need Is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The story follows a soldier named William “Bill” Cage, who is caught in a time loop that forces him to relive the same day over and over again as he fights against an alien race called Mimics.

The film’s time travel elements are unique in that they involve a time loop rather than traditional time travel. Cage is initially portrayed as a cowardly public relations officer who is tasked with covering the military’s operations on the front line. He is suddenly thrown into combat against the Mimics, where he dies within minutes of his first battle. However, upon his death, he finds himself waking up back at the start of the day, alive and well.

Cage soon realizes that he is stuck in a time loop and must relive the same day over and over again. As he repeats the day, he gains more experience and knowledge of the Mimics, and he begins to use this to his advantage. He also meets Rita Vrataski, a renowned soldier known as the “Angel of Verdun,” who has experienced a similar time loop and believes that Cage may hold the key to winning the war against the Mimics.

As Cage and Vrataski work together to find a way to break the time loop, they develop a close relationship, with Vrataski training Cage to become a better fighter with each repetition of the day. The film explores the consequences of time looping and the mental toll it takes on the characters.

14 Donnie Darko (2001)

Writer(s): Richard Kelly Director: Richard Kelly Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell

Released in 2001, Donnie Darko is a unique and complex science fiction film that has become a cult classic over the years. Directed and written by Richard Kelly, the movie features a brilliant performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as the titular character. It’s a film that requires multiple viewings to fully grasp its intricate plot and themes, which include time travel, alternate realities, and mental illness. So, what makes Donnie Darko one of the best time travel movies ever made?

The plot of the movie follows Donnie Darko, a troubled teenager living in a small town in Virginia in the late 1980s. Donnie is plagued by hallucinations and has a history of setting fires. One night, he is visited by a mysterious figure in a rabbit costume named Frank, who tells him that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. This sets off a chain of events that involves time travel, parallel universes, and the manipulation of reality.

One of the key elements that make Donnie Darko a great time travel movie is the way it handles the mechanics of time travel. Donnie is able to travel back in time, and the film explores the consequences of his actions in the past. The film does not provide any explicit rules or explanations for how time travel works, which adds to the sense of mystery and intrigue. Instead, the time travel element is used as a tool to explore the themes of the film, including fate, free will, and the butterfly effect.

Another reason why Donnie Darko is considered one of the best time travel movies is its use of symbolism and imagery. The film is filled with cryptic messages and visual clues that hint at the true nature of the story. The rabbit costume worn by Frank is a particularly potent symbol that represents both fear and hope. The movie also makes effective use of music, including the haunting “Mad World” by Gary Jules, which adds to the surreal and dreamlike atmosphere of the film.

Donnie Darko is a great time travel movie because of the way it explores the psychological and emotional consequences of time travel. Donnie’s time travel experiences cause him to question his sanity and his place in the world. The film also examines the impact of time travel on relationships and how it can cause people to behave differently. These themes give the movie a depth and complexity that elevates it above other time travel films.

The cult classic is one of the best time travel movies ever made because of its complex and multi-layered plot, its use of symbolism and imagery, and its exploration of the psychological and emotional consequences of time travel. The film has earned a devoted fan base over the years and continues to captivate and intrigue audiences with its haunting and thought-provoking story.

15 Time Lapse (2014)

Writer(s): Bradley King Director: Bradley King, BP Cooper Starring: Danielle Panabaker, Matt O’Leary, George Finn

Time Lapse  is a sci-fi thriller indie film directed by Bradley King, which follows the story of three friends – Finn, Callie, and Jasper – who discover a camera that takes pictures 24 hours into the future. The movie explores the consequences of their actions as they use the camera to predict the future and manipulate events to their advantage. Time Lapse is considered one of the best time travel movies of all time because of its unique approach to the concept of time travel, exceptional acting performances, and thrilling plot.

The movie opens with Finn, Callie, and Jasper, who live in a run-down apartment building and are struggling to make ends meet. Finn is an aspiring artist, Callie works at a diner, and Jasper is a struggling writer. They discover a strange camera in their neighbor’s apartment after he dies mysteriously, and they soon realize that the camera takes a picture of what will happen 24 hours into the future. Initially, the trio sees the camera as a means to improve their lives, but things quickly spiral out of control when they use the camera to manipulate their future.

The movie raises thought-provoking questions about the nature of free will and determinism as the trio tries to change their future but ends up being trapped in a self-fulfilling prophecy. The plot becomes more complex as the characters become entangled in a web of deceit, betrayal, and murder. As the movie progresses, the audience is left on the edge of their seats, wondering what will happen next.

The film’s cinematography is exceptional, and the use of a single location (the apartment building) intensifies the tension and claustrophobia. The camera angles and lighting create a sense of unease, adding to the suspenseful atmosphere. The music also enhances the mood of the movie, building tension and adding to the sense of foreboding.

The acting performances in Time Lapse are outstanding, with each actor bringing their A-game to their respective roles. Matt O’Leary’s portrayal of Finn is especially noteworthy, as he perfectly captures the character’s desperation and moral ambiguity. Danielle Panabaker’s Callie is a strong-willed and determined character, and George Finn’s Jasper is both enigmatic and vulnerable.

Time Lapse is an excellent time travel movie that delivers on all fronts. It’s a movie that makes you think, and the ending is both surprising and satisfying. Its unique take on the time travel concept, combined with its exceptional acting and cinematography, make it a must-watch for sci-fi fans and movie enthusiasts alike.

16 Looper (2012)

Writer(s): Rian Johnson Director: Rian Johnson Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt

Looper is a 2012 science fiction action thriller film written and directed by Rian Johnson. The film takes place in the year 2044, when time travel exists but is outlawed and only used by criminal organizations for assassination purposes. The film follows Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a looper, a hitman hired by the mob to kill targets sent back from the future, and his encounter with his future self (Bruce Willis).

It opens with Joe explaining the job of a looper, a job that has a very limited lifespan, as the assassins eventually become their own targets, in a process called “closing the loop.” Joe’s life is turned upside down when his future self, played by Bruce Willis, appears before him, determined to change the future by killing the mysterious criminal mastermind known as the Rainmaker, who has taken over the future and is closing all the loops.

The film is a gripping tale of time travel, morality, and the consequences of our actions. The film’s narrative structure is intricately woven, and the script is brilliantly crafted, with careful attention to detail and a clear understanding of the rules of time travel. The film does not rely on flashy effects to tell its story but instead focuses on the characters and their relationships, making it a compelling and emotionally engaging experience.

One of the film’s most notable aspects is the way it deals with the concept of free will. Joe is forced to confront the consequences of his actions, and his relationship with his future self leads him to question whether his life is predetermined or if he has the power to change his future. The film raises philosophical questions about the nature of time and destiny, adding a layer of depth to the already complex narrative.

The performances are outstanding, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt giving a standout performance as Joe, expertly capturing the mannerisms and voice of Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis, in turn, delivers a nuanced and emotional performance as the older Joe, who is driven by a desire to right the wrongs of his past. Emily Blunt also delivers a fantastic performance as Sara, a mother with a dark secret who becomes entangled in Joe’s quest.

Looper is one of the best time travel movies of all-time, and for good reason. It’s a masterful blend of action, science fiction, and philosophy, anchored by strong performances and a complex narrative structure. The film is a thought-provoking exploration of the consequences of our actions and the power of free will. It’s a film that rewards repeat viewings and remains a standout in the genre of time travel movies.

17 Frequency (2000)

Writer(s): Toby Emmerich Director: Gregory Hoblit Starring: Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, Shawn Doyle

Frequency is a 2000 science-fiction thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit and written by Toby Emmerich. The movie features Jim Caviezel as John Sullivan and Dennis Quaid as his father, Frank Sullivan. The story revolves around the concept of time travel and the consequences of changing the past.

The plot of Frequency centers around John, a New York City firefighter, who discovers an old ham radio that belonged to his father, Frank, who died thirty years ago. John begins communicating with his dad and the two strike up a conversation. But what John doesn’t realize is that the radio is a portal to the past, and he’s communicating with his father in the year 1969, just days before he was killed in a fire.

As John and Frank continue to talk, they begin to change events in the past, which then affect the present. John saves his father’s life in 1969, but as a result, it creates a ripple effect that drastically changes the present timeline. John wakes up to a world that is completely different from the one he knew before. His mother has been murdered, and he has a sister he never knew existed.

John and Frank continue to communicate through the ham radio to try and solve the mystery of his mother’s murder and to fix the timeline. They work together to stop the killer, who turns out to be a serial killer who has been active for thirty years.

One of the reasons why Frequency is considered one of the best time travel movies is because of how it handles the concept of time travel. Instead of relying on complicated explanations and theories, the movie keeps it simple and focuses on the human element. The movie explores the relationship between father and son, the importance of family, and the idea that changing the past can have unforeseen consequences.

Another reason why the movie is so successful is because of the performances of Jim Caviezel and Dennis Quaid. The chemistry between the two actors is excellent, and they manage to create an emotional connection with the audience.

The movie also has a great supporting cast, including Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays John’s mother, and Andre Braugher, who plays John’s partner in the fire department. The movie is well-directed and has a great soundtrack that perfectly complements the story.

Frequency is a fantastic time travel movie that is both thrilling and emotionally resonant. The movie explores complex themes and ideas but never loses sight of the heart of the story. It’s a movie that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.

18 Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009)

Writer(s): Jamie Mathieson Director: Gareth Carrivick Starring: Chris O-Dowd, Marc Wootton, Dean Lennox Kelly

Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel is a British sci-fi comedy movie released in 2009, directed by Gareth Carrivick and written by Jamie Mathieson. The film features a unique take on time travel that sets it apart from other films in the genre, making it one of the best time travel movies to watch.

The plot follows three friends, Ray, Pete, and Toby, who frequent their local pub and discuss various topics, including time travel. One evening, they stumble upon a time portal in the pub’s bathroom, which sends them on an unexpected journey through time. As they travel through different eras, they face a series of hilarious and bizarre events, including meeting future versions of themselves and getting stuck in a time loop.

One of the standout features of Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel is its approach to time travel. Unlike other films that take a more serious tone, this movie uses humor and wit to explore the various possibilities and paradoxes that come with time travel. The characters are relatable and engaging, and the chemistry between them is excellent, making for a fun and entertaining ride.

The film also showcases the classic British humor and witty dialogue, with many references to popular culture and sci-fi tropes that fans of the genre will appreciate. The pacing of the movie is excellent, and the plot is cleverly structured to keep the audience engaged and guessing until the very end.

Another notable aspect of the film is its impressive visual effects. Despite having a relatively low budget, the filmmakers have managed to create a visually stunning world that transports the audience to different eras and dimensions. The attention to detail is remarkable, and the production design and cinematography are top-notch.

Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel is a delightful and refreshing take on the time travel genre that offers a unique and entertaining viewing experience. It’s a movie that will make you laugh, think, and appreciate the complexity of time travel while providing a much-needed escape from reality. Whether you’re a sci-fi fan or just looking for a fun and engaging movie, FAQs About Time Travel is a must-watch.

19 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Writer(s): Gene Roddenberry, Leonard Nimoy, Harve Bennett Director: Leonard Nimoy Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Released in 1986, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the fourth installment in the Star Trek movie franchise. Directed by Leonard Nimoy, who also played Spock in the film, the movie is a unique blend of science fiction, adventure, and comedy. One of the most significant aspects of the film is its time travel plot, which sees the crew of the USS Enterprise travel back in time to the 20th century to save Earth from an environmental catastrophe. In this article, we’ll explore what makes Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home a time travel movie and how the film uses this plot device to explore important themes.

The time travel plot is central to the story of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. The film begins with a strange probe that is sending a signal to Earth. This signal is causing massive power outages and other disturbances that threaten to destroy the planet. When the crew of the USS Enterprise discovers that the signal is a call for help from humpback whales, they decide to travel back in time to the 20th century to find a pair of whales and bring them back to the future.

The crew’s time travel journey is fraught with peril, as they must navigate the complexities of a world that is vastly different from their own. They must also contend with the fact that they are outsiders in a time period where they do not belong. This aspect of the film allows it to explore important themes about identity, culture clash, and the power of individual actions to shape history.

One of the key elements of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home that makes it a time travel movie is the way it uses time travel to explore the characters’ relationships with each other. The film shows how the crew members interact with people in the past, and how these interactions change the way they see themselves and each other. For example, when Kirk and Spock travel back to the 20th century, they meet a woman named Gillian Taylor, who helps them in their quest to find the whales. Kirk develops a romantic relationship with Taylor, which allows him to confront his own feelings about aging and mortality.

Another important aspect of the time travel plot in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the way it comments on contemporary issues. The film was released in the 1980s, a time when concerns about environmental degradation were beginning to gain widespread attention. The movie uses its time travel plot to show how the actions of individuals in the present can have a profound impact on the future. By bringing the whales back to the future, the crew of the USS Enterprise is able to avert a disaster that would have destroyed the planet. This message is particularly relevant today, as the world faces ever-increasing threats from climate change and other environmental problems.

The movie also comments on issues of cultural exchange and cross-cultural communication to give it a bit more depth. The crew of the USS Enterprise must navigate a world that is vastly different from their own, and they must learn to communicate with people who speak a different language and have different values. This aspect of the film highlights the importance of understanding and empathy in cross-cultural interactions. It also shows how the actions of individuals can have a ripple effect that extends far beyond their immediate surroundings.

20 Timecop (1994)

Writer(s): Mark Verheiden, Mike Richardson Director: Peter Hyams Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mia Sara, Ron Silver

I don’t know—maybe I’m just obsessed with 90s Van Damme movies. Or, hear me out,  Timecop  is worth watching because it doesn’t take itself seriously at all.

Timecop is a 1994 science-fiction action film directed by Peter Hyams and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. It is based on the comic book series of the same name created by Mike Richardson and Mark Verheiden. The movie tells the story of Max Walker (Van Damme), a time-traveling police officer who is tasked with preventing illegal changes to the past that could alter the course of history.

The film is set in the year 2004, where time travel has been discovered and is now being used for commercial and government purposes. However, technology has also created a black market for time travel, where criminals can use it to alter the past for their own benefit. Walker, a former police officer, becomes a member of the Time Enforcement Commission (TEC), which is responsible for regulating time travel and preventing illegal activity.

As a TEC agent, Walker’s job is to track down and apprehend individuals who are attempting to alter the past, but his dedication to the job is tested when he discovers a sinister conspiracy involving a corrupt politician, Senator Aaron McComb (Ron Silver), who is using time travel to gain wealth and power.

The film features impressive special effects, thrilling action sequences, and a well-written script that explores the concept of time travel in a unique and interesting way. The movie’s depiction of time travel is not overly complicated, and the rules of the universe are easy to understand, making it accessible to a wide range of viewers.

One of the key strengths of Timecop is its ability to balance action and drama. While the movie is full of intense fight scenes and chase sequences, it also manages to weave in emotional moments that add depth to the characters and their motivations.

The film also explores interesting philosophical questions related to time travel, such as the consequences of changing the past and the impact of time paradoxes. This adds an extra layer of complexity to the story and makes it more than just a mindless action movie.

In addition to Van Damme’s solid performance as the lead, the movie also features a talented supporting cast, including Silver as the villainous McComb and Mia Sara as Walker’s wife, Melissa. The chemistry between Van Damme and Sara is particularly strong, and their relationship adds an emotional anchor to the film.

Timecop is one of the best time travel movies because of its strong script, impressive special effects, and balanced approach to action and drama. The film manages to explore complex philosophical ideas while still being an entertaining and exciting action movie. It is a testament to the lasting appeal of the movie that it remains a cult classic even almost three decades after its release.

21 Primer (2004)

Writer(s): Shane Carruth Director: Shane Carruth Starring: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden

Primer is a 2004 independent science fiction film written, directed, produced, and edited by Shane Carruth . It tells the story of two engineers who accidentally discover a time machine while working on a project in their garage. The film gained critical acclaim for its unique approach to the time travel genre, its realistic depiction of the scientific and technical aspects of time travel, and its thought-provoking narrative.

What sets Primer apart from other time travel movies is its focus on the technical and scientific aspects of time travel. The film presents a complex and detailed explanation of the mechanics of time travel that requires the audience’s full attention. It doesn’t rely on flashy visual effects or high-budget production values to tell its story. Instead, it relies on intelligent writing, sharp editing, and solid performances from its cast.

The film’s intricate plot centers on two friends, Aaron and Abe, who work together in a tech company. They accidentally discover a way to create a time machine, which leads them down a rabbit hole of complex ethical and moral dilemmas. The story is told in a non-linear manner, with multiple timelines, alternate realities, and paradoxes, which makes the film both challenging and rewarding to watch.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Primer is its realistic portrayal of the consequences of time travel. The film explores the complexities of manipulating time and how it affects the characters’ lives, relationships, and even their identities. As the characters become more immersed in their time-traveling experiments, they find themselves in a web of lies, deception, and paranoia, which ultimately leads to tragic consequences.

The film’s low-budget and independent production values add to its unique charm. The entire film was shot on a budget of $7,000, with Carruth performing most of the technical roles himself. This allowed him to have complete creative control over the film’s direction and style, resulting in a raw and authentic cinematic experience.

Primer is one of the best time travel movies because of its intelligent writing, attention to detail, and thought-provoking narrative. It challenges its audience and rewards them with a mind-bending experience. Its realistic portrayal of the consequences of time travel and its low-budget production values add to its appeal and make it a cult classic among science fiction fans. If you’re looking for a time travel movie that will challenge your intellect and leave you thinking long after the credits roll, Primer is definitely worth a watch.

22 The Jacket (2005)

Writer(s): Tom Bleecker, Marc Rocco, Massy Tadjedin Director: John Maybury Starring: Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Daniel Craig

The Jacket is a 2005 psychological thriller directed by John Maybury and based on the 1990 novel The Star Rover by Jack London . The movie stars Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kelly Lynch.

The plot revolves around Jack Starks (Adrien Brody), a Gulf War veteran who is wrongly accused of killing a police officer and sentenced to a mental institution. In the hospital, he meets a fellow patient named Jackie Price (Keira Knightley) and develops a bond with her.

One day, Jack is subjected to an experimental treatment in which he is placed in a straight jacket and locked in a morgue drawer for several hours. During this time, he experiences vivid and terrifying hallucinations, which he believes to be time-traveling to the future.

Jack discovers that he can influence events in the future, and he uses his time-traveling abilities to try and prevent the death of Jackie, who he believes he met in the future. Along the way, Jack unravels a dark conspiracy involving his past, the mental institution, and the people around him.

What makes The Jacket stand out as one of the best time travel movies is its unique approach to the concept of time travel. Unlike other time travel films that focus on the mechanics of traveling through time, The Jacket is more concerned with the psychological and emotional impact of time travel.

The movie explores themes of memory, trauma, and the nature of reality, as well as the power of the human mind to transcend physical limitations. The use of a mental institution as the setting for the film adds a layer of complexity to the story, blurring the line between reality and fantasy.

The performances in The Jacket are also noteworthy. Adrien Brody delivers a nuanced portrayal of a man struggling with his past and present, while Keira Knightley brings depth and vulnerability to her character, Jackie. The supporting cast, including Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kelly Lynch, also give strong performances, adding to the overall quality of the film.

The Jacket is a unique and thought-provoking time travel movie that offers a fresh take on the genre. Its exploration of the psychological and emotional impact of time travel, combined with strong performances and a compelling plot, make it a standout film in its genre.

23 Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

Writer(s): Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon Director: Stephen Herek Starring: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a classic sci-fi comedy that was released in 1989. The film follows two dim-witted high school students, Bill S. Preston, Esquire, and Ted “Theodore” Logan, who embark on a time-traveling adventure to complete their history report.

The film opens with a futuristic utopian society where Bill and Ted are revered as the saviors of humanity due to their music’s impact. However, in the present day, Bill and Ted’s band, “Wyld Stallyns,” is struggling to gain traction, and they are in danger of failing their history class. If they don’t pass, Ted’s father will send him to military school, separating the two friends and killing their musical dreams.

That’s when Rufus, a man from the future, arrives in a time-traveling phone booth to help Bill and Ted complete their history report. Rufus takes them on a wild journey through time to gather famous historical figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Socrates, Abraham Lincoln, and Joan of Arc. They bring them back to present-day San Dimas, California, and introduce them to modern-day culture, hoping to gain insight into the past and impress their history teacher.

The movie is filled with hilarious moments as the historical figures struggle to adapt to modern-day America. For example, Napoleon takes over a local water park, while Socrates tries to lead an aerobics class. Meanwhile, Bill and Ted try to keep their new friends under control while avoiding the wrath of their school principal and the infamous villain, De Nomolos, who seeks to ruin their mission.

One of the most iconic moments in the film is the “time travel montage,” where Bill and Ted travel back and forth through time, meeting historical figures and gathering information for their report. The film’s soundtrack features rock music, with some of the most memorable tunes coming from the fictional band Wyld Stallyns, including “In Time” and “Two Heads Are Better Than One.”

The film’s humor and offbeat characters made it a cult classic, and it spawned a sequel, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey , in 1991, as well as an upcoming third installment, Bill & Ted Face the Music in 2020. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a must-see for any fan of time-traveling comedies or ’80s pop culture. It’s a film that still holds up today, with its irreverent humor and zany antics that are sure to entertain audiences of all ages.

24 Predestination (2014)

Writer(s): Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig, Robert A. Heinlein Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig Starring: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor

Predestination was released in 2014 and was directed by Michael and Peter Spierig and is based on the short story “All You Zombies” by Robert A. Heinlein (check out more zombie books here!). The movie follows a temporal agent who travels through time to prevent crimes before they happen.

The film’s protagonist is known only as “The Agent” (Ethan Hawke), who works for a secretive organization that sends its agents through time to prevent crimes before they happen. The Agent is tasked with stopping a bomber known as the “Fizzle Bomber” who has eluded law enforcement for years.

As the story unfolds, we learn more about The Agent’s backstory and how he came to be a temporal agent. The movie delves into themes of identity, free will, and determinism, with a plot that twists and turns in unexpected ways.

One of the most notable aspects of Predestination is its portrayal of time travel. The movie presents a unique take on time travel that involves multiple timelines and the manipulation of causality. The film’s use of paradoxes and bootstrap paradoxes creates a complex and thought-provoking story that keeps the audience guessing until the end.

The movie’s visual style is also noteworthy, with a retro-futuristic aesthetic that blends 70s-inspired fashion and technology with futuristic elements. The film’s attention to detail in its set design, costumes, and props adds to the immersive experience.

The performances in Predestination are strong, particularly from Ethan Hawke, who delivers a nuanced and complex portrayal of The Agent. Sarah Snook also gives a standout performance as Jane, a key character in the story with her own mysterious past.

Predestination is a compelling and thought-provoking time travel film that explores complex themes and offers a unique take on time travel. With strong performances and a visually stunning aesthetic, it’s a film that will leave viewers thinking long after the credits roll.

25 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Writer(s): James Cameron, William Wisher Director: James Cameron Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Edward Furlong. It is a sequel to the 1984 film The Terminator and is widely regarded as one of the best action and time travel movies ever made.

The film takes place in a dystopian future where machines have taken over the world, and the human race is on the brink of extinction. In an attempt to change the future, John Connor, the leader of the human resistance, sends a reprogrammed Terminator (Schwarzenegger) back in time to protect his younger self (Furlong) from a new and more advanced Terminator, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), who has also been sent back in time to kill him.

The film’s portrayal of time travel is particularly interesting and innovative. It explores the concept of the butterfly effect, where even the smallest changes in the past can have significant consequences in the future. The film also delves into the idea of predestination paradox, where actions taken in the present are already predetermined by events that have happened in the future.

Aside from its unique time travel concept, Terminator 2 is widely praised for its impressive special effects, particularly the groundbreaking use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) to create the T-1000. This villainous cyborg is composed of liquid metal and is capable of morphing into any shape or form, making it almost unstoppable. The film’s visual effects were so advanced for their time that they won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

The film’s success can also be attributed to its outstanding performances, especially those of Schwarzenegger and Hamilton. Schwarzenegger’s portrayal of the Terminator is iconic, and he brings a sense of humanity and humor to the character that was absent in the first film. Hamilton’s performance as Sarah Connor, the mother of John Connor and a fierce warrior in her own right, is also outstanding. Her transformation from a traumatized waitress to a hardened warrior is both believable and impressive.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a cinematic masterpiece that combines innovative time travel concepts, groundbreaking visual effects, and outstanding performances. Its influence on the action and science fiction genres cannot be overstated, and it remains a beloved classic to this day.

Where to Stream Terminator 2

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is currently available to stream on multiple platforms. It can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and HBO Max with a subscription. Additionally, it can be rented or purchased on various digital platforms such as Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu.

26 The Back to the Future Trilogy

Writer(s): Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale Director: Robert Zemeckis Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Tom Wilson

The Back to the Future trilogy, directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg, is widely regarded as one of the greatest time travel stories ever told. The trilogy consists of three films: “Back to the Future” (1985), “Back to the Future Part II” (1989), and “Back to the Future Part III” (1990), which follow the adventures of teenager Marty McFly and his eccentric scientist friend, Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown, as they travel through time in a DeLorean time machine.

The first film, released in 1985, follows Marty McFly, a typical high school student who is accidentally sent back in time to 1955 when he helps Doc Brown test out his time machine. Marty must find a way to get back to the future and prevent his parents from falling in love, which would prevent his own existence. Along the way, he encounters a younger version of his parents and has to navigate the social norms of the 1950s.

The second film,  Back to the Future Part II, takes place immediately after the first and sends Marty and Doc 30 years into the future to 2015. There they encounter flying cars, hoverboards, and a world of technological advances . However, they soon discover that their trip to the future has caused a chain of events that alters the timeline, creating an alternate reality where Biff Tannen, a classic high school bully, is a wealthy and powerful man. Marty and Doc must travel back to 1955 once again to fix the timeline and prevent this dystopian future from coming to pass.

The third film,  Back to the Future Part III , takes Marty and Doc to the Old West in 1885, where they face a new set of challenges and adventures. This time, Doc falls in love with a woman from the past and has to decide whether to stay in 1885 or return to the future with Marty. Meanwhile, they must once again prevent Biff Tannen from causing trouble and find a way to get the DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour in a time before paved roads.

One of the reasons why this time travel trilogy is so widely beloved is the clever writing and intricate plot. The time travel elements are carefully crafted, and the writers make sure to avoid any paradoxes or plot holes . The films also manage to be both humorous and thrilling, with plenty of action and suspense to keep the audience engaged.

Another reason for the success of the trilogy is the chemistry between Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Their performances as Marty and Doc are iconic, and their dynamic is a joy to watch on screen. The films also feature a memorable supporting cast, including Lea Thompson as Marty’s mother and Thomas F. Wilson as the villainous Biff Tannen.

The BTTF trilogy has had a lasting impact on popular culture, and there’s simply no denying how much of an influence it has become across the sci-fi realm. From the DeLorean time machine to the “flux capacitor” to the iconic theme song, the films have become a part of the collective consciousness. They have spawned countless imitations and parodies and have inspired a whole generation of filmmakers and writers, and even a couple seasons of an adorable little Back to the Future cartoon .

Where to Stream the Back to the Future Series

The Back to the Future movies are currently available for streaming on various platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. They can also be rented or purchased on iTunes, Google Play, and YouTube.

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Best Time Travel Movies (Find Rare Gems Here)

If you’re looking to ensure that you’ve watched all of the best time travel movies ever made, you’re in the right place. Contrary to the usual “best time travel lists” all over the internet, this one is a continually evolving one, and films keep getting added. So do drop a comment with your favourite flick if you don’t see it here. So for time travel films, this is your one-stop-shop. I know some of the classics may not be in the list yet, but it’s just a matter of time. All the titles are ranked based on the BaTTR Score ( Barry’s Time Travel Review Score ), a rating mechanism created to particularly rate movies based on time travel. Let’s go through the best time travel movies ranked in reverse order by the BaTTR Score.

If you’re looking specifically for time-loop films where a character lives the same day over and over again, check this – Every Time Loop Movie .

• – Movies Ranked 83 to 81
• – Movies Ranked 80 to 71
• – Movies Ranked 70 to 61
• – Movies Ranked 60 to 51
• – Movies Ranked 50 to 41
• – Movies Ranked 40 to 31
• – Top 30 Movies
• – Top 20 Movies
• – Top 10 Movies

Best Time Travel Movies: 83 to 81

83. terminator 5: genisys (2015).

With a brand new Sarah Connor and Terminator model, this film tried it’s best to recover the series from the wreck that Terminator 4 was. Sadly, one does not simply mess around with timelines in a way that undoes T1 and T2 and get away with it. After over a decade, it was good to see Arnold reprising his role. I suspect this film might always stay at the bottom of this evolving best time travel films list. You can find a quick discussion about the film here – Terminator Genisys Explained .

BaTTR Score: 1.20 ⏱ Terminator 5 – Why this score?

82. Before I Fall (2017)

A high-school girl begins reliving one day of her life after dying in a car accident. Going through the many time-loops, she understands the impact she can make on the people in her life.

BaTTR Score: 1.30 ⏱ Before I Fall – Why this score?

81. Terminator 6: Dark Fate (2019)

Dark Fate saw both Sarah Conor and T-101 coming back to settle an old score. The movie felt like an alternate-reality version of T2: Judgement Day. Though it was rinse-dry-repeat of the same concept, it still manages to keep you guessing. Some impressive CGI does transport you back to 1991 as you see some very familiar faces in events that never occurred before this film – I know this is cryptic, but I can’t say more without spoiling it. If you’re looking for a quick summary of the entire franchise – every Terminator movie summarized .

BaTTR Score: 1.30 ⏱ Terminator 6 – Why this score?

Best Time Travel Movies: 80 to 71

80. ritânâ / returner (2002).

Returner is a Japanese film that sees a girl travelling back in time, from a dystopian future, to try and stop an alien race from invading the planet. She arrives in the present time and forces a talented assassin to help her with her quest.

BaTTR Score: 1.35 ⏱ Returner – Why this rating?

79. See You Yesterday (2019)

See You Yesterday follows two wiz-kids who invent a time machine and go back in time by one day to save a sibling who was killed due to a mistaken police shooting. They soon realize it’s never easy to change the past without consequences.

BaTTR Score: 1.35 ⏱ See You Yesterday – Why this rating?

78. Synchronic (2019)

This film is about a synthetic drug that hits the legal market, making consumers travel through time. One man goes on a hunt for his friend’s daughter, who might be lost in time. Here’s a detailed breakdown –  Synchronic movie explained .

BaTTR Score: 1.40 ⏱ Synchronic –  Why this score?

77. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines  (2003)

The third instalment came a decade after the superhit sequel – Judgement Day. The terminators are back from the future, and the filmmakers tried to put a new spin on the film by shifting the attention from Sarah and John Connor to another person by the name Katherine Brewster. It was good to see Arnold reprise his role after a long break. Honestly, this film even ended well, and part 4 should have taken it to the point leading up to Kyle and the very first Terminator. But clearly, an end was never intended for the Terminator Series .

BaTTR Score: 1.40 ⏱ Terminator 3 – Why this rating?

76. The Final Countdown (1980)

This 80s film sees a modern super-aircraft carrier that gets hit by an electric storm that transports the vessel to 1941- a day before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The crew are left the choice to alter history or not. The Final Countdown is an alternate-history film which delivers very well on this engaging tale.

BaTTR Score: 1.50 ⏱ Final Countdown –  Why this rating?

75. Time Bandits (1981)

Time Bandits is a fun fantasy film that sees a young boy joining a bunch of dwarfs on a journey through time as they run into epic fictional and real characters from history. It’s a pretty loaded cast and is a very entertaining movie.

BaTTR Score: 1.50 ⏱ Time Bandits –  Why this rating?

74. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2010: Live Action)

This live-action film is based on a novel by the same name. The storyline has no commonalities with the 2006 Anime other than the fact that they are both on this top time travel movies list. In fact, this film is a sequel to the 1983 flick also by the same name. The movie follows a girl who travels back in time to fulfill her seemingly dying mother’s wish.

BaTTR Score: 1.50 ⏱ The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – Why this score?

73. The Lift / El Ascensor (2021)

The Lift is a Spanish film centred on a couple arguing inside an elevator on their way out of the building. Soon as they hit the lowest floor, one of them ends up returning to the moment they entered the lift. The rest of the film takes us through the couple’s time in the elevator and their attempts to break free.

BaTTR Score: 1.55 ⏱ The Lift – Why this rating?

72. Repeaters (2010)

Three people in rehab suddenly find themselves waking up on the same day repeatedly. While one of them sees this as a blessing, the other two want to stop the phenomenon leading to a cat and mouse chase.

BaTTR Score: 1.55 ⏱ Repeaters – Why this rating?

71. Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

This is the second instalment of the film series. While the first movie was an unexpected surprise, the sequel as in most cases, doesn’t deliver as well. That said Happy Death Day 2U is a fun film with all the characters coming back to reprise their roles with a lovely little twist.

BaTTR Score: 1.55 ⏱ Happy Death Day 2 – Why this rating?

Best Time Travel Movies: 70 to 61

70. naked (2017) / naken (2000).

Naked is a funny time-loop film that sees Marlon Wayans’ character living a one hour loop endlessly, which begins with him waking up naked inside an elevator. It is a remake of the Swedish film, Naken.

BaTTR Score: 1.55 ⏱ Naked / Naken – Why this score?

69. Project Almanac (2015)

Project Almanac follows a bunch of teenagers who stumble upon a time machine in one of their home’s basement. While initially, they use the time machine carefully with many defined ethical rules, as expected, they break those rules. For all the details about this film, you can check this out –  Project Almanac Explained .

BaTTR Score: 1.65 ⏱ Project Almanac – Why this rating?

68. Men In Black 3 (2012)

In this third instalment of the film series, Agent J finds himself slipping into an alternate timeline where Agent K does not exist. J goes back in time to hunt down the alien Boris, who is responsible for the altered history. It was good to have Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise their roles with the addition of Josh Brolin in the mix.

BaTTR Score: 1.65 ⏱ Men In Black 3 – Why this rating?

67. Midnight In Paris (2011)

This is a super-light romantic comedy where Owen Wilson’s character gets picked up by a bunch of people at midnight each night, taking him to the 20s. The film smartly weaves in a variety of characters from history and has a brilliant cast.

BaTTR Score: 1.75 ⏱ Midnight In Paris – Why this score?

66. Time Trap (2017)

This film is a pleasant surprise. The plot synopsis makes it appear like it’s going to be a big blunder but Time Trap manages to turn thing around. The plot is centred on a group of students looking for their professor who goes missing after entering a mysterious cave. They follow him in to realize the true nature of the cave. You can read all the details about the plot here – Time Trap Explained . 

BaTTR Score: 1.75 ⏱ Time Trap – Why this rating?

65. The Time Machine (2002)

The Time Machine is based on H.G Wells book and is the second feature film adaptation of the novel. This movie attempted to create a variation to the original story to make it more fantastical. The Time Machine is the story of a man who goes far into the future. While visually, the movie did well, it didn’t create too much of a stir amongst movie viewers. The 1960 movie is much further below in this best time travel movies list.

BaTTR Score: 1.80 ⏱ The Time Machine – Why this rating?

64. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

A couple of magazine writers go over to investigate an ad in their magazine that requests someone interested in travelling back in time. On meeting the advertiser, it appears he might be a looney. Safety Not Guaranteed is a favourite of everyone who loves the time travel sub-genre and no time travel list is complete without it.

BaTTR Score: 1.80 ⏱ Safety Not  Guaranteed – Why this rating?

63. Mine Games (2012)

This one is an impressive looper film. A group of friends land up at an isolated cabin in the woods to celebrate their end of college. They find a mine nearby and enter it and unleash evil. It’s not a mindless slasher, so do give it a watch. For all details on the film check out – Mine Games explained .

BaTTR Score: 1.80 ⏱ Mine Games – Why this rating?

62. The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)

This one is a romantic film set inside infinite timeloops. I know you’re thinking Palm Springs (which is also there in this list of top time travel films), but The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things has an entirely different take on the subject. Here’s a detailed article – The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things explained .

BaTTR Score: 1.80 ⏱ The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things – Why this rating?

61. The Tomorrow War (2021)

In 2048, an alien species attacks Earth, and the future humans are unable to contain the battle. They travel back in time to the present, seeking help to fight in the tomorrow war. If you’d like to understand more here’s an article that goes into the timelines of The Tomorrow War .

BaTTR Score: 1.90 ⏱ The Tomorrow War – Why this score?

Best Time Travel Movies: 60 to 51

60. il mare (2000) / lake house (2006).

Lake House is a romantic film that narrates the story of two people who grow close and fall in love over a series of letters they exchange only to slowly realize that they may not be living in the same time. It’s a remake of a Korean film by the name Il Mare.

BaTTR Score: 1.95 ⏱ Il Mare / Lake House – Why this rating?

59. Time After Time (1979)

Time After Time is a hypothetical fantasy story of H.G. Wells (the Time Machine author), who creates a Time Machine, just like in the book. Soon enough, the plot takes a turn towards the pursuit of Jack The Ripper through time.

BaTTR Score: 2.00 ⏱ Time After Time – Why this rating?

58. The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)

As the title of the movie suggests, the film revolves around a woman’s husband who has an abnormal condition where he uncontrollably travels to random points in time. Time Traveler’s Wife is not science fiction but more a romantic drama with Rachael McAdams and Eric Bana.

BaTTR Score: 2.00 ⏱ The Time Traveler’s Wife –  Why this rating?

57. The Adam Project (2022)

The Adam Project’s plot sees a man travel back in time to team up with his younger self to save the world. As corny as that sounds, that’s pretty much what the film is about. You can read all about it here –  The Adam Project explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.05 ⏱ The Adam Project – Why this rating?

56. Haunter (2013)

Haunter is a horror film that presents a story within loops of time. A girl wakes up repeatedly on the same day, the day before her birthday. As she begins finding out why, she is haunted by other spirits and a creepy old man. Here’s everything you need to know about the film –  Haunter explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.05 ⏱ Haunter – Why this rating?

55. Mega Time Squad (2018)

Mega Time Squad is a hilarious film that follows a small-time crook who picks up an ancient Chinese bracelet that allows him to travel back in time by a few minutes. Things get out of hands when he travels back too many times trying to escape death at the hands of a gangster.

BaTTR Score: 2.15 ⏱ Mega Time Squad – Why this score?

54. In The Shadow Of The Moon (2019)

In The Shadow Of The Moon is centred on a cop on the hunt for a serial killer who resurfaces mysteriously unaged every decade. He obsesses and waits for her to track her down and uncover her identity and origin. If you want to read about this film in detail, go here –  In The Shadow Of The Moon Explained  (it’s got a timeline diagram too).

BaTTR Score: 2.20 ⏱ In The Shadow Of The Moon – Why this rating?

53. About Time (2013)

About Time is a feel-good romantic-comedy film about a family whose male members can travel in time once they turn 21 years old. The lead character tries to utilize it to find love, but over the course of the film, we see him embracing life to the full and learns the true meaning of his gift. This is Rachael McAdams’ second film playing the wife of a time traveller.

BaTTR Score: 2.20 ⏱ About Time – Why this rating?

52. Boss Level (2021)

Boss Level is a timeloop film that combines insane amounts of action and comedy. The film has a great cast – Frank Grillo, Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson and Michelle Yeoh, to name a few. This one is really high on adrenaline.

BaTTR Score: 2.25 ⏱ Boss Level – Why this rating?

51. The Door Into Summer (2021)

The Door Into Summer is a Japanese adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s novel by the same name. The film is centred on a young robotics engineer tricked by his two partners and forced into cryosleep for 30 years. Check out the complete film details here – The Door Into Summer explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.25 ⏱ The Door Into Summer –  Why this score?

Best Time Travel Movies: 50 to 41

50. somewhere in time (1980).

Somewhere In Time is a beautiful love story starring Christopher Reeve, a play writer who obsesses on a photo of a beautiful yesteryear actress and ends up going back in time by 70 years to meet her.

BaTTR Score: 2.25 ⏱ Somewhere In Time – Why this rating?

49. 12:01 (1993)

This is a TV movie based on a book by the same name. The word is that Groundhog Day plagiarized the story. Though there was a court case, it was withdrawn. The story sees a man trapped in a timeloop repeatedly witnessing the death of a woman he has a crush on.

BaTTR Score: 2.25 ⏱ 12:01 – Why this rating?

48. Happy Death Day (2017)

This is a looper slasher film that finds a college girl reliving the day she gets killed by a mysterious masked murderer over and over again. Happy Death Day is a hilarious take on the classic time-loop film with an intriguing plot. For a loop by loop breakdown of this film, check this out – Happy Death Day Explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.25 ⏱ Happy Death Day – Why this rating?

47. Groundhog Day (1993)

Groundhog Day is among the first few films that saw massive success in the space of a person being caught in an endless time-loop. Bill Murray shines in this role, and the film’s commercial success set the pathway for many such films after, most of which are on this list of best time travel movies.

BaTTR Score: 2.25 ⏱ Groundhog Day – Why this score?

46. My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday / Boku Wa Asu, Kinō No Kimi To Dēto Suru (2016)

This is an adorable Japanese romantic film that follows the lives of two people over a month as they fall in love and begin a relationship. The catch is that both of them are experiencing the flow of time in opposite directions. This film would easily be one of the best romantic time travel movies.

BaTTR Score: 2.25 ⏱ My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday – Why this rating?

45. Time Lapse (2014)

Time Lapse is a film about three friends who discover a camera in their dead neighbour’s house that takes photographs of the next day. What initially starts off as fear slowly turns into crazy ideas for each one to fulfill their desires. Take a look at this article which takes you through the plot one picture at a time – Time Lapse Explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.25 ⏱ Time Lapse –  Why this rating?

44. Meet The Robinsons (2007)

This film is plain hilarious. A kid steals his father’s time machine to travel to the past but has it stolen. He teams up with a young scientist to help him trace a mysterious Bowler Hat Guy who has big plans for the time device.

BaTTR Score: 2.30 ⏱ Meet The Robinsons –  Why this rating?

43. X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

The X-Men series saw two different casts, the young and old counterparts. Days Of Future Past brought all of them together in one massive movie that saw Wolverine’s consciousness going back in time to stop the creation of sentinels that eventually hunt and kill every mutant on the planet. While the rest of the XCU had no time travel, DOFP secures its place on this best time travel movies list. Here’s a short explanation of the film and a timeline diagram – X-Men Days Of Future Past Explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.35 ⏱ X-Men DOFP –  Why this rating?

42. Palm Springs (2020)

Palm Springs is an endless time-loop film that starts off bang in the middle of one of many loops the lead character has been stuck in. Furthermore, he gets a companion who happens to get trapped too. The film delves into romance in the context of an endless time trap. Here’s everything you need to know about the movie and its dinosaurs – Palm Springs Explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.40 ⏱ Palm Springs – Why this score?

41. Synchronicity (2015)

Synchronicity is centred on a man trying to prove to his investor that his time machine works. When he realizes that he has been played and will lose his life’s work, he takes a leap of faith through time. For a detailed explanation, go here –  Synchronicity movie explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.40 ⏱ Synchronicity – Why this rating?

Best Time Travel Movies: 40 to 31

40. the jacket (2005).

The Jacket is a psychological thriller in which a war veteran is wrongfully accused of murder and committed to a mental asylum. One of the doctors employs illegal treatment methods on him that has an unexpected side effect. For the detailed analysis, check out – The Jacket explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.45 ⏱ The Jacket – Why this rating?

39. Retroactive (1997)

Retroactive is a classic 90s action-packed thriller that sports time-loops. The film follows a hostage negotiator who gets a lift from a couple. At once, you know the guy is toxic, and things are going to get crazy… and they do.

BaTTR Score: 2.45 ⏱ Retroactive – Why this rating?

38. The Call (2020)

This is an excellent Korean film that sees two women talking to each other 20 years apart. The information exchange causes cascading effects altering the future in unpredictable ways. The Call is gripping because an ally in one timeline may not remain an ally in another. The film’s plot is why it finds a solid spot in this best time travel movies list. Here’s a detailed explanation for the movie – The Call Explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.45 ⏱ The Call – Why this score?

37. Looper (2012)

Looper is a science-fiction action movie that deals with gangs in the future, sending people back to the past to have them executed. Each executor eventually retires when he kills his future self. The film follows the lead character (Gordon-Levitt) who fails to kill his older self (Bruce Willis) and the many consequences that follow. This article, with a detailed timeline diagram, will answer all the questions you have about the film – Looper Explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.45 ⏱ Looper – Why this rating?

36. Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

Honestly, we all know that Bill and Ted’s is more a comedy than a time travel flick. That said, the movie has not ignored the causal loop at any point throughout the storyline. A man from the future shows up to help two teenagers pass their history exam by providing them with a time machine. The characters are silly, funny, iconic and bodacious… all at the same time, dude. Some find them too corny, but that was by design and the film sits comfortably in the middle of this time travel list.

BaTTR Score: 2.50 ⏱ Bill And Ted – Why this rating?

35. The Terminator (1984) & 34. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

How on earth do iconic blockbusters like T1 and T2 be positioned as low as this, right? Before you judge this list, let’s just ask this question – Were the first two Terminator films primarily time travel movies or where they futuristic action films with a little bit of time travel concepts sprinkled in? Time Travel is not the primary focus of the movies. Both films take place in one time with humans and machines appearing mysteriously from the future, after that it’s full-blown action all the way. Personally, T2 is one of my all-time favourite films that gave Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton a cult status, but comparing with the others on this list, it’s barely a time travel movie. However, a list featuring the best time travel movies would be incomplete without mentioning these two films. Here is the summary of all Terminator films .

BaTTR Score: 2.50 ⏱ Terminator 1 And 2 – Why this rating?

33. ARQ (2016)

ARQ is an infinite time-loop film that has a couple waking up in their house to realize that they have a break-in. The assailants are revealed to be from a corporation from whom the lead character has stolen data. The lead soon realizes that he resets back to the point he woke up each time he dies. Over the various loops that follow, the plot unfolds, and we understand the complex nature of the time cycles. Here is a loop-wise explanation of this film – ARQ Explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.60 ⏱ ARQ – Why this score?

32. Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009)

Yeah, Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel is the actual name of the film. And no, it’s not a documentary. The movie is about three socially awkward dudes who go out to grab a drink at the local bar. Unfortunately, the restroom ends up being a coordinate for a time leak sending the guys unexpectedly through erratic points in time.

BaTTR Score: 2.60 ⏱ Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel – Why this rating?

31. 41 (2012)

41 is a hidden gem. It’s an independent film made on a shoestring budget. The plot follows a student who stumbles upon a motel room with a hole in the floor that takes a person back in time by 12 hours. You can watch the full film and read the explanation here – Watch 41 with a detailed analysis . 

BaTTR Score: 2.60 ⏱ 41 – Why this rating?

Best Time Travel Movies: 30 to 21

30. arrival (2016).

People who went to the halls expecting an alien invasion film were most disappointed. Arrival is a science-fiction drama which delves deep into languages and how it affects our thought processes. The story sees a linguist who tries to decode the language used by heptapods who have mysteriously appeared and positioned 12 ships over the world’s major cities. This article analyses the plot in a simplified manner – Arrival Explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.65 ⏱ Arrival – Why this rating?

29. The House At The End Of Time (2013) / House Of The Disappeared (2017)

The original is the Venezuelan film  La casa del fin de los tiempos  that released in 2017. It was beautifully remade in Korean in 2017 as  Si-gan-wi-ui jib . These are the original titles, and you can look up the films by their English titles too. The plot revolves around a woman who’s jailed for the murder of her husband and child. She returns after many years to uncover what actually happened. They’re both fantastic films, and you can read the detailed analysis here –  House Of The Disappeared explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.70 ⏱ House Of The Disappeared – Why this rating?

28. La Jetée (1962)

La Jetée is a French science fiction film that presents a convoluted story via a narration over still images. This film inspired the movie 12 Monkeys which took the concept and really did magic with the plot. La Jetée is unique and deserves to be on this list of best time travel movies even though it is a short film.

BaTTR Score: 2.75 ⏱ La Jetée – Why this score?

27. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)

This is the third film in the Harry Potter series and the only one to feature a little time travel. The story is based around Sirius Black who is the escaped prisoner from Azkaban on his way to the school to kill Harry. While all the other parts of this film-series are completely in the fantasy genre, part 3 played it differently mixing it up with some science fiction and hence finds its way to this best time travel movies list.

BaTTR Score: 2.75 ⏱ Harry Potter – Why this rating?

26. Maanaadu (2021)

Maanaadu is a  time-loop film  that sees a man heading for a wedding getting caught in a political terror attack. The film is predominantly a thriller with some outstanding elements of comedy in the mix.

BaTTR Score: 2.75 ⏱ Maanaadu – Why this rating?

25. A Day / Ha-roo (2017)

A Day is a Korean time-loop film that has a renowned surgeon getting trapped in a loop where he struggles to save his daughter from a repeating accident. As the story progresses, we are introduced more characters and complexity, and finally, the reason for the looping. This Asian film outdoes many of the western productions on this list of best time travel movies. You can read all the details about this film here – A Day Explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.75 ⏱ A Day – Why this rating?

24. The Time Machine (1960)

The Time Machine was the first mainstream film adaptation of the book by the same name by the amazing H.G. Wells. The story is about a scientist who narrates his experience of time travel to the future; to the year 802,701. The movie is an excellent adaptation of the book and also adds a good reason to why he lands up in a year so far into the future.

BaTTR Score: 2.75 ⏱ The Time Machine (1960) – Why this score?

23. Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge Of Tomorrow is a multiple-loop movie based on the Japanese book All You Need Is Kill . The film is centred on a soldier (Tom Cruise) fighting an alien race who resets to a day prior every time he is killed. He eventually runs into a Sergeant (Emily Blunt) who states that she too used to loop. Together they take the fight to the alien species. I must say this film is one of the coolest sci-fi flicks on this list of amazing time travel movies. This article here explains the film and its ending while comparing it to the book – Edge Of Tomorrow Explained .

BaTTR Score: 2.85 ⏱ Edge Of Tomorrow – Why this rating?

22. Frequency (2000)

Frequency sees a man fiddling around with an old radio, and thanks to the strange occurrence of an aurora borealis, he ends up connecting with his father 30 years in the past. 

BaTTR Score: 2.90 ⏱ Frequency – Why this rating?

21. Back To The Future: Part 3 (1990)

This is the third and final instalment of the trilogy by Robert Zemekis. Unlike the first two parts, the film takes place mostly in 1885 and has limited connection to the events back in good ol’ 1985. The story follows the lead characters trying to fight it out in the wild west and travelling back to the future one last time. In case you are wondering why is this iconic film scores so low on this best time travel moves list, don’t worry, this is part 3 we’re talking about.

BaTTR Score: 2.90 ⏱ Back To The Future 3 – Why this score?

Best Time Travel Movies: 20 to 11

20. blink (doctor who 2007 episode).

Blink is an exception, it’s not a film but one episode of the series Dr Who. It’s a standalone episode, and you can watch it even if you haven’t seen any part of the show, which is why it’s on this list of best time travel  movies.  It all begins with one person mysteriously disappearing from a house that has these strange statues called the Weeping Angels.

BaTTR Score: 3.00 ⏱ Blink –  Why this score?

19. Blood Punch (2015)

This is a splendid thriller which involves time-loops. Blood Punch is centred on three people who head to a lonely hunter’s villa in the woods to cook a ton of meth and get caught in perpetuity. It’s an excellent thriller garnished with just the right amount of humour. The filmmakers have really taken the effort to think the concept in the film through. The whole point about a giant time travel films list is to dig up movies like these. Here’s a detailed analysis of the plot and ending – Blood Punch Explained .

BaTTR Score: 3.00 ⏱ Blood Punch – Why this score?

18. Donnie Darko (2001)

Donnie Darko follows a troubled young boy who narrowly escapes an aircraft propeller that comes crashing on to his bed. He’s soon met by a man in a bunny suit who claims to be from the future and says the world is soon going to end. For a detailed breakdown of this film and its timeline diagram, go here –  Donnie Darko Explained . Jake Gyllenhaal is so young in this one!

BaTTR Score: 3.00 ⏱ Donnie Darko – Why this score?

17. Source Code (2011)

Source code is a multiple time-loop film where Jake Gyllenhaal’s character is trying to catch the bomber responsible for killing hundreds on a train. Before the terrorist strikes again, the government is trying to identify who he is through a cutting edge technology that allows a person to live multiple iterations of the 8 minutes leading up to the explosion on the train. If you would like to read a loopwise explanation and plot analysis, check this out – Source Code Explained .

BaTTR Score: 3.00 ⏱ Source Code – Why this score?

16. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006 Anime)

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a 2006 anime is a lovely romantic science-fiction that follows the life of a girl who suddenly gains the ability to jump back in time. While initially, she uses her newfound powers for some frivolous personal reasons, she later learns how she has affected the people around her.

BaTTR Score: 3.10 ⏱ The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – Why this score?

15. Deja Vu (2006)

Déjà Vu is a film centred on a cop who’s trying to locate a terrorist responsible for the bombing of a ferry. With the help of a sophisticated surveillance system that can reconstruct events from 4 days prior, the team follows the life of a woman who was onboard the ferry. The film combines the time travel sub-genre well with a crime thriller and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

BaTTR Score: 3.20 ⏱ Deja Vu – Why this score?

14. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

I’m pretty sure you’re thinking what a comic book movie is doing a list of the best time travel movies at a spot this high. Well, I can’t say this enough but Avengers: Endgame decided to execute a film based on time travel but had to keep in mind there were 20+ movies prior to it that couldn’t in any way be ruined. So not only did the film have to execute a great story based on time travel, it needed to preserve the prequels. Endgame follows the remaining Avengers trying to bring back all the lives that were lost through an elaborate time heist. For a simplified video of the timelines and the plot analysis, read this – Avengers: Endgame Time Travel Explained .  

BaTTR Score: 3.25 ⏱ Avengers: Endgame –  Why this score?

13. Interstellar (2014)

If you’re a Nolan fan [like me], you’re probably wondering why this film doesn’t feature in the top 5 of this top time travel films list. Well, think about it, would you really call Interstellar a time travel movie? Or is it more a grand space-travel science-fiction with elements of time travel? I’d say the latter. Interstellar is a brilliant film set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are trying to save themselves by leaving Earth. You can read about the details of the plot and the possible plot-holes here – Interstellar Explained .

BaTTR Score: 3.25 ⏱ Interstellar – Why this score?

12. Butterfly Effect (2004)

Butterfly Effect is a concept which talks about how a small insignificant event, like the flap of a butterfly’s wings, can cascade and escalate into a giant storm as a result of causality. The film The Butterfly Effect deals specifically with this idea. The lead character experiences blackouts through his younger life and is somehow able to revisit those very moments and make a change to alter the course of reality.

BaTTR Score: 3.30 ⏱ Butterfly Effect – Why the score?

11. Mirage / Durante la tormenta (2018)

Mirage is a Spanish film which combines the sub-genres of a murder mystery and time travel most elegantly. A mysterious storm connects two people 25 years apart in time, and this leads to the unravelling of a murder. For a detailed explanation of the film and its timeline, you can check this out – Mirage Movie Explained .

BaTTR Score: 3.35 ⏱ Mirage – Why this score?

Best Time Travel Movies: Top 10

10. twelve monkeys (1995).

A lot of the mainstream time travel movies with big actors tend to focus on elements other than the timeline and eventually make a mess of the plot, but not 12 Monkeys. This Bruce Willis starrer is based on a dystopian future where a strain of a powerful mutating virus kills most of humanity. A small team of scientists figure that the only way to fight it is to send someone back in time to locate the original source and strain of the virus. You can read all about it here in good detail – 12 Monkeys Explained . This popular film also spawned a TV Series by the same name with events running parallel to the film.

BaTTR Score: 3.50 ⏱ 12 Monkeys –  Why this score?

9. The Infinite Man (2014)

Infinite Man is a hidden gem which is centred on a couple celebrating their anniversary and getting caught in a series of time jumps that takes them back by one year. Most lists talking about the awesome time travel movies tend to leave this film out. The tiny-budgeted movie has just three characters and packs quite the punch with both time complexities and humour. Here’s a detailed explanation with a timeline diagram – Infinite Man Explained .

BaTTR Score: 3.50 ⏱ The Infinite Man – Why this score?

8. Triangle (2008)

Triangle is a film based on multiple time-loops. A woman and her friends go on a sailing trip and get hit by a storm. Before they drown, they find a cruise ship passing by and get onboard and soon wish they never did. Unlike other time-loop films, Triangle’s loops have an extra dimension of complexity, and this makes it more exciting. Here’s everything you need to know about the movie – Triangle Movie Explained .

BaTTR Score: 3.50 ⏱ Triange – Why this score?

7. Tenet (2020)

Christopher Nolan is the father of Nolan-Time. Many of his films portray time in a non-linear format, either as a narrative ( Memento ) or a plot-element ( Inception ). Tenet is Nolan sitting down and thinking, “what can I do in the space of time travel which has never been done before” and delivering just that. In a nutshell, the film is about a group that is trying to protect the world from extremists of the far future, but you know that is an oversimplification. So, here’s a simplified explanation of the film with timeline diagrams – Tenet Explained .

BaTTR Score: 3.75 ⏱ Tenet – Why this score?

6. Timecrimes / Los Cronocrímenes (2007)

Timecrimes is a Spanish film that follows one man who accidentally stumbles upon a time machine and travels back in time by merely an hour. In this short time window, he makes life quite miserable for himself. It’s a hilarious flick that needs your focus and attention as the consequences of the time travel are quite messy despite the humour. Here’s is a detailed explanation of the film – Timecrimes Explained .

BaTTR Score: 3.75 ⏱ Timecrimes – Why this score?

5. Primer (2004)

Made within a shoestring budget of just $7000, Primer gives many mainstream time travel productions a run for their money. Shane Carruth wore multiple hats in this film like actor, producer, director, and music producer. Not only is the film super-complicated, but it also sports one of the most believable time travel mechanics in the sub-genre. Check out the detailed timeline-wise analysis of the film- Primer Movie Explained .

BaTTR Score: 3.80 ⏱ Primer – Why this score?

4. Predestination (2014)

Anyone who has just finished watching Predestination has the same look as that of a pigeon with massive digestion issues. Based on the short story All You Zombies by Robert A. Heinlein, Predestination presents a plot focused on packing as many impossible scenarios as a human mind can take within one film. Here’s the timeline diagram and detailed explanation – Predestination Movie Explained . This film is easily the most bizarre film on this list of the great time travel films.

BaTTR Score: 4.00 ⏱ Predestination – Why this score?

3. Back To The Future – Part 1 (1985)

This film really raised the bar for all time travel movies. Everything from the characters to the concept of a time machine in a DeLorean makes this film unique to date. The film is a giant bundle of awesomeness and has put a smile on my face each time I’ve watched it since 1985 (yeah, you have to read that in Doc’s voice). We love you Marty McFly, we love you Michael J Fox.

BaTTR Score: 4.30 ⏱ Back To The Future 1 – Why this score?

2. Back To The Future – Part 2 (1989)

Not only did the film create a fresh storyline, but it also beautifully layered itself on top of the complexities of the first part. Marty McFly and Doc Brown are forced to go back to the same date in the past (as they did in the first movie) to undo something terrible. For me, this film really took it to the next level for a sequel. Even Avengers: Endgame mentions this film because of how they revisit some of the older MCU movies. It’s iconic and soars up high in this list of the best time travel movies.

BaTTR Score: 4.50 ⏱ Back To The Future 2 – Why this score?

1. Kimi No Na Wa / Your Name (2016)

Okay, if you haven’t already watched this film, stop reading now. Knowing even the slightest details about this film can potentially spoil it for you. Please return once you’ve watched this phenomenal film.

Kimi No Na Wa is a Japanese anime directed by Makoto Shinkai. It has one of the most captivating visuals and characters. This film takes creativity in the sub-genre of time travel to the next level. It all begins with some mysterious yet harmless body-switching between two people but a while into the film, it all becomes crazy. If you’re looking for the full explanation with a timeline diagram, go here – Your Name Explained .

BaTTR Score: 4.75 ⏱ Your Name – Why this score?

Barry is a technologist who helps start-ups build successful products. His love for movies and production has led him to write his well-received film explanation and analysis articles to help everyone appreciate the films better. He’s regularly available for a chat conversation on his website and consults on storyboarding from time to time. Click to browse all his film articles

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17 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies About Time Travel

Everyone and their mother knows about time travel movies like  Back to the Future  and  Avengers: Endgame , but what about the underrated time travel movies ? It's a sci-fi subgenre with plenty of room to maneuver; there have been virtually countless time travel movies since the dawn of filmmaking. Some films fare better than others - the less said about 2002's  The Time Machine , the better - but we're here to focus on some of the hidden gems and/or underrated films of the genre.

From low-budget gems like  Primer  and  Timecrimes  to big-budget blockbusters like  Men in Black 3  and  Deja Vu . From comedies to anime to the foreign arthouse, time travel keeps reliably cropping up. There's a lot of room to maneuver in this particular subgenre, so get ready to dive deep. Remember to vote up your favorite underrated films about time travel.

Does it count as time travel if the only thing traveling back and forth in time are voices? The answer is an unquestionable yes, and though  Frequency  uses its time travel to tell a by-the-numbers murder mystery, that doesn't make it any less worthy. Buoyed by grounded performances from Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel,  Frequency  ends up being more than the sum of its parts. 

There's nothing wrong with a classic thriller, especially when there are time travel hijinks involved. And if you thought Quaid and Caviezel weren't enough, let's bring Andre Braugher and Noah Emmerich to the party. The fact that it was directed by Gregory Hoblit, a man responsible for two of the most underrated thrillers of the past 25 years ( Fracture  and  Primal Fear)  is just a bonus. If you're a fan of any of these Hollywood players or time travel in general, you should give  Frequency a look.

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Upon release in 2006,  Déjà Vu  was a minor hit for Tony Scott, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Denzel Washington. Critics were mixed on the film, and it has ended up as a footnote in the career of one of America's most celebrated actors. But  Déjà Vu  deserves better. Every film that comes out of Hollywood doesn't have to reinvent the wheel, and sometimes you're just in the mood for a competent, well-made drama. This one happens to be about a man who travels back in time to stop a domestic terrorist strike from decimating New Orleans.

If you keep your expectations at a reasonable level, there's a lot to admire about  Déjà Vu . With a cast that features Washington and a host of gifted performers like Val Kilmer, Paula Patton, and Bruce Greenwood as well as competent direction from Scott,  Déjà Vu  is the kind of big-budget filmmaking that has gone away in the wake of Hollywood's neverending hunt for the next blockbuster franchise. Besides, who doesn't like watching Denzel do his thing?

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Flight of the Navigator

It may be hard to imagine now, but there was a time not so long ago when the Walt Disney Company was floundering. Before Michael Eisner and Frank Wells came in to turn the company around in the mid-'80s, the House of Mouse was in serious financial straits and the creative side of the company wasn't faring much better. One of the first projects released during the duo's successful tenure was 1986's  Flight of the Navigator . This was a few years ahead of  The Little Mermaid  and  Honey, I Shrunk the Kids  setting the box office on fire to bring Disney back to the top, but that doesn't make  Navigator  any less worthy.

Flight of the Navigator  is more a story of accidental time travel due to time dilation more than anything else, as the 12-year-old protagonist travels to a planet 560 light years away, and back, causing him to age just over two hours in a span of eight years. He sets off on an adventure to return back to his own time, and family-friendly fun is had by all. To be frank, it's heady stuff for a kid's movie and the special effects were top-notch for the time. A remake has been rumored for years, but for now let's stick with the undeniable charm of the original, thank you very much.

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Predestination

Based on Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 short story, "'—All You Zombies—'", 2014's  Predestination  struggled to make back its minuscule budget of $5 million at the box office upon release and that is a crying shame. Starring Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook,  Predestination  is a heady sci-fi thriller that's a bit hard to pin down. It's hard to sum up all of its twists and turns in the limited space here, but suffice it to say,  Predestination  is a hell of a trip.

This is a film that demands rewatching in order to decode what it's trying to say with its themes on gender and fate, and even then it can be difficult to decipher at times. But that's okay! The journey is fun enough to make it all work. As Richard Roeper said in his review , "As soon as the credits rolled on Predestination , I wanted to watch it again. It was even more of a mind-dance the second time around."

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The Final Countdown

A few years before the iconic '80s song was released,  The Final Countdown  hit theaters. The film is about a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that travels through time to the day before Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. It also stars two titans of cinema, Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen, as they ham it up in a B-movie blockbuster.  The Final Countdown  doesn't take itself too seriously and it doesn't expect its audience to, either. 

The real star of the show is the massive amounts of actual Navy aircraft aboard the real aircraft carrier the filmmakers got to use for the production. The USS Nimitz , which is astonishingly still in use to this very day, served as a shooting location for  The Final Countdown  and it is glorious to behold. There are more than a dozen genuine aircraft vehicles that appear in the film and it lends an authenticity that is hard to fabricate. Come for Douglas and Sheen, stay for some awesome Navy realism.

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It's certainly very shocking that a film called  Timecrimes  has something to do with time travel. But let's just focus on that title for a second, here.  Timecrimes ? That is an awesome title for a movie! And  Timecrimes  itself is a saucy little low-budget thriller. The Spanish film tells the story of a man who becomes part of a time loop thanks to an experimental time travel machine. That's not all, as he also must stop his other selves (who exist in the same plane of existence thanks to the time travel) from continuing to exist.

It's a bit much to wrap your head around, but it all makes sense when you're watching it. Made for under $3 million,  Timecrimes  is an effective little thriller that you can't help but admire. And if that English-language remake ever actually gets off the ground, perhaps the original will find a bigger audience than it did upon release back in 2007.

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Time Bandits

If you're in the mood for a kooky sci-fi fantasy featuring an all-star cast,  Time Bandits  has you covered. Co-written and directed by Monty Python's Terry Gilliam,  Time Bandits  features Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, and Ian Holm in an adventure that could only be dreamed up by the man who brought you films like  Brazil  and  The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus . Seriously, Time Bandits  is nothing if not a whole mess of fun.

Made for kids (and everyone who used to be kids) with vivid imaginations,  Time Bandits follows 11-year-old Kevin as he becomes embroiled in a loopy time travel escapade. You know what kind of film this is going to be when an armored knight on horseback comes billowing out of Kevin's closet. It is so much fun. And hopefully you like dark comedy, because the ending of  Time Bandits  has a grueling fate in store for Kevin's parents.

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Time After Time

At a fundamental level, using time travel as a storytelling device lets the audience suspend disbelief a little bit more than they usually would. Case in point: 1979's  Time After Time . Based on the novel of the same name, this film follows famous British writer H.G. Wells - author of timeless novels like  The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds  - as he uses a time machine to pursue Jack the Ripper into the future of 1979 San Francisco. It sounds more like fantastical fan fiction than a Hollywood studio film, yet here we are.

Though this movie has largely been forgotten to time, it actually works! Obviously, the film isn't to be taken all that seriously, and that ends up working in its favor.  With charismatic leads as affable as Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen, it's easy to see why it succeeds. It's just delightful. And it's clear to see some people have fond memories of  Time After Time  as Kevin Williamson, of  Scream  and  Dawson's Creek  fame, brought a television version to screens in March 2017.

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• # 77 of 85 on Movies That Should Be Made Into Broadway Musicals

Primer , Shane Carruth's 2004 sci-fi debut made on an estimated budget of around $7,000 , was one of the first cult hits of the internet age. A cerebral tale of two men who accidentally discover time travel in a garage and subsequently try to exploit it to earn heaps of money, this micro-budget movie was less of a word-of-mouth success and more of a find-via-blog success. Still,  Primer  feels like an underseen classic in the age of endless streaming services.

Perhaps that has something to do with the density of both the plot and the dialogue.  Primer  doesn't try to hold your hand, and it makes no apologies for it. To do so would be a disservice to both the film and the audience. More about humankind's ethical dilemmas and less about the time travel itself,  Primer  is a movie that is both hard to explain and impossible to forget.

• # 239 of 253 on The 200+ Best Psychological Thrillers Of All Time
• # 84 of 99 on The Best Movies Of 2004, Ranked
• # 4 of 69 on The Most Confusing Movies Ever Made

Some time travel films are light and breezy, meant to delight fans both young and old with capricious tales of science fiction.  Synchronic  is not one of these films. Unless stories about cancer and missing children are "light and breezy" to you. Alas,  Synchronic  remains a criminally underseen film from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (who are absolutely perfect choices to direct episodes of Disney+ MCU show  Moon Knight ). 

New Orleans paramedics Steve and Dennis, played by Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan, become embroiled in a weird mystery surrounding Dennis's missing daughter and a new drug that somehow causes its users to travel in time. Benson and Moorhead manage to keep everything dark and moody despite the odd premise of the film, and it ends up being a ride worth taking.

• # 142 of 160 on The 150+ Best Futuristic Dystopian Movies
• # 77 of 83 on The 80+ Best Sci-Fi Drama Movies, Ranked
• # 53 of 74 on The 70+ Best New Orleans Movies

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

Bill & Ted's Excellent Excellent Adventure  is the well-regarded original, while  Bill & Ted Face the Music  is the unexpected franchise revival. This means  Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey  is the unfortunate middle child too often dismissed as inferior. In many eyes, however,  Bogus Journey  is unfairly maligned by the movie-going masses. The screenplay may not be as tight as  Excellent Adventure  and it may lack the nostalgic punch of  Face the Music , but don't go sleeping on  Bogus Journey .

It's a juvenile comedy that also spoofs  The Seventh Seal -  what more could you possibly ask for? It has something for everyone, provided you go into a viewing with the right mindset. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are as game as they were in  Excellent Adventure,  but it's ultimately William Sadler who steals the show as Death incarnate. Roger Ebert put it best in his positive review , saying it is for "lovers of fantasy, whimsy, and fanciful special effects. This movie is light as a feather and thin as ice in spring, but what it does, it does very nicely."

• # 384 of 702 on The All-Time Greatest Comedy Films
• # 534 of 772 on The Most Rewatchable Movies
• # 70 of 168 on The Best '90s Comedy Movies, Ranked

Men in Black 3

Men in Black  will forever remain a '90s classic and, well, the less said about  Men in Black II , the better, but  Men in Black 3  has quickly become an underrated movie - even though it grossed a monstrous $624 million at the worldwide box office. The sci-fi threequel follows Will Smith's Agent J as he goes back in time to team up with Agent K's younger self to save the world from evil aliens. 

Josh Brolin is delightful as he does his best young Tommy Lee Jones impression as Agent K, and Jemaine Clement is just tons of fun as the villain, Boris the Animal. Is it a bit derivative of the first two? Yes, but sometimes you're just in the mood for some popcorn comfort food and  Men in Black 3  is certainly that. Besides, it's much better than 2019's soft reboot,  Men in Black: International .

• # 111 of 178 on The 150+ Best Movies With Aliens
• # 96 of 185 on The Greatest Comic Book Movies Of All Time
• # 344 of 628 on The 600+ Funniest Movies Of All Time

In the Shadow of the Moon

The problem with releasing a genre picture on Netflix is that they usually get lost in the shuffle. If it isn't something Netflix thinks it can market to a wide audience, it just sort of gets released with little-to-no fanfare. This certainly was the case with 2019's  In the Shadow of the Moon . From director Jim Mickle, known for little-seen critical darlings like  Cold in July  and  We Are What We Are , this sci-fi thriller is about a cop who tries to stop a serial killer who reappears every nine years to strike again.

We don't want to give the twist away as to how this involves time travel, because doing so kind of ruins the whole point of the film. If you've got a Netflix account, it's worth a watch and is just waiting there for you.  The Detroit News ' Adam Graham puts it best : "[W]hen you least expect it, In the Shadow of the Moon  delivers a powerful message about the roots of hate and the dangers it poses to society. Don't let this one stay in the shadows for long."

• # 133 of 167 on The 160+ Scariest Psychological Thrillers
• # 71 of 158 on The 140+ Best Recent Thriller Movies, Ranked
• # 132 of 326 on The 300+ Best Netflix Original Movies Of All Time

What is there to say about  La Jetée ? From the fact that it is a 28-minute-long French film from 1962 almost entirely made up of still images, it's safe to assume all but the most fervent cinephiles haven't seen it. Of course, if you're game for its aesthetic, all there is a lot to love about  La Jetée.  And if you're a fan of  12 Monkeys , a film it directly inspired , then you're sure to have a good time.

The film follows a prisoner in post-apocalyptic Paris right after World War III as he is used as a test subject in a time travel experiment. Throughout the events of the film, the protagonist is sent both back in time before WWIII and way out into the future, where he meets a race of technologically advanced beings. Had it been shot traditionally, it isn't hard to see an alternate timeline in which  La Jetée  became one of the most popular foreign films of all time.

• # 67 of 97 on The Best French Movies That Are Absolute Masterpieces
• # 353 of 425 on The Greatest Movies in World Cinema History
• # 48 of 58 on The Best Surrealist Films

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Time travel and anime seem like they were made for each other - though couching the time travel in a coming-of-age story for young adults is a bit of a twist on the formula that's easy to get behind. And with a title like  The Girl Who Leapt Through Time , you kind of know what you're getting yourself into. This film is your average young adult fare with a sci-fi twist, which totally works.

There's not much else to say about  The Girl Who Leapt Through Time  without giving the whole plot away. It's a film that was pretty much universally adored by critics and audiences alike as its infectious energy can't be denied. If you recall the plights of your teenage years with any sort of whimsy, jump into  The Girl Who Leapt Through Time . You'll be glad you did.

• # 294 of 447 on The 400+ Best Animated Kids Movies
• # 89 of 101 on The Best Movies Of 2006
• # 26 of 66 on The Greatest Animated Sci Fi Movies

The History of Time Travel

The History of Time Travel  is a 2014 movie written and directed by then-film student Ricky Kennedy. It's a mockumentary that tells the story of the men who created the world’s first time machine and the unintended ramifications it has on world events. If this were all the film was, there wouldn't be much more to talk about. But  The History of Time Travel has more up its sleeve than being a fake documentary about false events.

The brilliance of the film resides in its clever use of time travel ramifications. As the film goes on, subtle changes begin to appear on screen as more information about the time travelers' exploits is revealed. Of course, the people being interviewed don't realize these changes are happening to them because, why would they? We wouldn't be aware of changes to our past because they would just become our history (at least, in the universe of this film).  The History of Time Travel  is quite low-budget and it shows, but it is still a rollicking good time for anyone in the mood for a new take on time travel.

Je t'aime, je t'aime

2001: A Space Odyssey  is often heralded as a film before its time - and rightly so - but there was another 1968 sci-fi film that dared to break the mold and challenge viewers to think outside the box. A supposed influence on Michel Gondry's landmark  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Alain Resnais and Jacques Sternberg's  Je t'aime, je t'aime  is about a suicidal man who volunteers for an experiment that causes him to experience his past through a series of disjointed memories.

Je t'aime, je t'aime  is not a happy film. By the end, we discover that our protagonist has killed his terminally ill partner to ease her pain and he ends the film about to perish from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We do not get to see whether he actually makes it or not, but that is beside the point.  Je t'aime, je t'aime  is a heady film about love, loss, and mental illness. It is both a relic of its time as well as highly forward-thinking in both its subject matter and its technique.

• Entertainment
• Time Travel
• Watchworthy

As they say in well-written scripts, "You mean... like time travel?" + also a few bizarre stories about real people who have claimed, despite every law of physics, they have traveled through time.

The 32 Best TV Shows About Time Travel

Time traveling is a popular topic when it comes to all types of entertainment from books to films. But in recent years time travel has also become a popular theme in TV.

So let’s take a look at this list of the best time traveling TV shows and find out how each of them handles time travel and all the history that comes with it.

Doctor Who, BBC One (1963 – 1989, 2005 – present)

When it comes to time traveling and TV, probably the most notable name in this niche is Doctor Who  because this time travel series has been around for 39 seasons and is still going strong.

Hailing from British television channel BBC One, Doctor Who tells the tale of the Time Lord aka The Doctor, and his companions as they travel to different times and try to prevent evil forces from changing history and hurting innocent lives.

Once the Time Lord gets hurt beyond healing, he can transform into a new body and continue saving the world. Hence why at this point 13 (soon to be 14) different actors have played The Doctor.

Doctor Who is not only a huge part of the fabric of British popular culture but by now this time travel show has found its way into the hearts of many people all over the world.

It has inspired many spin-offs in the form of TV shows, comic books, movies, novels, you name it. But more than that, by now it has become an industry standard both when it comes to science-fiction television series and shows about time travel.

No wonder that Doctor Who continues to be successful after countless actor changes and plot twists.

Where to watch Doctor Who:

Timeless, nbc (2016 – 2018).

Another time travel TV series that has already become a cult classic and is adored by fans all over the world is NBC’s Timeless . And despite the turmoil that this show has gone through, it still is time traveling at its best.

Starring Malcolm Barrett, Matt Lanter, and Abigail Spencer as Rufus, Wyatt, and Lucy, Timeless  details the trio traveling to different times in an effort to stop their adversaries from rewriting history.

But as it later turns out, the conspiracy goes deeper than them just changing history. Since the people who our trio is chasing are traveling through time to take down a dangerous and all-powerful organization. The same one that helped build the time machine that Rufus, Wyatt, and Lucy are using.

And although Timeless went on for just two seasons (and a two-hour wrap-up movie), you should still check out the show because it’s not only entertaining but will make you think and want to know more about the events that each episode is exploring.

Where to watch Timeless:

Dc’s legends of tomorrow, the cw (2016 – present).

If you are a fan of superhero TV shows, then you will probably have heard about DC’s Legends of Tomorrow . It is a show that is a huge part of The CW’s Arrowverse. And has crossed over with shows like Arrow , The Flash , and Supergirl multiple times now.

And even if you don’t like the rest of the superhero series but do enjoy a good old time travel TV show, then I suggest you still give Legends of Tomorrow a watch.

The plot of this show is based around a team of superheroes that are traveling through time in their time machine christened the Waverider to prevent different catastrophes from happening. Both ones made by others and those created by the team’s previous adventures.

At the forefront, there are well-known DC heroes like Rip Hunter, Firestorm, The Atom, Kid Flash, Steel, and Vixen. Joined by some original characters like Caity Lotz’s White Canary among others.

One of the defining characteristics of Legends of Tomorrow is how fun it is. Because adjectives like unapologetic, witty, and entertaining are frequently used to describe this time travel series.

However, more than that, it adds an interesting layer to the whole Arrowverse universe. And above all, it is just a hoot to watch.

Where to watch Legends of Tomorrow:

12 monkeys, syfy (2015 – 2018).

Then there also is SyFy’s 12 Monkeys , which is a little darker take on time traveling. One that comes with mystery, drama, and apocalyptic stakes. But that doesn’t lessen how good this time travel TV series is.

Split between two timelines, 12 Monkeys centers on Aaron Stanford’s James Cole, who is tasked to travel back in time and stop the distribution of a virus that has the ability to end the human race as we know it.

In Cole’s real timeline, the year is 2043 and people are struggling to survive because of the terrible mutations caused by the virus. So Cole travels back to 2015 to find virologist Cassie Railly, played by Amanda Schull, that can help him stop the release of the virus and the organization that is behind it called The Army of the 12 Monkeys.

If you think about it, the post-apocalyptic setting and time travel really do go hand in hand. Because if you can go back in time to stop history from being changed, why not go back to change it if it prevents something terrible from happening?

And that is what this show explores. Beautifully combining elements of mystery, drama, and science fiction, to form a great TV show.

Where to watch 12 Monkeys:

Outlander, starz (2014 – present).

Want another show that mixes time travel with historical events and does it flawlessly? Then you should put Outlander on your must-watch TV show list!

The show starts in the 1940s when a combat nurse Claire Randall visits Inverness, Scotland as part of her second honeymoon with her husband Frank. Claire accidentally happens upon the standing stones at Craigh na Dun which transport her back in time to 1743.

To return to her own time she first has to survive 18th-century Scotland. And she does so by joining a group of rebel Highlanders from Clan MacKenzie and marrying one of the Highlanders, Jamie Fraser. But eventually, she falls in love with her new husband and aids the clan in evading British redcoats that are pursuing them.

Over the five seasons of Outlander that are currently out (with the sixth coming soon), we see Claire jump back and forth between the 20th and 18th centuries and her two families as she faces two pregnancies, wars, and much more. But eventually, Claire finds her way back to Jamie.

Where to watch Outlander:

Travelers, showcase (2016 – 2018).

Then we have Travelers , a joint venture between Netflix and Canada’s Showcase that will tick all of your time travel TV show boxes.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world , this show depicts the adventures of travelers – operatives who go back in time to prevent the collapse of society.

These travelers are transferred into the bodies of our current-day humans, who otherwise would die, to blend in with twenty-first-century people. And with the help of their artificial intelligence boss from the future, travelers carry out missions in order to stop many catastrophic events from happening.

Travelers is a great mix of sci-fi and drama, featuring a great cast and spine-tingling storylines. So if you love all that and love a good time-travel series, then look no further than Travelers .

Where to watch Travelers:

Dark, netflix (2017 – 2020).

Netflix’s first German original series was the science fiction series Dark , which mixes in some mystery drama with sci-fi: time travel, the apocalypse, wormholes, and parallel worlds.

Dark takes place in Winden, a fictional German town, and begins in 2019 after children begin to disappear from the town. As the show progresses, however, timelines jump drastically between as early as 1921 to as late as 2053.

As four families in Winden investigate the disappearances to reunite with their lost loved ones, they discover a wormhole beneath the local powerplant that allows them to travel between timelines, thus uncovering a generations-long conspiracy involving the town and their families.

Where to watch Dark:

The umbrella academy, netflix (2019 – present).

Netflix brings another to the list with The Umbrella Academy .

On October 1, 1989, 43 infants were suddenly born from unsuspecting women despite them not even being pregnant the day before.

7 of them were raised together as the Hargreeve siblings and trained in their respective abilities until their relationship became strained as teenagers and they drifted apart.

Now, as adults, they’re brought back together by the death of their adoptive father – and the threat of the end of the world, of course.

They’re forced to travel back in time but end up in different times and places, and must find each other again to stop the nuclear apocalypse.

Where to watch The Umbrella Academy:

Seven days, upn (1998 – 2001).

We know that the National Security Agency has its share of secrets, but what if one of those secrets was a time-traveling machine?

In UPN’s Seven Days , the plot centers on one such device made from alien technology found at Roswell.

The Chronosphere, as it’s called, can only be used in times when national security is at risk – the limited capacity of the device allows for just one human to go back in time by seven days in order to avert disasters.

Thus, when the White House is attacked, the NSA employs former Navy SEAL and CIA operative Frank Parker to go back and prevent it from happening.

Where to watch Seven Days:

Loki, disney+ (2021 – present).

Yes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the greatest gifts to the cinema of our time. Now, the MCU has expanded even further into the television medium and we’ve got a few series to accompany it!

One of those is Loki , which of course, centers on the God of Thunder’s mischievous adopted brother.

After the events in Avengers: Endgame , particularly his stealing of the Tesseract, Loki inadvertently creates another timeline that began in 2012, making him a “time variant” version of himself.

When confronted by the authorities, Loki is given two choices: face punishment and cease to exist, or travel through time to fix his own mess and the threat that has emerged.

Where to watch Loki:

Making history, fox (2017).

The thing about traveling back in time is, you have to be very careful that your actions in the past won’t affect the future (which is essentially your actual present).

Most of the time, that’s something you wouldn’t know until you go back to your time. In Making History , however, Dan Chambers travels back in time to right before the American Revolution and sets off a series of events that seriously mess up the future.

Being able to constantly travel between time periods, Dan recruits the help of history professor Chis Parrish to travel with him and ensure that the American Revolution still takes place.

Where to watch Making History:

Quantum leap, nbc (1989 – 1993).

The title of NBC’s sci-fi comedy-drama Quantum Leap is also the name of the time travel machine that accidentally sends its creator, physicist Dr. Sam Beckett, back into the past.

Now, he’s stuck – and not as himself, either!

Sam discovers that he jumped into the body of a stranger and because he’s still himself, doesn’t know all the details of his current identity.

With the help of his friend Al, who appears as a hologram only he can see, he must fix something that went wrong so he can jump in time again and eventually get back to his own body.

Where to watch Quantum Leap:

Quantum leap, nbc (2022 – present).

Speaking of Quantum Leap , in 2022 NBC revived the 1989 series into a more modern take on the cult classic.

In this new Quantum Leap , thirty years have passed since Dr. Sam Beckett vanished into the Quantum Leap accelerator, and the Quantum Leap project was put to rest.

Now the project is restarted with a new team, who tries to puzzle together the mysteries behind Beckett and his time-traveling machine.

So, we follow Ben Song, the lead physicist of the Quantum Leap time travel project, who gets lost in the past after leaping back in time.

As he tries to return to the present he is helped by his fiancée Addison Augustine, who appears to him as a hologram during each leap, and the team back in the present time.

Where to watch Quantum Leap reboot:

The way home, hallmark channel (2023 – present).

Among the newest time travel shows on this list is Hallmark’s The Way Home which has already been renewed for a second season.

The Way Home follows three generations of Landry women who learn that they can time travel after discovering a magic pond on their family’s farm in Port Haven.

When Kat and her daughter Alice return to Port Haven and are forced to move in with Alice’s estranged mother Del, the three women use time travel to uncover their family history, including what really happened to Kat’s little brother Jacob and whether they can prevent his disappearance.

Where to watch The Way Home:

Russian doll, netflix (2019 – 2022).

Netflix’s Russian Doll deviates from the traditional time travel theme of a willing traveler in one specific timeline because Russian Doll’s protagonist Nadia Vulvokov not only has absolutely no choice or control over her so-called time traveling, but hers is also a time loop.

She wakes up every day having to relive the day of her 36th birthday party in New York City; every time, she dies and comes back to the exact same moment.

Every time, Nadia scrambles to figure out what happens to her and tries to prevent her death, leading her to find Alan, a man who is experiencing the same time loop.

Where to watch Russian Doll:

Undone, prime video (2019 – present).

Undone may be an animated series, but it certainly isn’t geared toward younger audiences; though there is a touch of comedy, the series leans more towards the psychological drama genre and “explores the elastic nature of reality”.

The series follows Alma Winograd-Diaz right after she gets into a near-fatal car accident.

Right before the crash, she has a strange vision of her dead father, and right after it, she finds that she now has the ability to manipulate and move through time.

Using this newfound power, she travels between time periods to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding her father’s death.

Where to watch Undone:

Voyagers, nbc (1982 – 1983).

Premiering back in the early 1980s, NBC’s Voyagers! Is set in a world where time travel already exists.

In fact, there’s already a secret society in place that trains its members, called Voyagers, to go back in time and make sure that historical events happen exactly the way they’re supposed to – otherwise it could affect the present in unexpected ways.

One such Voyager is Phineas Bogg, although he isn’t exactly the best at the job.

During an accidental trip to 1982, he meets the young Jeffrey Jones and ends up bringing him along on one of his missions.

Having lost his Guidebook, Phineas now needs to rely on the extremely smart Jeffrey to get history right.

Where to watch Voyagers!:

Fringe, fox (2008 – 2013).

Fox’s Fringe is a series that was well into the science fiction genre, with parallel universes, supernatural abilities, biotechnology, doomsday predictions, and of course, time travel.

The title is taken from fringe science, which is a branch that deals with scientific theories riddled with skepticism or even having been disproven already.

In Fringe , Special Agent Olivia Dunham is assigned to oversee the FBI ’s Fringe Division, which is run by Peter Bishop and his father Walter.

Together, the team uses both fringe science and Olivia’s knowledge in investigative techniques to explore the unexplained.

In the process, they discover a larger mystery involving parallel universes and alternate timelines .

Where to watch Fringe:

Time after time, abc (2017).

ABC’s Time After Time is based on the novel of the same name written by Kevin Williamson in 1979.

In addition to that, each episode takes its title from a line in Cyndi Lauper’s song, which was inspired by the film (and subsequently, the same book!).

In Time After Time , we are taken to H.G. Wells’ home in 1893.

During a dinner party, he reveals his time machine – right before his guest John Stevenson is arrested for actually being Jack the Ripper .

John escapes through the time machine and Wells follows him straight into the present: 2017. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game as John attempts to gain control of the machine.

Where to watch Time After Time:

11.22.63, hulu (2016).

When you have anything with Stephen King involved, you know it’s going to be great.

Hulu’s eight-episode miniseries 11.22.63 is based on King’s novel 11/22/63 and is a science fiction thriller like no other.

Starring James Franco in the lead role, 11.22.63 follows Jake Epping, an English teacher from Maine .

His best friend Al reveals a time travel machine and asks him to take over the mission he’s been working on: to travel to the 60s and prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Will Jake be successful in changing a past that simply refuses to be changed?

Where to watch 11.22.63:

The 4400, usa network/sky one (2004 – 2007).

The 4400 is yet another slightly different take on the idea of time travel, in that there has been just one (fairly significant) shift forward in time, to the present.

Beginning in 1946, individuals who were easily overlooked or marginalized by society slowly began disappearing through beams of green light.

Now, all 4400 of them (hence the title) have been returned to the present day – without having aged a day and in some cases, even manifesting supernatural abilities like telekinesis, healing, and telepathy.

Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris are assigned to investigate the phenomenon and find out why the 4400 have returned.

NOTE: For a fresher take on the show, you can also check out the reboot of the original series which is currently airing on The CW.

Where to watch The 4400:

Somewhere between, abc (2017).

When tragedy strikes our lives, we always wish there was something we could’ve done to prevent it.

In ABC’s Somewhere Between we meet Laura Price, a successful news producer with a great career, a loving husband who’s a district attorney, and a beautiful daughter named Serena.

However, her life changes when the serial killer she is helping the cops to catch kills Serena.

Distraught with grief , Laura attempts to complete suicide but is unsuccessful, instead waking up having time-traveled to a week before Serena’s death.

She teams up with Nico, a former SFPD detective who experienced the same reset and wants to find the real killer to change his brother’s fate as well.

Where to watch Somewhere Between:

Terra nova, fox (2011).

Terra Nova takes its viewers to both extremes of the time-traveling timeline.

The present-day is 2149, where overpopulation has threatened to deplete the Earth’s resources.

In an attempt to save Earth and mankind, scientists have found a way to travel back in time, sending groups of humans back to the Cretaceous Period to set up colonies.

Terra Nova focuses primarily on Elisabeth and Jim Shannon, and their three children, who have joined the 10th pilgrimage to Terra Nova.

They offer their expertise as a trauma surgeon and former narcotics detective and help those in charge with stopping those whose intentions go against the greater good.

Where to watch Terra Nova:

Frequency, the cw (2016 – 2017).

One concept in time travel is known as “the butterfly effect”, wherein one small change in time may have great effects elsewhere.

Frequency demonstrates this concept perfectly.

Raimy Sullivan is an NYPD detective who, after a strange weather phenomenon, discovers that she can communicate with her dead father through his old ham radio.

Believing he was a corrupt cop, she learns the truth and warns him of his murder, thus saving his life.

However, this has profound effects on the future – Raimy’s present.

Now, they must work together across time to save her father and preserve the present.

Where to watch Frequency:

Life on mars, bbc one (2006).

In many of the shows on the list so far, the protagonists experience a time loop that’s triggered at the point of their death.

It’s no different for Sam Tyler, the main character in the British series Life on Mars .

Sam is a Detective Chief Inspector with the Greater Manchester Police, but one day he accidentally gets hit by a car.

When he awakens, he’s in 1973 and working at one rank lower than he was: Detective Inspector.

The selling point of Life on Mars , however, is that we’re left unsure if Sam’s predicament is due to his actual death, a comatose, or time travel.

Where to watch Life on Mars:

Always a witch, netflix (2019 – 2020).

Always A Witch (or Siempre Bruja in its original Spanish title) is a Colombian series that is set in both present-day Colombia and the 17th century .

The series follows Carmen Eguiliuz, a young 19-year-old witch who, after committing the crime of falling in love with a white man in 1646 colonial Colombia, is scheduled to be burned at the stake.

She gets a chance to escape to a new life when the mysterious wizard Aldemar makes a deal with her: he will save the man she loves if she travels into the future to find the woman who can break his curse.

Where to watch Always a Witch:

Beforeigners, hbo (2019 – present).

HBO’s Beforeigners is a Norwegian sci-fi crime drama series and the first Norwegian original from HBO Europe.

The title is a clever play on words centered on the general plot: a group of “foreigners” has suddenly shown up at a neighborhood in Oslo, and they are all from “before” times, or several different time periods in history.

Whether from the Viking period , the Stone Age, or the more recent 19th century , each of these ‘Beforeigners’ tries to integrate in modern-day Norwegian society.

One of them even partners with a detective to investigate first a murdered Stone Age woman, then a series of murderers tied to Jack the Ripper.

Where to watch Beforeigners:

Alice, sbs tv (2020).

Alice was a South Korean sci-fi series that aired in late 2020.

In the lead-up to the main plot, the show’s background is explained to its viewers.

Set in 2050, time travel is monitored by an agency called Alice, which sends its clients to the past to help find closure with deceased loved ones.

Alice one day sends two agents to 1992 in order to find the Book of Prophecy, but one of them disappears with the book and her unborn child.

In 2020, the child becomes a detective and in his investigation into his mother’s death in 2010, discovers the existence of Alice and time travel.

Where to watch Alice:

Live up to your name, tvn (2017).

Yet another South Korean time travel series , Live Up to Your Name initially takes its viewers some 400 years into the past, right in the middle of the Joseon dynasty.

There we meet Heo Im, a doctor of traditional Korean medicine who also specializes in acupuncture.

On one of his treatments of the king’s migraines, he made a mistake and was charged with treason.

Chased by the king’s soldiers, he’s shot with an arrow and presumed dead when he falls into the river – except he ends up waking up in present-day Seoul instead, where he meets cardiothoracic surgeon Choi Yeon-kyung.

Where to watch Live Up to Your Name:

My only love song, netflix (2017).

Our third South Korean series is Netflix’s My Only Love Song , which aired in 2017.

We start off in modern-day Korea where we meet Soo-jung, a talented and top-level actress.

However, it seems that the fame may have gotten to her head as she’s arrogant, and believes fame and money make the world go round.

When things don’t go her way on her new show, she winds up in a time-traveling van that takes her to the 6th century.

There, she meets a man much like herself in terms of arrogance, but his hidden soft spot and generosity towards the poor changes her perspective on her own life and self.

Where to watch My Only Love Song:

Signal, tvn (2016).

Signal is based on the 2000 American film Frequency , but another thing that sets this South Korean series apart from others is that the cases investigated in the series are also based on real-life crimes in the country.

Signal follows a cold case profiler from 2015 and a detective from 1989 simultaneously; they discover they’re able to communicate with each other through an old walkie-talkie.

Using this unique ability to provide much-needed foresight in investigations, they team up to both solve and in some cases, even prevent these horrific crimes.

Where to watch Signal:

Rooftop prince, sbs (2012).

Last but not least, South Korea brings its last time-traveling series to the table with Rooftop Prince , a comedy-drama filled with intrigue, mixed identities, and possible reincarnations.

Crown Prince Lee Gak from the Joseon dynasty accidentally time travels to 2012 with three others from his entourage, and their lives are thrown into a whirlwind.

He crosses paths with Se-na, who looks exactly like his recently deceased wife.

In the hopes of getting answers about his wife’s mysterious drowning, he assumes the identity of another man who he also looks exactly like and attempts to marry Se-na in this timeline as well.

Where to watch Rooftop Prince:

11 comments.

Tomorrow people cw

You forgot The Time Tunnel, an Irwin Allen sci-fi show (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost In Space, Land of The Giants), all classic 60s sci-fi

Journeyman should also be on this list. It was only half a season on NBC but it wraps up to a satisfying conclusion.

Fantastic acting and interesting characters.

Glad someone else watched Journeyman. I thought I’d was a great spiritual successor to Quantum Leap.

Journeyman is one of the good shows u can watch but qunatum leap i watched and didnt like

Where is The Time Tunnel?????

Another show for your list is “Being Erica” (CBC, 2009-2011). Excellent writing, and very unique.

i was looking for this comment. such an underrated show

I concur. This was definitely a great one. It certainly provides a lot of food for thought.

Some of the information in the Doctor Who one is wrong. It started in 1963, it was only revived in 2005 (you put 2006), and it’s been going for 39 seasons, as of June 2022

Thanks for letting me know! I updated the article accordingly.

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Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

10 Underrated Time Travel Movies from the 1980s

April 3, 2024 by Billy Oduory

Billy Oduory with ten underrated time travel movies from the 1980s…

With timeless blockbusters like Back to the Future setting the highest standards for 1980s sci-fi, many great films from the decade that didn’t hit similar heights in theatres failed to receive the credit they deserved. The creativity and innovation that went into 1980s sci-fi still transformed the whole movie industry and time travel films were not left behind. Films like The Final Countdown and Timerider , which weren’t instant hits when they were released, have continued to gain popularity in recent years as more people now appreciate the charm of 20th-century creativity.

With the surge in demand for classic gems from the decade, these underrated 80s time travel films have received the credits they deserve in public forums such as IMDB. For a modern audience wishing to travel back in time, the attraction from the past has to be something more than a typical time travel narrative, which is why these films have earned a cultic following for their eccentric stories and impressive cinematography that makes them feel like they were way ahead of their time…

Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982)

While testing a new bike, Lyle Swann (Fred Ward), a dirtbike racer, strays into the field of a time travel experiment in the desert and is thrust back in time, finding himself in November 1877. The stubborn rider doesn’t realize the change in his surroundings until he is set upon by a gang of outlaws who would really love to lay their hands on the nice ride from the future. As Swann Grapples with his new reality, he finds refuge in the friendly town of San Marcos and now has to find a way to save the town from the outlaws and survive long enough for the scientists to come to his rescue.

Directed by William Dear, Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann has everything fans would expect from a classic Western, while still telling the interesting story of a time traveler. Despite its modest rating, the film boasts of impressive action sequences and a charismatic performance by Fred Ward as he brings life to the character. The blend of romance, crime, and sci-fi complements the intricately written film turning it into a worthy cult classic. 

My Science Project (1985)

Michael Harlan (John Stockwell) has nothing to submit for his final science project, so he breaks into a government aircraft boneyard and steals a strange-looking globe hoping to use it to impress his teachers. However, when he plugs the globe into a power source, he discovers that it has strange abilities including sucking the power grid dry and causing time travel. His project, which unleashes chaos on the school and his hometown, turns out to be a piece of alien technology. This is a coming-of-age comedy with a touch of Sci-Fi that transcends the traditional premise of time travel films to tell the human story.

Directed by Jonathan R. Betuel, My Science Project offers a humorous take on time travel. The film’s quirky premise and endearing characters make it an enjoyable watch for audiences of all ages, which explains its enduring popularity. With its blend of adventure, humor, and nostalgia for 1980s high school culture, the film offers a delightful trip down memory lane.

Trancers (1984)

Serial killers still make the most dreaded villains in TV and films, but a serial killer traveling through time takes the idea of dark comedy and time travel to a whole new level which explains why Trancers is now a whole franchise. The serial killer, in this case, is Martin Whistler (Michael Stefani) a 23rd-century criminal mastermind who discovers a way to turn people into senseless killers known as Trancers, whom he wants to use to destroy humanity. When his evil plans are thwarted by the relentless detective Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) the serial killer uses a special drug to travel back in time to 1985 to continue his reign of terror, but Jack Deth won’t let him off that easily.

Directed by Charles Band, Trancers brings zombies and time travel into its action-packed storyline, making a simple-sounding storyline interesting. Moreover, despite its modest IMDb rating, the film has gained a cult following over the years, appreciated for its imaginative storyline and entertaining performances. With its blend of gritty noir elements, futuristic dystopia, and time travel shenanigans, the film offers a unique and enjoyable experience for viewers craving a dose of 1980s nostalgia.

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

Starring a young Nicolas Cage and Kathleen Turner, Peggy Sue Got Married is the comedic tale of the second chance at a better life for 43-year-old Peggy Sue who is planning to divorce her cheating husbands but feels trapped and regrets the decisions she made in her teenage years. While attending her high school reunion party, Peggy collapses and finds herself transported back in time to her senior year of high school with the chance to relive her past and make better choices all over again.

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, this charming romantic comedy offers a whimsical take on the time travel genre. Peggy Sue Got Married features one of Cage and Turner’s best performances in a romantic comedy. With its nostalgic 1950s setting, witty dialogue, and heartfelt exploration of regret and second chances, the film offers a delightful blend of humor and sentimentality that a modern classics fan will enjoy.

The Final Countdown (1980)

Filmed on the real-life aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, The Final Countdown tells the story of sailors and a civilian observer on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that gets sucked back in time to December 7, 1941, just a day before the Pearl Harbor attack, while on a training exercise. After discovering the Japanese fleet planning to attack the US fleet, the commanders and the sailors are torn between changing history by preventing the most devastating attack on US soil in WWII or letting history take its course.

Being Don Taylor’s last film, The Final Countdown was a great way to sign out for the talented director as it features an epic combination of action and historical drama. Its impressive special effects and suspenseful storyline keep viewers hooked as they present the thrill of an epic war film as well as a travel drama. The film explores the ethical dilemmas and the consequences of altering history.

The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988)

The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey follows a group of villagers from 14th-century England who, while tunneling through the earth on a mission to make a sacrifice and save the world from the Black Death, inadvertently find themselves transported to modern-day New Zealand. Struggling to comprehend their new surroundings, the villagers embark on a quest to find a way back home, all this time, relying on the visions of a “gifted boy” called Connor (Bruce Lyons). 

It is a visually stunning film that seamlessly blends historical drama with elements of fantasy and science fiction, making it feel way ahead of its time while retaining the charm of black-and-white cinema. The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey won multiple awards in Australia and New Zealand for its thought-provoking storyline and eccentric performances by the cast and is only now receiving global recognition as seen in its improving IMDB ratings.

Flight of the Navigator (1986)

While walking through the woods to pick up his little brother on July 4, 1978, 12-year-old David Freeman stumbles into a canyon and disappears, only to reappear eight years later, having not aged a single day. An experiment by NASA doctors reveals that David was abducted by aliens who took him to a strange planet and used him in part of a scientific experiment on humans. David’s time with the aliens turns out to have more consequences on the future of humanity than previously thought and his adventures with the aliens are far from over. 

Directed by Randal Kleiser, Flight of the Navigator has become a cult classic over the years with Disney announcing that its remake is in the works. It was one of the very first Hollywood films to use CGI resulting in impressive visual effects that stand out from other 1980s Sci-Fi films. With its heartwarming themes of friendship and self-discovery, the film remains a beloved favorite among classic film fans.

Time Bandits (1981)

Time Bandits is a Terry Gilliam cult classic that has earned a top spot in the fantasy comedy genre over the years because of its innovative approach to telling a time travel story. The subject of the film is a young history nerd called Kevin who gets caught up with a group of time-traveling dwarves who have stolen a time-space map from their boss known as the Supreme Being. Kevin gets the chance to relive some of his best moments in history including the Napoleonic Wars and the Titanic and also meet legends like Robin Hood and King Agamemnon. However, his fun trip threatens to ruin his life back in 1981 as the stolen map catches the interest of a villain known as Evil.

Time Bandits is one of the best Terry Gilliam films and fans continue to enjoy its witty humor and innovative storytelling despite its moderate IMDB ratings. With its blend of adventure, satire, and philosophical undertones, the film offers a thought-provoking exploration of themes such as greed, mortality, and the nature of reality that still captivates a modern audience.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Directed by Leonard Nimoy, The Voyage Home is one of the most overlooked Star Trek films as far as ratings go, but it features one of the most captivating storylines with unconventional humor that many people are beginning to appreciate. The film follows the crew of the USS Enterprise as they travel back in time to 20th-century Earth to save the planet from an alien probe. This film holds a special place in history as it was dedicated to the crew of The Challenger Space Shuttle.

Environmentalism is at the center of the film’s message as the main story rotates around preventing the villains from contacting Humpback whales which are extinct in the year 2286 when the movie is set. Its modern-sounding themes and engaging storyline make it a standout entry in the series.

Somewhere in Time (1980)

The idea of a romantic relationship that transcends time itself is one of the few things that time travel films and that is exactly what Somewhere in Time brings to life. The film follows Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) who becomes obsessed with the photo of the actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour) while residing at The Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Michigan. Collier believes that the woman is the love of his life and he must find a way to go back in time to 1912 to be with her. With the help of an old pocket watch and a little self-hypnosis, Collier manages to manifest himself back in time to meet the actress, but their romance isn’t as straightforward as he imagined.

Also starring Christopher Plummer, Somewhere in Time is a timeless romantic classic in which the chemistry between Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve is intoxicating. Seymour later admitted that she fell in love with Reeve on the film set, although they didn’t end up together as is the case with their characters. With its timeless themes of love, longing, and destiny, the film continues to captivate audiences decades after its initial release.

SEE ALSO: 10 Most Underrated Sci-Fi Movies of the 1980s

What 80s time travel movies are worthy of a spot on this list? Let us know on our socials @FlickeringMyth …

Billy Oduory

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Flowing Cents

10 Time Travel Movies That Most Enjoy

Posted: April 3, 2024 | Last updated: April 3, 2024

Trading with the past and future for the present is a whole concept in the Time Travel movies. History buffs and time travelers love to explore the past centuries or the next future in a live mode. Hence, movies are made. Here is a list of those travel movies that depict the cinematic journey between the imagination and reality, making you blow your mind.

1. About Time (2013)

In a mystery of looking at the future and changing it, a young boy uses his time travel power in the movie  About Time.  A user considers it a beautiful and different time travel trope from the other ones. Another user says this movie has the happiest ending, which he probably saw for the first time in the fictional work.

2. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

A movie that smoothly blends comedy into the teleport world is everyone’s favorite.  Hot Tub Time Machine  depicts the story of three friends mysteriously going into 1986, away from life problems. A user remembers its famous comedic dialogue, Great White Buffalo, from the movie. Another user adds that it is quite surprising for him how good a note the movie ended with.

3. Primer (2004)

The obsession of two friends to make new devices has resulted in the time travel machine, where with more effort, they put an option to let the human enter into it. A user adds that the unfolding of this movie has blown away his mind, and with every passing second, the scary it gets. Another viewer added that he had to watch a YouTube video to understand its concept.

4. Time Crimes (2007)

The movie revolves around a man who, in search of a naked woman, enters into the imaginative world of time travel. An excited user shares that this movie is made cleverly, and it shows the time travel trope in a way that does not change things, and it absolutely deserves a couple of watches. Moreover, another viewer adds that this movie is consistently logical, leaving no significant flaws.

5. Predestination (2014)

An assignment on the prevention of bomb blasts in the past has opened up many worlds of possibilities and beyond-the-imagination scenarios in  Predestination.  A viewer acclaims the storytelling of the movie, where all the elements and checkmarks of storytelling are ticked, and still, the movie hasn’t lost its originality. He further adds that this movie makes absolute sense, making it his personal favorite.

6. 12 Monkeys (1995)

12 Monkeys  has the plot of a prisoner saving humanity from a deadly virus. The virus was destroying humanity, and it needed to be cured; hence, the prisoner agreed to time travel to get the antidote, and in return, he was promised his escape. A film lover shares that this movie has no such plot holes, and it covers smoothly the trope of time travel.

7. Back to the Future (1985)

It is a highly recommended movie if you want to watch a proper thriller and science fiction. It is a story of a student and a scientist, where mistakenly the student was being sent into the time machine device, which took him back to the past 30 years. An admirer says that it is only due to the movie Deloren is even known.

8. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

This movie revolves around the debate about conquering the earth. This movie shows an act by the USS Enterprise against the cybernetic borg to stop them from destroying the world. A proud admirer considers it a great film recommended for the next generation. Another user admires the acting of Stewards in the role of Picas, where he beautifully shows utter commitment, determination, and rage.

9. TimeCop (1994)

Timecop is a riddle of the death of the policeman’s wife, which made him join the Time Enforcement Commission and help to go back in time and look for the real culprit. Here is the conflict between the policeman and the corrupt politician who wants to change the past.

10. Tenet (2020)

A movie that brings out the whole unique and mind-blowing aspect of time travel is Tenet. It doesn’t deal traditionally with time travel; instead, it adds new twists. A user argues that this movie has beautifully closed the immutable loop of time and deals from a different perspective. Moreover, another user said that he had never seen a film like this, with a whole unique concept.

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