From low-budget indie films to Hollywood blockbusters, science fiction fans have been treated to an increasing number of great time travel movies of late, usually involving someone attempting to change their past and return to the present, whilst dealing with the various paradoxes created by time travel.
With so many films involving adventures in the 4th dimension to choose from, making a list like this a matter of pure subjectivity, but here goes. And if you don’t agree with some of the choices, feel free to go back in time and prevent me from compiling this list, or alternatively leave a comment below.
Frequency (2000)
Director: Gregory Hoblit
IMDB Rating: 7.4
When rare aurora borealis activity in 1999 occurs exactly 30 years after a similar incident in 1969, police officer John Sullivan is presented with the means to communicate with his father across time using his childhood ham radio. However, they soon discover altering time can have dangerous consequences.
Primer (2004)
Director: Shane Carruth
IMDB Rating: 6.7
In Primer, while working on an anti-gravity device, young engineers Aaron and Abe accidentally invent a machine capable of sending objects and people back in time. Taking advantage of the unique opportunities time manipulation presents is one thing, but dealing with all the complexities of time travel is another matter altogether.
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Director: Eric Bress, Mackye Gruber
IMDB Rating: 7.6
In The Butterfly Effect, Evan Treborn discovers he is able to travel back in time and briefly occupy the body of his younger self. Having suffered several traumatic experiences as a child, he then decides to use his ability to rewrite his own history, but like the butterfly effect of the movie’s title, Evan’s actions cause many unforeseen consequences over time.
The Jacket (2005)
Director: John Maybury
IMDB Rating: 7.1
Wounded Gulf War veteran Jack Starks returns to Vermont suffering from bouts of amnesia. Wrongly accused of killing a policeman, he is then sent to a mental institution where during an experimental drug treatment he is able to travel to the past and future for brief moments of time. In Starks’ visions of his future he foresees his own death in four days’ time, but not the manner of his death. Thus begins a classic race against time.
Idiocracy (2006)
Director: Mike Judge
IMDB Rating: 6.5
An average man and a prostitute are accidentally frozen for 500 years and awaken in a future where society has become shockingly dumbed down. As the most average man from their time, the protagonist must navigate this intellectually diminished world and confront the consequences of widespread societal ignorance.
Deja Vu (2006)
Director: Tony Scott
IMDB Rating: 7.1
Following a terrorist attack in New Orleans, ATF agent Douglas Carlin is recruited by a top-secret government unit, which has a piece of surveillance technology capable of watching events unfold roughly four days in the past. Working together they try to discover who the terrorist culprit is, but Carlin soon becomes convinced there is a way to prevent the attack from ever happening in the first place.
Timecrimes (2007)
Director: Nacho Vigalondo
IMDB Rating: 7.1
In Timecrimes, a man named Hector is chased by a masked maniac and stumbles upon a secret laboratory in the woods run by a mysterious scientist. Seeking a hiding place Hector accidentally gets into an experimental time machine and travels back in time one hour, triggering a series of unforeseeable consequences and a shocking crime.
Triangle (2009)
Director: Christopher Smith
IMDB Rating: 6.9
In Triangle, a group of friends on a yachting trip encounter mysterious weather conditions and are forced to seek shelter on a giant abandoned ocean liner. Jess gets a feeling of deja-vu as they explore the ghostly vessel, and a desperate race against time ensues after a masked stranger wreaks havoc on the group.
The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)
Director: Robert Schwentke
IMDB Rating: 7.1
In The Time Traveler’s Wife, a man with a genetic disorder involuntarily travels through time, causing complications in his relationship with his wife. As they navigate the challenges of his sporadic disappearances and reappearances across different moments in their lives, they strive to maintain their love and connection despite the unpredictable nature of time.
Source Code (2011)
Director: Duncan Jones
IMDB Rating: 7.5
Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in a secret Army lab to discover he is part of a mission to find the terrorist who bombed a Chicago commuter train. The experimental military program enables him to relive the last eight minutes of one of the passengers’ life and unearth any clues that may prevent a second, larger target from being struck, threatening the lives of millions.
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
Director: Jay Oliva
IMDB Rating: 8.1
The Flash inadvertently alters the timeline, creating a dystopian world where familiar heroes and villains have drastically different roles and alliances. He must race against time to restore the original timeline, facing formidable adversaries and confronting the consequences of his actions along the way.
Time Lapse (2014)
Director: Bradley King
IMDB Rating: 6.5
In Time Lapse, three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures of events 24 hours into the future, but soon realize the dangerous consequences of knowing their own destinies. As they struggle with the ethical dilemmas and temptations presented by their newfound power, they find themselves entangled in a web of deceit and betrayal.
Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)
Director: Doug Liman
IMDB Rating: 7.9
In Edge of Tomorrow, Major William Cage is drafted to fight against an invading alien army, but after managing to kill an Alpha he is killed in combat. Cage then inexplicably wakes up the previous day, and finds himself stuck in a time loop and forced to relive the same merciless battle over and over again.
Predestination (2014)
Director: Spierig Brothers
IMDB Rating: 7.4
In Predestination, a temporal agent travels back in time to prevent future crimes from being committed, but on his last assignment with the Bureau must stop an infamous terrorist called the Fizzle Bomber before his psychotic bombing spree can begin.
Interstellar (2014)
Director: Christopher Nolan
IMDB Rating: 8.7
In Interstellar, a team of astronauts embarks on a journey through a wormhole near Saturn to find a new habitable planet for humanity, as Earth faces environmental collapse. Their mission challenges the boundaries of time and space, leading to unexpected discoveries about the nature of existence and the power of love across the cosmos.
Tenet (2020)
Director: Christopher Nolan
IMDB Rating: 7.3
A secret agent embarks on a mission to prevent World War III by mastering the art of time inversion, a technology that allows objects and people to move backward through time. As he delves deeper into the complex world of time manipulation, he must navigate shifting alliances and dangerous adversaries to save the future.
Really like that you didn’t add Looper to this list.