Time After Time (1979)

IMDb plot summary: H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.

Directed by Nicholas Meyer. Stars Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, and David Warner.

Time After Time is a 1979 film starring Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells, who has built an actual time machine and then has to use it to chase Jack the Ripper to the 1970s. It's a very simple premise but one that works incredibly well, and it's just a ton of fun to watch. It's a good combination of a story that is playful but does actually have high stakes. One thing that helps is that it's not just about the action of chasing down Jack the Ripper, but it's grounded in a heartfelt romance between Wells and a bank teller played by Mary Steenburgen. I especially like that, unlike many fish out of water stories, Wells is very intelligent when it comes to figuring out future tech. It's clear that he's already daydreamed about what the future might bring and has some of the scientific knowledge to be able to predict some of this semi-accurately, so he figures out patterns and how to survive in this new world very quickly, which is a refreshing take on this kind of story. The final third has some weird acting choices from Steenburgen in particular, which is a bit off-putting because she has been so good up until that point, but fortunately at that time the action is more the front and center rather than the romance, so whatever she's doing  is not destroying anything that's been set up. Overall, a really fun ride that I knew nothing about going into it.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Time After Time (1979)

📊 Ranked #828/4038 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 80

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