Timequest

As a fan of television shows and movies that deal with the "What if?"/Alternate Universe type storylines, I found this movie very entertaining. The general story is that a man from the short term future (who was born on Nov. 22, 1963) invents a time machine to stop the Kennedy assassinations. The interesting thing about this movie, as compared to the hundred other similar stories about stopping the assassination is, they let the time traveler succeed. This story is truly a speculation of what may have happened it the Kennedy's were still alive.

While, granted, this film does present a somewhat idealistic view of what might have been, I was just thrilled that half the movie wasn't spent trying to "repair the change in the timeline". Overall, I must say that I really enjoyed this film. It really reminded me of the videogame "Re-Elect JFK" The only real downfall to me was that it was just too short -- I would have liked further speculation. Also, the timeline in this story jumped around a bit, but that was just the style of the writer, and, by the end of the movie, everything made perfect sense.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is one of the sleepers that I never heard of that just blew me away. I absolutely loved this movie. I am a huge sci-fi, alternate history fan and the fact that I had never heard of this one is unbelievable. The what if scenario and the way it takes the characters from today and brings them into that time-line is so remarkable. It used a lot of thought about how certain actual events influenced particular people to strive for a different place in world events. It shows how a single incident can change a whole time line and how different it could have been. The Kennedy assassination is the one event in American history that has had such a fragmenting effect within this nation. The Vietnam War, LBJ, the space program, Nixon, civil rights, discontent and the huge gap between the parties all can be traced to that era. If your a history fan and love sci-fi, this is a must see. If you like, a great movie that takes you on a great journey then watch this movie. If you hated hi-budget movies like "Time Line" that don't come across, then watch this movie. It will take you on a real adventure and they spent only a fraction of the budget to get you there.

An interesting "what-if" story: a man from the future goes back in time and prevents JFK's assassination. This movie presents an optimistic view of how history turned out. The narration follows three threads; our time, following the death of JFK at 84; the presidency of JFK after Nov 22, 1963; and the Kennedy's involvement in the life of a young artist. Bruce Campbell does parody again, it's nice to see Ralph Waite, and Larry Drake looks like he may explode soon. Like any good time-travel story it leaves you bewildered at the end. It's a bad political history, though, and I found much of it unbelievable. The conservative Republican revolution would have happened anyway. The oil shocks of the 1970s would have happened anyway. Sure, Dan Rather stays in Dallas and the Beatles never break up, but whatever happened to Nixon? What happened to Barry Goldwater? What would have happened to Vietnam?

Direct and writer Robert Dyke shows us a possible world in which John F. Kennedy did not die by an assassin's bullet, but lived to finish his presidency and his natural life. A scientist from (perhaps) our future, in which Kennedy died that day in Dallas, perfects time travel and returns to the Fort Worth, Texas of 1963. His arrival is timed to warn Jacqueline, John and Robert Kennedy of what awaited them in Dallas, and the effect that event would have on our country and the Kennedys. Using an intriguing and effective non-linear story telling technique, Dyke tells the story of that time-traveling scientist, played effectively by Ralph Waite, the Kennedys and a possible—and more promising—future.

This film is based on a great idea, but could have been done much better, perhaps with a larger budget. It is worth watching, and hopefully will open the door for other films to take on this subject.

The issues dealing with the Kennedy's were a bit generalized and stereotypical and could have been developed more. To compete with other time travel films, I believe the technology could also be stepped up a notch.

While I enjoyed the film, it left me wanting to see a more detailed and better version of it.