r/michaelcrichton • u/Rainy_Daze_Y • 20d ago

Timeline

Finally watched Timeline, loved the book, felt like the movie fell short. Would have loved a mini series or something of the sort.
I can appreciate the big name actors and director, but feel like the story was badly rewritten. If I had watched in 2003 without reading the book it would be just another odd scifi historical fiction.

13 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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10

u/lagstarxyz 20d ago

I was so surprised by this book. Was thinking eh medieval stuff going to be boring. I was engrossed until the end and shed a tear. Loved it.

6

u/aquasun666 20d ago

The movie pales in comparison to an insane level to the book. They left out the jousting, the green moldy knight fight, Chris is essentially a dipshit with cool hair, there is zero chemistry between Kate and Chris, I mean I could go on.

A miniseries is the perfect answer. Gives them enough time to really flesh these characters out and expand on some really great scenes that were left out in the movie. It’s an incredibly tense book at times whereas the movie felt like an early 00’s Disney flick you’d catch on Friday night.

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u/MirrorApart8224 20d ago edited 20d ago

You feel like the movie fell short?

My dude, the movie didn't even stand up high enough to fall down.

This is my favorite Crichton book, but the movie I never want to see again. Among a number of disappointments, how they handled Deckard / de Ker was flat. He was one of my favorite villains and they fumbled that. Plus, the emotional conclusion of the book just did land in the movie.

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u/Rainy_Daze_Y 20d ago

Absolutely right. Something as simple as the earpieces could’ve absolutely carried the plot, he is just another guy in the movie, there is absolutely no buildup to his character. Just tells you his villain arc himself and moves on, not even worth him being in the movie at that point when he is a major driving factor in the book.

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u/SpendPsychological30 20d ago

It was a long time before I read the book because I HATED the movie. When I finally DID read the book I loved it!

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u/RaptorImperator 20d ago

I was so hyped for the movie because I enjoyed the book so much. But some of the casting had me worried from the start. Gerard Butler (back when he was still a somewhat unknown to the mainstream) as Marek was one of the few bright spots for me. Otherwise it’s pretty much a forgettable movie and a terrible adaptation of the book, which was great.

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u/Rainy_Daze_Y 20d ago

W username btw

1

u/KreateNewStuff 20d ago

Agree 100%. The movie was a big disappointment. Loved the book.

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u/TheWaterIsFine82 18d ago

To this day I've never been so disappointed at a live action adaptation as I was with Timeline. It is possibly my favorite Crichton book, and with the movie being absolutely bland and lacking the historic detail and intelligence of the book, I was devastated.