The first film in this series is the 1989 futuristic thriller MILLENIUM:
An airline crash investigator finds a strange device in the wreckage of a double plane disaster. The device comes from the future and the discovery of it could end the world in about a thousand of years. A mysterious woman visits the investigator and attempts to get the device back before all hope is lost. Directed by Michael Anderson. Written by John Varley (based on his short story). Starring Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd.
Subgenres: Time Travel/Romance/FuturisticThis film has a lot going for it and only a few things bringing it down. What it has going for itself is an amazing plot and an intriguing idea. What brings it down is a few cheesy elements and a seriously outdated style.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
This film has an amazing opener - two airplanes colliding in midair! They do a great job of creating confusion and doom. Although it might have been shocking in 1989, this sort of plane disaster seems a bit less extreme (post 9/11), but it did have a great effect in seeing the reaction of the characters to the crash site.
The brilliance of this movie is in playing with time paradoxes. The futuristic team have come up with a great way to avoid destruction by only taking people from planes that are about to crash and replace them with dummies. Another really thrilling moment is when the futuristic devices they accidentally left behind become the very destruction of the world. Time paradox! The plot was really well thought out and made for an intriguing look at the dangers of time travel as well as the problems with overusing our Earth's natural resources.
Although they are very fun - the film is plagued with some very corny dialogue and some even cornier costumes. I'm sure in the late Eighties these wouldn't have been too cheesy, but whenever you make a futuristic film you run the risk of having the costumes and production design look very archaic to a future audience. The romance portion of the film comes off as hokey and a bit forced, making it difficult to take the characters seriously. Another issue was the way in which the captured/rescued people from the past seemed so docile about what was happening. They just filed out of the time warp with such calm demeanor and placating attitudes that it seemed a bit inauthentic that they would just be willing to cooperate. Oh ya, and the robot helper in the future is super funny but totally ridiculous-looking.
Despite the cheese, the film is a really fun and delightful gem. A high recommend for anyone looking for an intriguing futuristic/time travel thriller.
Please enjoy the trailer!:
Has anyone seen this little gem? What did you think?
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