The movie's tag line 'This Fall You're History' just can't escape the irony that upon this films release, Richard Donner's directing career probably was seen as actually being something that had finally come to a head, at least once people realised what a complete stinker the movie was. To be fair though the only mistake Donner (Superman, Lethal Weapon) made was choosing to have anything to do with this movie. The films story is just so ridiculous even James Cameron couldn't have made it anything but painful to watch. The story itself  rotates around the medieval French town of Castleguard which accidentally acts as a landing pad for the use of a new type of fax machine, a fax machine that can send living breathing objects across great distances. The fax machine's signal though, gets tangled up with a worm hole which results in anyone who uses the machine, to be not just sent across half the world, but to be sent back in time. So in a nutshell, a leading archaeologist gets stranded in the past, his students try to rescue him, and what follows is a medieval mud pit packed to the crossbow with stupidity and implausibility. Paul Walker headlines, but really does sod all to back that position up and only serves to look completely ridiculous dressed up in medieval attire. The only thing that keeps the film from being completely un-watchable is the pacey direction, but sadly no amount of swish camera work and editing can save 'Timeline' from becoming the film Richard Donner wished he had never made. Could have been worse, but only slightly.

2/5