Needle in a Timestack (2021) User Reviews

Love story with a little sci-fi

[LLgoatJ · 5/10 · 17 October 2021]

This tells the story of a couple who are very much in love but are split up permanently and forget each other in the present by an ex who goes back in time.

The film isn't really about time travel. It's never really explained how it works or how people have come to just accept their lives regularly being altered by people messing around in the past.

This is all love story and if people can still be in love if they don't remember each other.

It's a bit slow and pretentious in places. I almost gave up after 5 mins. When I got to the end it felt more like achievement than satisfaction at a good film.

It really felt like it could have been much better done. It's hard to really care about the characters so you feel cold against what is happening instead of being drawn in and involved. It should be a film you discuss about after but it's just lacking in something.

It's worth a watch but it just really feels like it should have been a far bigger and better film. A waste as it's well acted and it's believable but not well executed.

Good movie but wanted more

[coreytegley · 6/10 · 27 November 2021]

Look story was good but it should of explained more about time travel and how they were able to do it. This movie is a LOVE STORY NOTHING ELSE so if you are looking for Sci fi or time travel it's not that. It's about love and how true love can outstand anything no matter what it is even time travel. Worth a watch.

This is a film with a lot of potential due to the great cast and premise but is executed poorly.

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 20 February 2022]

Needle in a Timestack (2021) is a movie my wife and I recently watched on Amazon Prime. The storyline follows a futuristic society where rich people can pay to go back in time and relive, see and experience other eras. Unfortunately sometimes they change the future, on purpose or by accident. Two men who used to be friends aren't so much any more after one of the friends marries the other's ex-wife. The rich friend is perceived to be trying to change the past to get his ex-wife back while the married friend is obsessed with the notion whether true or not which may be causing his marriage to fall apart.

This movie is directed by John Ridley (Cold Around the Heart) and stars Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami), Orlando Bloom (Lord of the Rings), Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) and Ulka Simone Mohanty (Soul).

This picture has a fantastic cast that is unfortunately under utilized. The movie has great dialogue and a unique premise. The characters are good and the circumstances are clever; unfortunately the overall execution is bad. There's too much focus on Odom's character looking lost and confused and not enough on the La Jolla friendship, the various back stories, and characters are used in an in-and-out fashion rather than a good mix of using them all together to understand the relationships, inner demons and why things are how they are. The ending is just okay and also could have been better.

This is a film with a lot of potential due to the great cast and premise but is executed poorly. I would score this a 5.5/10 and recommend watching once if nothing better is available.

If you could go back time

[Gordon-11 · 10 January 2022]

"Needle in a Timestack" should be viewed as a drama set in a science fiction background. If you think it's a science fiction film, you'll be bored. If you view it as a drama, it would be interesting, because it's about all the could haves and should haves in life. It is about the regrets and sorrows of life, and what you would do to change it if you could go back time.

A Great Idea, A wasted Opportunity

[JustinJKanter · 3/10 · 16 October 2021]

Mr. Ridley has always done his best work, when others rewrite him. He famously denied Steve McQueen, a writing credit for 12 Years A Slave, even though that film was heavily rewritten, the same with Three Kings.

The screenplay to this film shows off Mr. Ridley's weaknesses, his lack of narrative drive, his inability to capture the female voice, and making them props for men in the film.

But the central conceit of the film is rather good, maybe because it is based on someone else's idea, Robert Silverberg's 1966 Needle In A Timestack, is still central to the film's set up, including the women who feel like they belong in 1966.

Everything is directed to look like a Macy's commercial from 2014. So that there is this sort of bland, instagram photos instead of cinematography style to it, which takes away from the scope of a story that could have been exceptionally cinematic.

There is such a great idea here though, particularly if everyone has the ability to travel and fix mistakes, and the women had been given agency over this once it was discovered, an ultimate game of cat and mouse and upmanship could have taken place. Instead we get the most boring version of this idea. If only someone had done a rewrite.

Mr. Ridley has several directing projects coming up including a biopic on Shirley Chisholm, starring Regina King, one would hope that the screenwriter for that is at least, a woman, or someone who can write one.

Something NEW

[ham-ma242 · 7/10 · 23 October 2021]

A pretty authentic movie in which time travel is an every-day thing and anything can change if it's misused. Sure the movie is maybe too slow, but it's still pretty interesting. There is a character development and switching between alternative timelines (living through different outcomes), yet the main focus is on the drama and romance itself. It's not a 3~/10 movie, give it a shot. Clearly something different and refreshing than copy paste like most movies with same plot lines nowadays.

Bloodless time travel romance

[tellstar · 4/10 · 17 October 2021]

As other reviewers have noted, this film is more about relationships than it is about time travel. With love as the central theme of the film, it's strangely and pervasively bloodless. We're instructed by music cues how we should feel about these characters, but they never generate their own spark. These people make a lot of money doing who-knows-what, with endless opportunities to spend disposable income. They live in spare, minimalist surroundings and speak entirely in cliché. They care or don't care about each other on cue, to serve the narrative.

The aspects of time travel were interesting, but not reasonable. If any trip into the past allows for time ripples to obviously and thoroughly alter and destroy other people's lives, it's hard to believe time travel services would operate freely and publicly, with just a signature on paper binding them not to mess things up.

Very touching love story

[janefgdoe · 7/10 · 22 January 2022]

This movie is before all a love story. A touching one. One that you can relate probably after you pass some age.

I liked the line "every love story changes the life lines of many people". This was the idea of the movie. It's unsettling. I also prefer to believe love is unique for everyone. That we all have a soul mate. But we may as well have more than one. Maybe one is more optimal than the other, maybe one is "a bigger love", maybe not. I don't know. Nobody knows. But we all know there is life after love and that life sometimes continues with another love.

So I think this is what the movie is exploting. Is it a good sci fi? Of course not. But it's a good love story. It's well executed. I like that it's slow and gentle. It has its own style and proper pace. I scrolled some of the slower moments, but as a whole, I think it's a good thing to watch. It poses interesting questions. The actors are good. The music is good. I like it. Maybe it's not for everyone, but to me, it has its charm.

Trying to find a story in a haystack

[fmatt99 · 5/10 · 31 January 2022]

"What if...?" Getting Orlando Bloom, Leslie Odom. And Cynthia Erivo to headline this sci-fi sleeper of a lovestory was quite a feat. Unfortunately that is where the wonder ends.

John Ridley s vision of a future is unique and it asks a lot of any audience that is not prepared for absolutely no action in the traditional cinematic sense.

This is not a bad film, but it is why streaming services exist. You would certainly not drop $10-plus and a bag of popcorn to leave the comfort of your home to see this yawner.

Near Future Very Realistic

[randyrobb-98180 · 7/10 · 17 October 2021]

The thing that impressed me the most is how realistic the future technology is. Very creepy in a Black Mirror way. It was a little slow, but NO WAY is it a 3.3 which is what the score is as I am writing this. I think that most people may see this as a love story, and this is how it seems at the beginning. But my interpretation of this movie is that technology is the antagonist here. No one can just live their life without someone interfering, and even though the message appears to be love will find a way in any circumstance, I see the real message is that technology that interferes by rewriting our past can cause a lot of pain and sorrow.

Great concept but turned out crappy

[Tutu67613 · 2/10 · 26 October 2021]

At first I was wondering why this had such low ratings cuz the movie started out so well. The concept was great. But the whole plot hinges on us supposed to want Nick and Janine to end up together. But sorry to say that actress who played Janine was supremely horrible in her acting! She also had no chemistry with the lead or Orlando Bloom's character. And her character behaved in such an unlikeable way, I didn't want any of the characters to end up with her. The movie is about 20 minutes too long. My guess is the director also felt that there was no chemistry between Janine and Nick that he felt he had to add longer scenes of them together to get us to believe they were a loving couple. The overexagerated melodrama overkilled the sci fi and any romance aspects in the movie ... which on their own I'd probably still have given this maybe a 6 rating. But jeez that actor who played Janine just did it so horribly that She pulled the rating down to a 2. Please skip this movie.

Love story poorly rated

[vlacarvalho · 10/10 · 24 October 2021]

Normally I don't write reviews here in this space, but in the case of this movie, I had to come because it's very poorly rated. As of the date I write this, the grade is 3.8.

This drama is like a good wine, it must be enjoyed slowly and it is at this pace that the narrative takes place. Like a good drama, it doesn't fall into the temptation to speed up to please small minds. Everything happens at the right point. And, like romance, it happens pleasantly.

My grade here goes to raise his rating on IMDb, but I would give it 7.5, because it satisfies, has good performances and the script doesn't leave many loose ends. It's a movie for those who aren't too lazy to think. For those who have it, the grade will be low.

This text was written with Google Translate. Forgive me the mistakes.

Not a time travel movie if that's what your looking for

[mmcgee8 · 2/10 · 13 February 2022]

The only time that travels is slowly for the two hours to get through 30 minutes worth of material. If you're looking for a time travel movie, this is not it. If you're looking for a boring and predictable no chemistry romance, this is it. The best scene was the last five seconds, where it was a bit powerful, and also because I was grateful for it to end.

Great idea and story, poorly executed

[adansantos · 3/10 · 17 October 2021]

About halfway through, it starts going off the rails, and feels like part of the movie have been taken out, and stuff "just happens".

Shame, could have been great in a competent director's hands.

intriguing idea but ends short

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 3 March 2022]

Time travel is happening. The rich are doing it. Whenever a time shift happens, everybody scrambles to check for personal changes before they lose their memory of the previous time line. Nick Mikkelsen (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Janine (Cynthia Erivo) are happily married. He is worried that her first husband Tommy Hambleton (Orlando Bloom) is trying to use time travel to eliminate their relationship. That's exactly what happens and he finds that he's married to his long-time girlfriend Alex Leslie (Freida Pinto).

This is an intriguing Twilight Zone premise. The film does need to use that premise in a compelling story. While I'm fascinating with the world-building, the movie fails to construct the story around it. It's like there's a great foundation but the building is not much more than a box. This is almost two hours but it's really only doing the first act. I wonder if the short story is worth a shorter flick. Maybe the story needs expanding.

A great concept...

[MisterFloppy · 5/10 · 17 October 2021]

... they really don't do anything with.

It's a missed opportunity and the end result is pretty boring. It's not a bad movie either. Check if you're a fan of scifi though.

A sweet love story

[manleygurl · 7/10 · 18 February 2022]

I like that's it's different. It's a bit slow but it has a great message. I live the all the main stars. I'm a big fan of all of them. Even more so now. It may be a little slow for some and there's not a lot of sex or violence - just a sweet love story. Ignore the low ratings.

Boring

[majaguara · 2/10 · 23 January 2022]

The dialogs are super cringeworthy. Though barely any :)

The movie is extremely slow.

The story is not involving and too chaotic.

It is not worth the time.

A world where leisure time travel is just buying a ticket.

[TxMike · 16 July 2022]

My wife and I had difficulty with this movie. It is well made, it has excellent actors, but we found it hard to wrap our brains around the story. It is easy enough to understand but what are we to think of it?

It is set in an undefined future, or an alternate universe, where people can purchase a time travel "trip". Different options cost different sums, but we get the distinct impression that it is very expensive. You have to agree not to violate certain rules, regarding personal gain or changing things to benefit you or others. But it becomes clear that not all time travelers play by those rules.

The overriding theme is love and happiness. If after a number of years you think you made bad choices, should you go back and try to change things to facilitate a different path? Which is good but the slow-moving story with absolutely no action gets a bit tedious. When it was over it had no effect on us.

At home on DVD from our public library.

Waste of time pun intended

[missive-01210 · 1/10 · 18 October 2021]

I wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to watch this. Casting is terrible. Acting is just depressing. Such a time waster.

Story had promise. Execution is so poor. This is boring af.

,

Great movie, left me wanting more

[shopaholiq · 9/10 · 30 November 2021]

The movie is good and it stays very on topic, it's not a sci-fi movie and it never tries to be, it also doesn't brow beat us with the romance to over stress the point of this couple loves each other. It sets the premise and then goes about telling this particular experience of these people. The idea of this movie is very original in the time travel aspect, and while that in itself creates some plot holes and questions, the movie shies away from them and just pushes forward. When taking the movies as is at face value i can say I enjoyed it, so much that i wish i could know more and go deeper into the story, i want certain aspects explained and i wanted a more thorough resolution in the end. It is a little long but nonetheless interesting, if you're looking for the notebook kind of romance drama this isn't it, but if your looking for a high tech sci-fi movie about time travel, this isn't it either, those simply aren't the stories this movie is trying to tell. But it is a compelling story that could have been even better realized as a series. I say it's worth watching. I think many other reviews walked in with other expectations of what this was going to be and that's why some didn't care for it.

Good film, eventually, too slow of a start through cuz it missed plot point one!

[info-90701 · 6/10 · 12 February 2022]

In standard film structure, plot point one drops at exactly 30 minutes into the film. There is a reason for that. People's expectations are now programmed to a certain timing in feature films. This one fell at 43 minutes, and it almost killed the entire film! Shame Ridley, as screenwriter first forgot that when directing this film, as he knows better. The timing, slowness and droning on music almost ruined a very decent film. In this age, when people only have an attention span of 3 minutes, that was a mistake.

It is a romance, only slightly science fiction, much like Made In Heaven with Timothy Hutton and Kelly McGillis was in the 80's, in fact almost the same story except death is the time travel mechanism. It is updated in many factors, which is nice, but the leaning toward arthouse sensibilities makes it tiresome, unnecessarily so.

The actors were excellent, the production values were outstanding and the direction was decent though nearly ruined by the script that needed at least 15 minutes cut from it.

Interesting that this would be the mistake that a screenwriter makes, but if you are patient, and check your emails and social media while watching it, it is pleasant. Watching it fully, without distractions, will be like watching paint dry though.

Huge plotholes, zero chemistry

[Bobalopacus · 3/10 · 15 October 2022]

Flicking through the user reviews I see a lot of people asking 'how can anyone rate this lower than 5? (I think I know why!)' or something similar.

So, I'll be clear: I believe this movie is intended to be primarily a love story albeit one wrapped in a veneer of sci-fi concepts. It fails on both fronts and hence to rate it as a 5 would be over generous.

I would be lying if I said my girlfriend and I were not entertained, but this was almost entirely through our discussion of how ridiculous and poorly thought through this was. I would be willing to forgive any plot failings if the film succeeded in evoking the relevant feelings.

In order to convey emotion to an audience the writers/actors/director need to evoke some feeling in the viewer. Simply filming two people telling each other how much they love one another does not convey that love. The viewer should be sharing the main character's (Nick and Janine) desperation to discover each other. While I could clearly see the movie was trying to get me to feel this - I did not.

I did not feel much for any of these characters, the grey minimalism of the character's home environment was mirrored in their emotional depth and conversation - I would not be shocked if someone revealed this movie was actually written by AI. As just one example, the attempt to illicit emotion by repeating the 'love is a circle' monologue simply had the reverse effect.

On the sci-fi front: it is not enough to just present an interesting premise - time travel stories are very hard to get right and it's easy for huge plot-holes to emerge (as occurs here). I could go into detail, but I try to avoid spoilers.

The primary fault here is the writing, the original premise is a good idea but the gaping hole where the core of the movie should be mean this one is 'pretty vacant'.

Worth watching, esp if you have a soulmate

[pritchetts114 · 7/10 · 1 September 2022]

First of all, I get tired of hearing from so many reviewers that one movie or another is too slow. In this world of 7-second Tiktok videos, real relationships, love, angst, history, take time to create & build. Connection to a character, making the audience actually care what happens to them, takes time.

This is a different sort of tale, a drama told in a sci-fi setting that is necessary to the telling. It's about timeless love, perseverance, certainty or lack thereof, and about asking what is enough to make a satisfying life, and the price to do so. At it's core, it's about the difference between those who serve only themselves for personal gain, and are able to act because of personal wealth or advantage, as opposed to those who do what is best for the greatest number, and where that line is drawn by each of us.

I suggest that anyone who has experienced the Madela Effect/glitch in the universe on a proundly personal level have a watch. Though those of us who have had them cannot find our way back, this may give you some degree of comfort. It did for me.

Could the movie had been better? Certainly, but I still think it's a worthy watch.

Ridiculous premise of plot

[chiangjenniferc · 2/10 · 9 February 2022]

There really isn't any plot or action. Just a bunch of conversations that really don't make any sense. Only watched because Orlando Bloom was in it. Don't waste your time.