When Time Expires (1997 TV Movie) User Reviews

Redefines the meaning of "lame"

[syed.mustafa.ali · 10 January 2000]

Avoid at all costs. Poor, American TV movie writing. Checked-shirts, jeans and guitar music with some consumer- necessary and plot-irrelevant pseudo-sex scenes.

If I had the original recording of this movie, I would incinerate it. I implore the owners of this film to BURN, BURN, BURN. Start here and move on to other greats like "A.P.E.X.".

Started out promising, then faded badly

[wdstarr-1 · 2/10 · 19 July 2020]

The film started out promising, but then got muddled and slow as it went on -- I'm not stupid but I could have sworn that the dialogue indicated that there wasn't any actual time travel involved, just highly sophisticated prediction of the future, and then suddenly at the end there was actual time travel -- ending in dumb shootouts in which a regular pistol in our hero's hand constantly trumped the bad guys' futuristic rayguns. The cast mostly does their best, especially the veterans like Tim Thomerson and Pat Corley (who only appears on a tv screen and I assume shot all his scenes in one or two days completely independently of the rest of the film's production), but there are reasons why Grieco was never a big star and that while Cynthia Geary has a lot of post-"Northern Exposure" credits none of them are very impressive. And the only way I can describe Mark Hamill's performance is as a combination of about 80% "Hey, I'm TRYING here!" and 20% "WHY am I trying here?"

A must watch for all sci-fi fans

[maverick-60246 · 7/10 · 27 June 2018]

Watched this movie years ago. It is not that great of a stand alone film but for the sc-fi fan it is awesome Richard Grieco and Mark Hamill really make this movie work. Mark Hamill really did a few good low budget movies back in the 1990's.

A very nice Sci-Fi / Thriller / Comedy / TV film.

[stuffers · 10/10 · 29 July 2006]

A very nice Sci-Fi / Thriller / Comedy / TV film. It is a pity there is no DVD released so far. A time traveling extraterrestrial scientist, Travis Beck, from the future is sent back in time to put a quarter in a meter located in a small town on the edge of the Nevada desert to save the world. What looks like a simple job becomes very complicated. Right from the start things go wrong. Travis Beck materialize naked in front of June Kelly in the desert, twenty miles from the town where he has to be. And he gets unexpected protection by his ex-partner Bill Thermot for such a simple job. Of course there are some romantic / comedy moments between the time traveler and June Kelly and some over the top scenes between Travis Beck and the assassins. In the end, 'When Time Expires' is a very nice Sci-Fi comedy film worth at least a rent.

Nice film for a rainy afternoon

[phill_xmadman · 10/10 · 5 November 2005]

Well i was just rooting through a box of videos from a few years ago and came across this film. its raining like hell today and freezing cold, so staying in is the best option with a mug of chocolate! :) The plot is involving and gets you trying to guess whats going on. a few twists here and there. couple of fights with your A-typical redneck town idiots too! it was a nice plain and very watchable film. nothing over complicated and dumbed down, relying on CGI or over editing to keep you entertained. just a film as it should be. After it ended i was left feeling it could have ended a little more slowly, not so abrupt. But still an overall nice film.

An underrated film

[john-6186 · 8/10 · 8 July 2017]

Low budget? Yes. Big stars? Well, how about Mark Hamill and Chad Everett. A charming, well-made, sci-fi flick with a feel-good ending. Cast does a very creditable job, Cynthia Geary I could take home to Mom (and would very much like to! Sorry, Mom. I know you would understand), inventive story line. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it.

probably not enough of a budget but very enjoyable

[nitewinds · 8/10 · 5 March 2008]

good scifi. i enjoyed the concept, sure it could have been better, but ... it's not bad, yes, it is no 'alien' or 'starwars', but within its limitations, it was well done.

i tend to suspend reality a little when watching a movie, i am someone who really enjoys movie, so .. i might not be as critical as the next person.

i have been wanting a copy, in DVD, for years now, i caught this on a late nite program, and really enjoyed it. unless one is overly 'picky' i am sure that they will enjoy it, too.

whenever it comes out in DVD, i will get a copy, i enjoyed it that much.

This was far better than it's sub-5 rating.

[neander-982-359205 · 9/10 · 11 April 2017]

This movie kept me intrigued, and that's difficult considering the crap that passes for most B (& A) movies. There were enough surprises and plot twists to kill the too-usual mundane, super-predicable story lines. For those that complain about the unknown cast: When did real life ever present a perfect cast? I actually liked and appreciated corporate, backstory politics involved. It lent a tinge of reality to a Sci-Fi situation - the best of the genre allows one, maybe two absurd premises, and the characters have to deal within that, and each other. This movie filled that limitation well. For a movie written and set in 1997 it did a remarkable job of anticipating today's technologies. Challenge yourself to pick them out. The location, writing, and casting (a stunning Cynthia Geary) set me to mind of Northern Exposure episodes. Some "urbane" small minds may have a hard time with small town settings. This was well worth my time watching it.

SPOILER ALERT: OK, the performance of the futuristic "ray guns" left much to be desired considering, being futuristic, you'd expect them to be improved? But it allowed the story to move on with some plausibility. The built-in restraints of the main protagonists, both love & hate, was a great touch.

Very cool chaos theory movie, but poorly cast.

[sector3 · 10/10 · 4 October 2002]

The script is actually very interesting, but the director looked like he didn't care - possibly because his cast was so awkward or the budget was too low. The scenes run a little long too, but maybe it's the guy's first time directing. I have no idea. Overall, I liked it.

An understated gem for time travel fans!

[soopergrape · 9/10 · 19 January 2024]

OK, I'm well over half way in. This is a very well nuanced film. It does have a slow pace but it is rich if you pay attention. I have not seen anyone I didn't feel fit the part.

(Later) It's wrapping up now. I have to say that this was one one the most understated sci-fi films I have ever seen!

I was surprised to see "Luke" but now I understand what he saw in the screenplay.

Don't remember the names of any of the other actors, but I thought everyone was exactly who they were supposed to be.

I especially thought the interplay of lead and love interest was cute and funny without being forced.

This was a low budget masterpiece! It accomplished all of the dynamics the futuristic plot required without the budget requirements of fancy effects.

I really enjoyed the ending. If you are into time travel DO NOT miss this little treasure.

Excellent, inventive sci-fi story

[lennytone · 8/10 · 24 September 2013]

Caught this movie on TV and it definitely held my attention. I appreciated the fact that what little violence there was mainly took the form of fistfights. I would have rated it 10, except for the gratuitous and really ridiculous taking of the Lord's name in vain so many times, considering that we're dealing with an organization of advanced planets. Certainly this "federation" of thousands of planets must know Who it is that created those planets. Probably the smarmy Showtime networks idea. So minus two for that. The few special effects there were just reminded me of the low budget original Star Trek. If the story is there, and it is, special effects used judiciously are fine. The beautiful Cynthia Geary is a plus.

Pleasantly Surprised

[scifiguy-42 · 8/10 · 18 December 2023]

I'm glad I read the positive reviews that caused me to give this movie a chance. It's not great in that the acting is mediocre, but the whole time travel beurocracy part and everyone's motivations made sense by the end of the movie, so that all worked for me. The movie also had some nice touches in it ghat I appreciated, like the assistants working through tv sets, the watches that beep when the time travelers are getting too close to doing something that woould adversely effect the future, and the bad guys in long coats and cowboy hats moving in slow motion. I also enjoyed the happy ending. Both I and my wife were glad we watched.

Good movie

[bilow-56734 · 10/10 · 17 January 2022]

Was expecting a B grade movie but it wasn't. Had 2 actors I've enjoyed watching before. Took abit to figure out about the purple on a few of the aliens. All I can say I'm impressed.