A Sound of Thunder (2005)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers (WGA):

Ray Bradbury (short story)
Thomas Dean Donnelly (screen story) ...

Release Date:

2 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Evolve or die.

Plot:

When a hunter sent back to the prehistoric era runs off the path he must not leave, he causes a chain reaction that alters history in disastrous ways. |

Plot Keywords:

Prehistoric | Lion | Babe Scientist | Shockwave | Environmentalist

Cast

Armin Rohde	...	John Wallenbeck (as Armin Rhode)
Heike Makatsch	...	Alicia Wallenbeck
Jemima Rooper	...	Jenny Krase
David Oyelowo	...	Payne
Wilfried Hochholdinger	...	Dr. Lucas
Edward Burns	...	Travis Ryer
August Zirner	...	Clay Derris
Ben Kingsley	...	Charles Hatton (as Sir Ben Kingsley)
Catherine McCormack	...	Sonia Rand
Alvin Van Der Kuech	...	Young Technician
Andrew Blanchard	...	George the Doorman
William Armstrong	...	Ted Eckles
Corey Johnson	...	Christian Middleton
Nikita Lespinasse	...	Newswoman on TV (as Nikita Le Spinasse)
Scott Bellefeville	...	Onlooker (as Scott Bellefeuille)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence, partial nudity and language.

Runtime:

USA:110 min

Country:

UK | USA | Germany | Czech Republic

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Philippines:PG-13 | Australia:M | Czech Republic:15 | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-15 | Iceland:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40964) | Argentina:16 | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Company:

Franchise Pictures

Trivia:

Production was slowed when severe floods in the summer of 2002 in the Czech Republic caused considerable damage to the set.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The insect that Middleton stepped on was a moth (Io Moth - Automeris io), not a butterfly as described. The insect on the movie's cover art is also a moth, a Black Witch (Ascalapha odorata).

Quotes:

Sonia Rand: Well, you're a hunter, so shoot me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Troldspejlet: (#35.8)" (2006)

No budget for FX or Advertising...

I have lived in the Los Angeles area for about a year now. When I can, I enjoy seeing free screenings of movies. As I understand it, these test screenings are done by marketing-research companies at the behest of the movie studios. You watch a movie for free and then you fill out a form explaining what you liked and didn't like about the movie. The company then selects a smaller group of viewers for a Q & A focus group.

So I saw a free screening of A SOUND OF THUNDER about six months ago. We were told that the special effects were just "mock-ups" and therefore to not judge those effects too harshly. And we were promised that for the actual release the special effects would look spectacular.

I just watched A SOUND OF THUNDER on its opening Friday and the special effects were EXACTLY the same. They used the mock-ups, the "pretend special effects," for the release.

Which leaves me to believe that the test screenings got such bad feedback that the studio decided to cut its losses. They didn't advertise this film very much and they didn't spend any REAL money on the special effects.

One thing they may have changed was some of the editing. The pace felt a little better than the original free screening. I mean the movie has a lot of problems but it seemed like some small things were cut or at least cut differently.

I'm hoping that the DVD will have a commentary track so we can hear the behind-the-scenes story of what really happened. But I doubt the studio will put any bells and whistles on the DVD release.

I agree with everyone else. This is a bad movie (with the exception of Ben Kingsley's interesting character work). But it was made worse by the studio's lack of commitment and backing.