Really Surprised!

Overrated

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Keep in mind that this is a TV movie, with a rather limited budget. It is not meant to be a thriller or a marvel of science fiction. Nothing in it is original, and as most other time travel films, it asks you not to think too much about the logic of time travel. It's basically a nice little family film that you can watch with your kids on a lazy afternoon and have some fun. There are no scenes in it that contain real violence or that come off as particularly threatening. Our heroes breeze through the obstacles the plot throws at them with considerable ease. Granted, the absence of real tension and the fact that the antagonist is not truly menacing is a problem, but I am willing to disregard that problem because I find the overall experience of watching this quite pleasant. The cast is pretty good and it's a pleasure to watch them on screen. The female lead steals the show, though. There's lots of nostalgia here for those who remember the 80s.

Cowboys, time travel and Klaus Kinski, it doesn't get much better than this. This film is one of those little gems that should be watched every Xmas along with The Great Escape and Its a Wonderful Life. Like all good films it starts with tragedy, then a small mystery. The back story is well presented and not complicated; like many I could mention. Also, the story doesn't jump back and too; as is all too common these days. Happy endings don't come any happier, that's all I'm going to say, but is not predictable. Klaus Kinski is a joy to watch with his rolling eyes and tough talking and big cowboy coat. The time traveling is cool and does not involve a Tardis; another bonus.

Kinski hams his way through this time travel adventure as the Cardboard Cutout Bad Guy, yelling half his lines, and he made me want to smack him every time he does. Lauren Hutton seems so confused by the content of her lines you suspect she was born speaking another language--Urdu, maybe-- and had to memorize them phonetically. Clichés abound, the science isn't believable, they never made me care about the time travel "adventure," and the result is William Devane was trying to sisyphus this thing up a hill made steep as an Alp by its shortcomings. As bad as it is, the Casio keyboard music and cheesy credit sequence manages to make it worse. And then someone starts singing twangy country songs: kill me now. A star for Devane, nothing for everyone else.

"Timestalkers" is without doubt the very best of all time travel films, it`s well acted, and directed, and it is not spoilt by OTT special effects. Bill Devane is great in the lead role, and it`s nice to see Klaus Kinski in a more commercial type role. The basic plot centres around an old trunk and it`s contents picked up at a car boot sale (garage sale in the US), a photo revels in the distance a man with a very modern gun, and so our journey starts, and it`s edge of the seat stuff all the way.... See it if you can. Score: 10/10