TIMELINE
An exciting time-travel adventure with courage, honor, and sacrifice.
Should You Watch It?
TIMELINE delivers a fast-moving, engaging adventure as archaeology students travel into the past to rescue their professor. The film offers medieval battles, historical mystery, a wholesome romance, and admirable themes of courage, honor, sacrifice, personal responsibility, and respect for human life.
The movie is not a classic. Some casting choices and corny dialogue weaken it, and the language is more excessive than the otherwise family-friendly treatment might suggest. Still, the violence is restrained for the subject matter, and the story includes positive references to God and characters who feel remorse after fighting and killing.
For a family choosing for older children or teenagers, this is a worthwhile adventure with parental discernment. Younger children may be better served by another choice.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESArchaeology students researching a medieval battle in France discover evidence that their professor has somehow become trapped in the year 1357.
A corporate benefactor sends the students through a time-transport machine to rescue him. Once there, they must survive a dangerous war, escape capture, and return to the present before they are stranded in the past forever.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means TIMELINE is an enjoyable, well-directed adventure that falls short of greatness. Its pacing steadily accelerates and rarely lets up, while Richard Donner handles the medieval action ably. The story is described as tighter and improved over Michael Crichton’s novel in many ways.
Gerard Butler is the standout as Andre Marek, bringing appeal, vulnerability, and conviction to a courageous man who seems born in the wrong time. Paul Walker is believable as a regular guy, though limited as an actor. Frances O’Connor is poorly cast as Kate, and David Thewlis’ over-the-top corporate villain creates awkward moments. Corny dialogue also gets in the way.
The Worldview
The film exalts courage, honor, sacrifice for others, personal responsibility, and the sanctity of human life. It shows modern characters wrestling with remorse after killing to save their friends, while presenting the medieval world as more violent and barbaric. The story also includes positive references to God and an army leader who encourages his men to fight for justice.
Its lessons remain brief rather than preachy. “History helps us to understand where we’re going,” and “you make your own history” emphasizes personal choices and responsibility rather than the idea that human beings control destiny in a Humanistic or Marxist sense. At the same time, the story includes a capitalist among its bad guys, a worldview element some viewers may wish to discuss.
The film’s moral vision is not a complete biblical account, but its respect for courage, justice, sacrifice, and human life gives families meaningful points of contact. Christ says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Very strong moral worldview with redemptive elements as present-day students travel back in time 600 years, with themes of courage, honor and sacrifice for others and one army leader encourages his men to fight for justice and reminds them that “God will fight by your side!” plus many uses of “God be with you”, as well as capitalist is one of the bad guys; includes 27 mostly mild obscenities (one garbled f-word) and 15 profanities, including 13 exclamations of “My God” or “Oh my God”; very subdued and mostly implied violence with little or no blood (especially for medieval battles) includes men being shot by arrows, men stabbed with swords, woman stabs man with an arrow to save her friends, one brief graphic scene shows a sword wound on a corpse in a hospital, fighting, slapping, chase scenes, one man pleads for mercy but is stabbed anyway, man’s ear is cut off and bloody in one important and brief scene, no graphic scenes of decapitations or limbs severed, as viewers might expect (and as the book told), battle scenes include fiery arrows flying through the air and trebuchets (catapults) attacking castle with flaming arsenal; some kissing, but no sex or nudity; some beer drinking; no smoking; and, lying and betrayal. GENRE: Science Fiction/Fantasy Adventure BBB C ACap LLL VV A M
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The students face danger to rescue their professor. When have you seen courage expressed through sacrifice for someone else?
John 15:13 · Philippians 2:3–4The film connects history with the direction of our lives. How can learning from the past help you make wiser choices?
Proverbs 1:5 · Romans 15:4The characters feel remorse after fighting and killing. What is the difference between regret and genuine repentance?
2 Corinthians 7:10 · Psalm 51:17The story emphasizes justice and honor. What does Scripture say should guide the way we pursue justice?
Micah 6:8 · Proverbs 21:3The Final Word
TIMELINE is a thrilling adventure with wholesome characters, moral themes, and restrained violence. Its uneven acting, corny dialogue, and frequent obscenities keep it from greatness, but older children, teenagers, and adults can still find much to enjoy. For families with younger children, parental discernment is wise. WORTH THE TRIP — AGES 13 AND UP.
