---
title: "The Time Machine: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-time-machine/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-time-machine"
critics_score: 48
critics_reviews: 10
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Time Machine (2002): what the critics said

Critics' score 48 from 10 reviews: 0 positive, 6 mixed, 4 negative.

## Screen Daily — Emanuel Levy

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 11 March 2002. 

The review text is behind a registration wall, so its verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint is visible in the accessible material.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/the-time-machine/408596.article)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 8 March 2002. 

The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict and specific praise or complaint cannot be verified. The URL identifies a film review, but provides no review text to summarize.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/08/movies/film-review-in-futuristic-new-york-are-pods-rent-controlled.html)

## Time Out — TJ

Fi1m's normalised score 57/100 (inferred from the text). 

The review’s standfirst expresses concern about the retooled version. It singles out the 1960 George Pal adaptation as the point of comparison.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-time-machine-1)

## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez

Rating 2/4. 6 March 2002. 

Gonzalez finds the film an uneven, ultimately disappointing mix of jokes and schlock. He singles out the brevity of Jeremy Irons’s cameo as especially tragic, alongside stiff direction and ineffectual effects.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-time-machine/)

## The AV Club — Keith Phipps

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 29 March 2002. 

Phipps finds the film engaging but not gripping, criticizing its lack of ideas. He praises the frightening Morlocks and the lyrical time-travel sequences.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-time-machine-1798195158)

## Radio Times — Andrew Collins

Rating 2/5. 

The critic finds the remake dull, philosophically muddled and too reliant on digital effects and action-movie conventions. They fault its inability to tell the familiar story without resorting to standard heroics.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-9jhwd5/the-time-machine/)

## The Guardian — Rob Mackie

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2002. 

Mackie finds the adaptation respectful but ultimately disappointing. He praises Guy Pearce’s lead performance, while complaining that the original film remains more memorable.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/oct/11/artsfeatures.dvdreviews)

## Empire — William Thomas

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

Thomas finds the film engaging at first but says it deteriorates into a formulaic action movie. He praises the early visual effects and the film’s echoes of H.G. Wells and George Pal’s version, while faulting its excessive CGI.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/time-machine-review/)

## Variety — Todd McCarthy

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 7 March 2002. 

McCarthy finds that the film starts promisingly but becomes a generic, disappointing effects-driven adventure as it moves into the distant future. He praises the early period atmosphere and Orlando Jones’s amusing hologram, while faulting the reworked Morlocks and the loss of the story’s wit and philosophical depth.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2002/film/awards/the-time-machine-2-1200551004/)

## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 27 June 2007. 

Kermode finds the film an effective, entertaining diversion despite its clunky script and uneven performances. She praises the impressively staged Morlock sequences and the visual impact of the broken moon.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-time-machine-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-time-machine.md