Christopher Nolan has developed a reputation for playing with non-linear structures and time travel in his movies, but there are plenty of other filmmakers who explore similar themes. Many ofChristopher Nolan’s best moviesdeploy non-linear structures in one way or another, likeMemento’s reverse plot thread orOppenheimer’s concurrent portrayal of the past and the future. Other movies explore time travel more explicitly, likeTenetandInterstellar.
With the news thatChristopher Nolan’s next movie is an adaptation ofThe Odyssey,it will be interesting to see how he leaves his own mark on a story that has been passed down through generations. One possibility is that he will chop up the structure to his own liking. This would be a bold move for such a revered classic, but Nolan frequently devises non-linear structures that enhance his movies, rather than coming across as mere gimmicks. Other great directors, like Quentin Tarantino, Terry Gilliam and Denis Villeneuve, have all produced movies that use similar techniques.
AlthoughLooperowes a debt to other time-travel thrillers that came before it, Rian Johnnson takes it in an unexpected direction. This is something that he’s done throughout his career, whether he’s shaking up the tired mystery genre with theKnives Outor bringing his own divisive ideas to theStar Warsfranchise.Looperis one of the most interesting and unique time travel movies ever made.
The 10 Best Time Travel Movies, Ranked
The greatest time travel movies have complex plots and interweaving storylines, making them fun to watch and rewarding to unravel the many threads.
Looperstars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a contract killer whose targets are sent back in time by criminal syndicates in the future, so that they can distance themselves from the murder. Matters are complicated when he must “close the loop” by killing the future version of himself. Johnson constantly finds new ways to push his concept to new places, and this leads to some dazzling and completely original action scenes.
Time loop movies have created an interesting subgenre, because many of them choose not to explain how or why the characters are stuck in repeating patterns. It’s often just an accepted fact that the characters have to come to terms with, like inGroundhog DayandPalm Springs.Edge of Tomorrowis somewhat different, and the way that it describes the mechanics of its time loop structure shapes the entire story.
Surprisingly,Edge of Tomorrowmanages to maintain its stakes throughout, even when death loses any finality.
Tom Cruise stars as a soldier in a near-future when aliens have invaded Earth and swiftly conquered all but a few secluded corners. AsEdge of Tomorrowgradually reveals the truth behind the aliens and the time looping structure, the story sets off in an unexpected direction. Surprisingly, the movie manages to maintain its stakes throughout, even when death loses any finality, and the enchanting mystery also helps propel the plot.
The Terminatorshowcases James Cameron’s mastery of blockbuster action set pieces and interesting sci-fi storytelling simultaneously, and it has earned its status as a classic time travel movie.Arnold Schwarzenegger has found few roles which suit him as perfectly as the Terminator, a high-tech killing machine from the future with a singular goal in its hard drive. Although Schwarzenegger is physically imposing and frighteningly impersonal, he still knows how to inject some humor.
TheTerminatorfranchise may have lost its way after the first two entries, but the sequels have done nothing to detract from the sheer excitement of the earlier movies.
TheTerminatorfranchisemay have lost its way after the first two entries, but the sequels have done nothing to detract from the sheer excitement of the earlier movies. Although the franchise is more focused on action than most of Christopher Nolan’s movies, his fans will likely appreciate the synthesis of mind-bending sci-fi and frantic thrills.The Terminatortakes a relatively simple idea and executes it superbly.
Denzel Washington has made so many crime moviesthat it seems like familiar ground for him, and whenever he wants to branch out and try something different, he often does so while playing a detective or federal agent. Just as his first Western,The Magnificent Seven,sees him playing a detective,Déjà Vuhas Washington playing a federal agent seeking justice after a devastating terrorist attack on US soil. This is a rare sci-fi movie for Washington, but the time-travel set-up doesn’t stray too far from his strengths.
In some ways,Déjà Vuis a fantasy about wishing to turn back the clock after horrific tragedies, as Washington’s character is granted access to time-travel technology to go back and stop the terrorist plot from happening.Déjà Vuseems like a response to America’s national grief following 9/11, but it’s also significant that it was filmed in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Ultimately,Déjà Vucan be seen as a fantasy addressing both events, likening manmade tragedies to natural disasters, showing the limitations of law enforcement, justice and retribution.
Denis Villeneuve’sArrivaluses a non-linear structure that sneaks up on the audience.The story follows a linguist who is recruited by the United States government to interpret and decode the language of an alien species that mysteriously arrives on Earth. As she gradually comes to understand their methods of communication, her own interpretation of the world around her begins to shift.
10 Best Non-Linear Movies That Play With Time
Non-linear movies can be satisfying to watch as the overall timeline comes together, comprising the past, present, and future in one narrative.
Theending ofArrivalrecontextualizes everything that came before it, bending the timeline in retrospect. In doing so,Arrivalexplores the Sapir-Whorff hypothesis, which states that language can affect how people understand their environments.Arrivaltakes this theory to extreme lengths, with a non-linear language that allows someone to experience non-linear time once they master it.
Donnie Darkois a quintessential cult classic, still undervalued despite its fascinating portrayal of teenage angst and its complex, rewarding sci-fi story. The themes of alienation and loneliness seep into the confronting horror elements of the story, as Donnie is offered cryptic messages by a strange figure in a bunny costume. It’s as if James Stewart’sHarveywere a psychological thriller.
It’s as if James Stewart’sHarveywere a psychological thriller.
The ending ofDonnie Darkoreveals the meaning behind most of its puzzling imagery and strange prophesies, but it still leaves some questions hanging in the air about the exact nature of the time-bending story. It’s a movie that lingers in the memory, urging its audience to watch it back once more to unravel the mess and come to their own conclusions about Frank and the vortex.
Quentin Tarantino is a director known for toying with his narrative structures, much like Christopher Nolan. While he hasn’t yet delved into sci-fi, he frequently presents his scenes out of order to reveal information to his audience if and when he chooses. This deliberate layer of artificiality could be seen as a crutch in the hands of a less capable director, but it all feels intelligent and intentional when Tarantino draws his audience into a puzzle.
Pulp Fictionis arguably the peak of Tarantino’s experiments with non-linear structure.
Pulp Fictionis arguably the peak of Tarantino’s experiments with non-linear structure. As Nolan does inOppenheimer,Tarantino chops and changes the order of his story to lead his audience in whatever direction he sees fit. It can be difficult tosortPulp Fictioninto the correct orderon a first watch, but this is exactly the point.Tarantino’s sprawling, interconnected crime story is a complex tanglethat tears down the usual cause and effect relationship that other crime movies revolve around.
Looking back on Monty Python, it seems as though Terry Gilliam was likely the one responsible for most of the group’s meta comedy and nonsensical plots, sincehis later works have continued to deconstruct narrative traditions from the inside out.12 Monkeysisn’t his only movie that plays a game with the audience, but it encapsulates this concept perfectly, with a time travel plot that keeps changing the rules.
8 Sci-Fi Movies That Break Their Own Time Travel Rules
Even the most beloved of sci-fi movies break their own time travel rules, prioritizing plot and impactful scenes over maintaining consistent lore.
Just like with Gilliam’s other movies,12 Monkeyshas a streak of absurd humor running throughout the story. The mechanics of time travel originally seem simple in12 Monkeys,as a convict is sent back in time to find the origins of a deadly virus, but his premonitions and a few other details muddy the waters a little. In the end,12 Monkeysreveals itself to be far more complex, with the specifics of its time travel launching a philosophical debate.
Edgar Wright is mostly known for directing comedy movies, butLast Night in Sohoditches the humor of his earlier work in favor of dark, psychological horror. Thomasin McKenzie plays a fashion student in London who starts to experience the life of a woman in 1960s London in her dreams. As the story progresses, she is drawn deeper into this alternate timeline, and her grasp on her own reality starts to slip.
Last Night in Soho’s peculiar narrative doesn’t quite constitute time travel, but it shows the past and the present collapsing into one tangled timeline, where the past can affect the present and vice versa.Wright declines to explain the mechanics behind this strange anomaly, leaving the audience to decide whether there is some supernatural occurrence or a more psychological explanation.
Run Lola Runstarts off with the simple premise of a woman who needs a lot of money in a very short amount of time, but it explores this premise three times. After Lola’s initial attempt to get the money, the story resets from the beginning and shows an alternate version of events.This branching structure is the same kind of bold narrative experiment as something likeMemento,where the structure is the defining feature of the movie.
More than a simple branching narrative,Run Lola Runweaves its different plot threads together in intriguing ways.
More than a simple branching narrative,Run Lola Runweaves its different plot threads together in intriguing ways. Characters seem to possess some limited knowledge of the other timelines, even going so far as to refer to events from alternate realities as if they happened in a previous iteration of the same plot. This strange relationship between the different narratives suggests that they may all be occurring simultaneously within Lola’s imagination, or that the story shouldn’t be seen as anything more than a fictional narrative.
