Time travel films always hit a little differently. They can span various genres and formats. While some delve deep into the complexities of temporal mechanics, others use time travel as a backdrop for romance, comedy, and other thrilling adventures. Among the many options available on Netflix, few have left an indelible mark on the genre.
Shawn Levy’s The Adam Project, featuring Ryan Reynolds and Zoe Saldana, is a recent addition to the time travel genre. However, it falls into the category of films that borrow heavily from established tropes without contributing much in terms of originality. Despite this, it serves as a fun diversion for those seeking a lighthearted escape.
Classics like Back to the Future and Groundhog Day exemplify the time travel genre’s versatility. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and Harold Ramis, respectively, these films were ahead of the game and have continued to impact their many successors in the genre. Back to the Future spurned two sequels, all following the adventures of Marty McFly as he travels back in time to set things right.
Groundhog Day explored the existential crisis of a weatherman stuck in a time loop, using the sci-fi element more as a tool in a story about human frustrations and the philosophies of life. One of the standout spiritual successors of Groundhog Day also happens to be a Netflix original: Russian Doll, created by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, and Amy Poehler.
In the realm of romantic comedies, films like Gary Winick’s 13 Going on 30, Burr Steers’s 17 Again, and Richard Curtis’s About Time present a lighter take on time travel. For these films, time travel adds more of a fantasy touch to feel-good stories painted with Bildungsroman brushstrokes.
Then we have Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, which transcends the conventional boundaries of the time travel genre, offering a more intriguing exploration of space, time, and human nature. With its breathtaking visuals and intricate storytelling involving wormholes that can help reach out to the past via time dilation, the film takes viewers on an epic journey across the cosmos, challenging our perceptions of time and reality.
Predestination is another mind-bending sci-fi thriller directed by the Spierig Brothers. Based on Robert A. Heinlein’s short story All You Zombies, it follows a time-travelling temporal agent on a mission to stop a terrorist known as the ‘Fizzle Bomber’. As the agent navigates through various time periods, the story unfolds in unexpected ways, exploring the paradoxes of time travel. Another noteworthy entry on our list is Synchronic, directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. This mind-bending thriller follows two paramedics as they encounter a mysterious drug with unexpected time-altering effects.
Bill & Ted Face the Music follows two middle-aged besties struggling to fulfil their destiny as the saviours of the universe. The duo receives a visit from a messenger from the future who warns them that they must write and perform a song to save reality. With the help of their daughters and some unlikely allies from throughout history, Bill and Ted set out on a quest to find the perfect tune and restore harmony to the universe before it’s too late. And last but not least we have Everything Everywhere All At Once on our list, which is less of a time travel film and more of a universe-hopping, existential family drama. While the primary focus is on multiverse theory and parallel universes, time travel serves as an important component as the film explores the interconnectedness of existence across different dimensions.
The best time travel films on Netflix right now offer a diverse range of experiences, from classic adventures to romantic comedies and mind-bending thrillers. So, whether you’re in the mood for laughter, romance, or existential contemplation, there’s a time travel film waiting to transport you to another dimension of cinematic wonder. Get bingeing!
10 best time travel films to binge on Netflix right now:
- Back to the Future (1985)
- Groundhog Day (1993)
- 13 Going on 30 (2004)
- Interstellar (2014)
- Predestination (2014)
- 17 Again (2009)
- About Time (2013)
- Synchronic (2019)
- Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
- Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
