Welcome back to Movie Recaps. Today I will show you an action,
adventure, sci-fi film from 2003, titled Timeline. Spoilers ahead! Watch out and take care.
A man in medieval attire can be seen running away from a sword-wielding medieval warrior in a forest
when he suddenly appears in the desert in front of a modern car. It almost runs him over, but it
stops and the driver runs over to help the man who utters the words "Castlegard". In the next shot,
he's seen with slash wounds on his body, being reanimated in an ER. Unfortunately,
the doctors aren't able to save him and later it's revealed that the slash wounds were the
least of his problems, with the doctors finding some inexplicable changes inside of his body.
Just as the doctor explains to the sheriff that they can't identify the man, who only
had a medallion around his neck, Gordon from the ITC walks into the hospital to retrieve his body.
His boss, an eccentric billionaire Doniger, tells him to collect all the data the doctors have on
their man as well and asks Gordon if he returned alone. Doniger and his lead scientist Kramer have
no idea how the man ended up in the desert. Meanwhile, the lead archeologist professor
Johnston, explains the history of the Castlegard dig to the newest additions to his team.
They are on location in France overseeing the archeological investigation on the remains from
the 14th century of Castlegard and La Roque, where the French and English armies were positioned
at one point during the Hundred Years' War. The battle that happened on the 4th of April in 1357,
had the English in La Roque defeated by the French when Lord Oliver decided to hang one of the French
noblewomen - Lady Claire from the battlements for everyone to see. As Marek explains it,
this move by the English whipped Clair's brother that was leading the French and his
forces into a frenzy strong enough to conquer the stronghold of La Roque and win the battle.
That night, as Johnston is getting ready for his meeting with Doniger who's funding the dig,
his son Chris comes over to help and say goodbye. Johnston voices his suspicions
about the billionaire to Chris, uncertain why he's funding them and how he gets all the tips on the
archeological location that he's been feeding the professor. The next day, Chris talks to Marek who
tells him about a sarcophagus they found on the location of a couple that was buried together.
He sees it as very romantic, showing him that the couple is carved holding hands.
Marek also says that the man was carved in the sarcophagus without one ear.
His passion for the stories of the people involved in the battle of Castlegard helps Chris
understand what is so interesting about history and archeology as well. Suddenly, there is a
cave-in at the monastery on the site and all of the archeologists flock to investigate what was
unearthed. Since Kate is the one that worked on the location, she and Marek go down into the hole.
Inside they find some untouched documents wrapped in oilskin and a purposely damaged stone carving.
Before they leave the monastery, Marek also finds a modern-day bifocal lens. In the next sequence,
Stern tells them that they weren't invented by the 17 hundreds and they have no business being
in a location that was never excavated before. To make things weirder, he also shows Kate and Marek
the documents which they found have professor Johnston's signature on them along with the words
"Help me" written on them. The mystery is that the dating on the ink places it at 600 years old.
Chris thinks that his dad is just playing a prank on them, but when Francois return they match
the lens from the monastery to his glasses and freak out. Chris calls Doniger to find out where
his dad is and the billionaire tells him that he'll send a plane for him and his dad's team.
In the next shot, Gordon and Kramer welcome them to the Research Center of the ITC
or International Technological Society in New Mexico. Kramer explains that the Center
is working on a way to send 3D objects from one place to another using a special machine.
He tells them that they made the machine work, but that they didn't get the result they were
hoping for. When they tried to send something from their lab to a twin machine in another one,
the object disappeared and then reappeared in their lab. That's when they discovered that the
objects they were sending actually got sent back in time to 14th-century Castlegard in France.
The ITC accidentally discovered a wormhole linking their machine to that exact place and
time in history. When Doniger arrives he explains that they didn't send his father's glasses and
documents to the 14th century, but his father. He needs the team's help to get him back because they
need people that are familiar with that historical period. Marek realizes that Doniger has been
funding their dig to understand why the wormhole is locked to that particular place and time.
Doniger isn’t too willing to answer all of their questions about the machine and by sheer force
of urgency, he makes the team agree to go back in time to Castlegard to find the professor.
Gordon walks in to get them prepared and in a short amount of time, the team is already
changed in medieval clothes and is getting into the machine with Gordon and two of his men.
Stern will stay back and monitor them from the present. Before they go inside,
Kramer gives them special markers that will be their way of getting back home,
however, he and Doniger don't give them all the information about the dangers of the trip.
The time travelers get into the machine and in a few excruciating moments of pain,
they find themselves into the French wilderness of the 14th century. Gordon tells the team how to use
the markers to see the remaining time they have and informs them that the only way to use them to
get back home is to find a clearing. Immediately, they get into some trouble with the English forces
as a French person runs up to them telling them to hide. One of Gordon's men is killed instantly and
when the other one gets surrounded, he activates a grenade and presses his marker. He gets back to
the present and the grenade activates, destroying the machine. Doniger and his team have no idea
what has happened to the rest of them or how they will get them back to the present. Back in the
14th century, the team separates, with one part staying behind to hide and Marek running away to
hide. He happens to hide in the same location as the woman they saw previously in the woods. The
English riders find the location, but get attacked by the French in time not to discover them hiding.
Marek and the Frenchwoman escape, reuniting with the rest of the team just as they arrive
at the small village of Castlegard. Suddenly, the archeologists realize that the date they
were brought back to is the day the French attack La Roque and the entire place will be burned to
the ground by the night. Gordon says that just means they need to find the professor faster.
In the future, Stern consults with Kramer about the possibility of fixing the machine and get his
team back. Kramer doesn't have a particularly optimistic outlook of the situation, but they
will keep trying regardless until the markers holding the wormhole open are still active.
In the 14th century, the team gushes when they see the actual building they were working on as it was
in reality. Suddenly, an English troupe finds them and captures them, taking them to Lord Oliver.
There's a whole ordeal when he hears their accents, so Marek tells him that they're Scottish,
with who the English happen to be at war too. The main problem is when he hears Francois speak with
a French accent and he orders one of his men to kill him. The rest of them are taken as prisoners
and put in the same location as professor Johnston. He's naturally happy to see them
and explains that the English found him in the monastery, but he convinced Oliver that he was a
magister capable of providing him with a new kind of weapon. The weapon is Greek fire, which makes
a liquid fire so intense that even water can't extinguish it. Marek and Kate are worried because
such a powerful weapon can give the English advantage in the battle and even provide the means
of altering the future. They suddenly realize that if they are brought up to La Roque they are
as good as dead once the place is sealed off for battle so they need to escape fast. Gordon tells
them that they need to get to a clearing near the village to be able to use the markers, which Kate
says show that they only have 4 hours left. Kate concocts a plan to climb out of the room through
the roof and open the doors from outside and Marek sees that the English have captured the
Frenchwoman that helped them twice already. Being a very good climber, Kate manages to
get herself on the other side of the building via the roof and then gets inside through a window.
To get to the door she's forced to kill one of the guards, then release the rest of the team.
Marek decides to help the Frenchwoman and they separate. He kills her guard, but before he can
set her free, Marek is attacked by De Kere, one of Oliver's closest men. Marek escapes him and gets
into the Frenchwoman's room, where she tells him to help her break out through the wall. While they
make a hole in it, De Kere rips through the door. They escape just in the nick of time. The rest of
the team follows Gordon as they try to get back to the future, but things are not looking great for
the machine. Kramer and the others are happy that at least they know their people are still alive.
In the past, Chris fights with Gordon, thinking that he's trying to get back and leave them
behind. Gordon has figured out that his marker isn't working so he tells Kate to press hers.
Unfortunately, neither does that one. They walk away from the clearing to hide because
the English are after them. Meanwhile, Marek and the woman escape from Castlegard through the river
and he makes a move on her. Suddenly, the French find them and Marek finds out that the woman is
actually Lady Claire. Before the troupe takes them back to the rest of the forces, they are attacked
by De Kere and his men. They manage to escape while the rest of the team hide in the village,
where they are quickly found by the English. Kate and Chris escape the village, but the professor
and Gordon are captured by the troupe. Claire and Marek are taken back to the French forces hide-out
where her brother, Lord Arnaut, is waiting for her. When he finds that Marek saved the life
of one of his men, Arnaut spares his life even though he's Scottish. Marek thinks that he can
save Claire's life too if he tells her brother to keep her safe and protected from the English.
He asks Arnaut for a horse and weapon to go back for the rest of his team, disregarding Clair's
warning about the dangers of doing it. The two of them say farewell and kiss while Arnaut goes
to get him what he asked for. Marek gets on a horse and leaves unaware that the English have
found the camp and are sending an assassin to kill Arnaut. In the meantime, Kate and Chris hide in
the forest, thinking of a way to save his father. Kate remembers the tunnels in the monastery that
lead to La Roque and convinces Chris that they should try to get to the stronghold from there.
Simultaneously, Gordon and the professor are being taken away from an already
burning Castlegard and taken to La Roque through the forest, while Marek rides out to find them.
However, he doesn't know that he's being followed by the English. The other English troupe gets to
the French camp and attacks them. Arnaut manages to fight them off, but Claire escapes again.
At the same time, De Kere captures Marek and takes away his marker. De Kere rides to the
English cordon moving to La Roque and drops Marek in the cart pulling the professor and Gordon.
Suddenly, De Kere reveals that he's actually Decker, one of Gordon's men
that didn't make it back to the future during his last trip. He's made a life for himself in
the past and isn't willing to come back to the future. Angry at Gordon for leaving him behind,
De Kere kills him and leaves his body to be trampled in the middle of the road,
to the surprise of Marek and the professor. The two men realize that without Gordon,
Chris and Kate, they've lost all of the markers for getting back home. De Kere tells them about
the cost the travel through the wormhole has on their body, aware that he can't make any more
trips, lest he ends up like the man from the beginning of the film. In that sense, he says
that if they work with him, they can all rise in Oliver's favor and have a nice life in the past.
Kate and Chris arrive at the monastery at the foot of the La Roque stronghold and convince the monks
to let them in because they are the professor's friends. Simultaneously, the English arrive at
the stronghold and De Kere gets the prisoners to work on the Greek fire immediately, telling them
that Oliver wants a demonstration of the weapon before nightfall. The professor and Marek see
that they were provided with all the materials needed for the weapon when Johnston has a crisis
of conscience realizing that it might influence the course of history. Marek tells him that by
saving Claire, he might have already done that so they get to work to at least save themselves.
In the meantime, Kate and Chris find the chamber that she was working on when one of the monks
tells them that Arnaut is getting ready to attack the stronghold. This prompts them to hurry to
find the tunnels so they go under the monastery. Down there, Kate easily finds her way to the box
where the leather parchment with the documents was found. They see the doctor's glasses in the box as
well but put them back so they can find them again in the future. Suddenly Kate figures out where the
tunnel is hiding when she sees the stone carving that was damaged when she found it in the future.
She grabs a tool and starts breaking it down while Chris holds back the monks.
He helps her push through the stone in the end and they find the tunnel. Before they get inside,
she tells one of the monks to find Arnaut and inform him about what they found. She and Chris
get inside to find the opening on the other side, while the professor and Marek work on the Greek
fire. The French forces are ready and attack the stronghold with trebuchets, but Oliver isn't
worried yet because he's waiting for his special weapon. The professor and Marek come up to him
ready for their demonstration. While the French are still firing at La Roque, Marek lights the
Greek fire and hits one of their trebuchets. At first, it looks as if the weapon has done little
damage, getting Oliver angry because he thinks it doesn't work. As the French try to extinguish the
fire with water it keeps getting worse, spreading everywhere. The more water, the more fire.
Oliver realizes how the weapon actually works so he orders all the cannons to be loaded with Greek
fire. De Kere takes the professor and Marek back to work on more of the liquid, allowing them 20
aids from Oliver's ranks. Simultaneously, Arnaut rallies his troupes for battle, preparing to storm
the stronghold, while Oliver gets his archers on the battlements. In the future, Doniger argues
with Kramer that they haven't gotten the machine to high enough efficiency to work properly.
Stern and Kramer think that it's sufficient to try and get the team back, but Doniger doesn't
want to risk it. Kramer confronts him about it in private, but as they argue Doniger pushes him,
hurting him badly. The battle in the past proceeds with archers firing from each side of the line
with both sides taking significant damage. Oliver fires night arrows at the French decimating
Arnaut's forces before they can fire again. Arnaut calls his troupes to retreat when he suddenly gets
informed about the tunnels under the monastery to get to La Roque. He leaves instructions for his
troupes and rides to the monastery, arriving just as Kate and Chris hit a dead end in the tunnel. La
Roque keeps getting hit by the French trebuchets so Oliver orders for his special surprise to be
brought out. Marek sees that they have recaptured Claire and are getting ready to hang her from
the battlements for everyone to see if Arnaut doesn't stop the siege. The professor tells Marek
that history can't be changed, but Marek feels otherwise. He goes outside and threatens Oliver
that he'll blow their entire arsenal of Greek fire away if they don't release Claire. However,
De Kere sees through his bluff, knowing that if he ignites the fire Marek will kill everyone,
including Claire, so he suspects he won't actually do it. Marek doesn't back down though. At the same
time, Arnaut arrives at the dead-end of the tunnel and when he hears Kate and Chris speaking English,
he thinks it's a trap and gets ready to kill them. Back in La Roque, Marek lights the arsenal and
runs away from the explosion which tears apart the stronghold to the joy of the French, who
get ready to storm it. It also makes an opening in the tunnels, convincing Arnaut that Kate and Chris
are actually on his side. He and his men enter La Roque, as his forces storm it from outside.
Oliver isn't giving up still and when he sees Arnaut inside the stronghold, he orders his
men to kill Claire. A battle commences in which Arnaut's archers manage to save Claire and Kate
and Chris find the professor. La Roque soon turns into chaos as the team is trying to find Marek so
they could escape. Oliver and Arnaut finally get to fight, pretty much matching in force,
as Marek finds Claire. De Kere appears ready to kill them, but Marek pushes him down the stairs,
tumbling down with him. In the meantime, Chris takes down Oliver to give Arnaut the advantage
over him while Kate and the professor try to find a way out. As Oliver and Chris fight,
Arnaut sneaks up behind the lord and kills him so Chris can join his team. The French breach
the doors of the stronghold, giving the team a clear exit. Marek and De Kere fight, when De
Kere cuts off his ear, making Marek realize that he was the knight buried in the sarcophagus with a
noblewoman he unearthed in the future. He succeeds in taking him down as Chris comes looking for him.
Marek tells him that he will stay in the past, but finds his marker on De Kere and gives it to Chris
so they can go back home without him. He will stay with Claire. In the future, Stern locks himself
in the main operating room for the machine, getting it ready for the last remaining minute
in which the team can come back. Doniger however, enters the room with the machine to disable it.
Chris reunites with his father and Kate on a clearing with a few Englishmen on his tail
and they activate the last remaining marker before they can get to him. Simultaneously,
Doniger enters the machine as it activates to get the team back and gets locked inside. As they
are being brought back to the future, Doniger gets sent back to the past without a marker.
He is immediately killed by the men chasing after Chris. Sometime later, the professor continues
working on the Castlegard dig when they come across the sarcophagus again. In the last moments
of the film, what remained of the team realizes that he had a happy life with Claire in the past.