Wow - blew me away!

Rating: 9/10 (8 February 2014)

Let me start by saying this is not the kind of movie I generally watch. I'm all for the mindless action, occasional drama genre. So why did I even pick up this film? It was at the library, I looked at the actors and thought - OK. I didn't know anything about the film when I started watching it. I'll also share that I am not the type of viewer that concentrates on movies (on DVD). I multi-task - emails, etc. - while I 'watch'. Luckily, I also had 'subtitles on' (some parts are hard to understand).
While the film was slow in getting started, there was something about the timeline stories that caught my interest. The characters are well- done and I wanted to find out what happened to them in the different 'times'. It was obvious right off that the characters move between timelines. This has been done before but never 6 at the same time. What was done exceptionally well was the way the movie built momentum as it neared the end - in ALL six timelines - frantically switching back and forth. So you're watching, waiting to find out what happens in your favorite timeline - you will have one or two - and things are happening fast and furious in all 6. My three favorites were 'Adam Ewing - the lawyer on the ship', 'Somni 451 and Hae-Joo Chang' in the future and the composer, Frobisher. Jim Sturgess was fantastic as were Doona Bae and Ben Whishaw. The sensitivity they brought to their characters was truly exceptional. Tom Hanks and Halle Berry are not my favorite actors but were OK in their parts. The comic relief of Cavendish was done well but I have to admit, I had no idea how any of it worked into the timeline threads until I read about the story online and re-watched the movie. Yes - it's complicated, yes - it was not done as well as it could have been - but it has never been attempted before - to do 6 timelines, with actors moving between sets and locations like this. It was a remarkable feat of film-making and gave me a new appreciation for how difficult it must be keeping all that straight!
I feel that the critics of this movie were expecting something simpler, more action- packed and more main-streamed. I usually do, too. However, there was something different about this movie that drew me in and made me want to know more about how it was made and the actual plot between timelines. It is not light watching and it's long, you'll probably want to watch it again.
Turn subtitles on - it'll be easier to understand because of the pigeon English being spoken in the far future. I understand the film didn't do well when released. I hope it gets more acclaim in subsequent views because it deserves more accolades than it received. It will have you thinking about it for days after viewing.