Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

The Time Machine

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

A good movie based on H.G. Wells' classic novel.

Movie PG-13 2002 96 minutes
The Time Machine Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 12+

Based on 8 parent reviews

Opticalpig
Opticalpig Adult
February 10, 2021
age 13+

Very entertaining and has great special effects

I think some of the other reviewers (ReviewerEgo for instance) have no idea what good entertainment really is. I viewed their other reviews and had to laugh at what movies they gave 5 stars to?!? Anyway, this movie is definitely worth a watch. H.G. Wells story is so amazing considering when it was written... 1895. This isn't a modern screenplay, as much as it's a reflection on our ability to envision the future. ReviewerEgo's completely drab and shallow review could be applied to any great movie and turn it into a couple of crazy negative sentences. Don't believe it. Watch it and judge for yourself.

This title has:

Great messages
1 person found this helpful.
Parker R.
Parker R. Adult
August 28, 2023
age 9+

For Those Hyper-Sensitive to Sexual Content:

For those hyper sensitive to sexual content: One the main characters, Mara, is dressed a bit clad in every scene she is in. I really enjoyed the first 20 minutes until Mara is introduced when she is cladly dressed in every appearance. If you are sensitive to this, just be aware. I cladly-dressed doesn't sound like an issue for you, this will make a wonderful sci-fi family movie.
See all 8 parent reviews

What's the Story?

THE TIME MACHINE centers around Alexander Hartdegen (Guy Pearce), an absent-minded professor back around the turn of the last century. He's so caught up in his formulas that he's lost track of time. With a little help from a friend and a devoted housekeeper, he is cleaned up and sent off for an important appointment. He wants to propose to Emma (Sienna Guillory). He races off, finds her ice-skating, and asks her to marry him. She accepts and he is overjoyed. Then tragedy strikes, and she is killed. Alexander becomes a recluse, obsessed with finding a way to go back in time and change the past. He works for years and then invents a time machine. He goes back in time to find Emma, only to learn that the past cannot be changed. So he goes forward in time. 800,000 years in the future, Alexander discovers the Eloi, a race of gentle people with a terrible secret they do not dare to tell him, and he learns to think about challenging the future, instead of the past.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8 ):
Kids say (4 ):

This is a showy and entertaining story about an idea everyone has dreamed of: having power over time. The movie is based on H.G. Wells' classic science fiction novel, with a passing nod to the 1960 movie version with Rod Taylor. Clocks appear throughout the story, sometimes playing an important role, as when Alexander's watch is stolen and when he uses it at a crucial moment. And the issues of the role of history and learning to move on from great loss are also thoughtfully presented.

The art direction is striking, from the intricate Victorian machinery to the balloon-like homes of the Eloi. Pearce's performance seems overwhelmed by all that is going on around him, but Orlando Jones is delightful as a virtual repository of all human knowledge, pop singer Samantha Mumba has a strong, sweet presence as the Eloi teacher who befriends Alexander, and Jeremy Irons is shiver-inducingly evil as the creature who prizes his own survival above everything. The director of the movie, Simon Wells, has two special qualifications. He is an expert at animation, which helped with the special effects. And he is the great-grandson of the author of the book.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about where they would go if they had a time machine. Would you travel to the past or the future? What would they change if they could? Characters in this story make choices about what to accept and what to fight ? choices that turn out to be wrong. How do you decide? How do you decide what problems to talk about, and what to ignore?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate