Teens invent time travel. Where would you go? What would you change? Check out Kidzworld’s Blu-ray review of Project Almanac.
By: Lynn Barker
Smart teens perfect a time machine. Wanna fix that chemistry grade? Want to win the game? Want to go back to re-do that awkward first meet moment with your crush? It really helps if you are a science geek.
Production art with the whole gangCourtesy of Paramount
Story Goes
In 2014, 17-year-old high school senior and talented inventor David Raskin (Jonny Weston) is admitted into MIT, but can’t afford the tuition. His mom may sell their house! Snooping in the attic, David looks through his late scientist dad’s things, finds a video camera with footage of his 7th birthday and sees his 17-year-old self reflected in a mirror at that party! What?
Excited about time travelCourtesy of Paramount
With science geek pals Adam (Allen Evangelista) and Quinn (Sam Lerner), David finds dad’s hidden blueprints for a time machine. That has to be how he appeared at his own 7th birthday! His sister Christina (Virginia Gardner) videos the guys’ discovery and work. They construct the machine, send a toy car back in time and are accidently seen by David’s crush Jessie (Sofia Black D-Elia). She’s fascinated and will join the group.
David and pals ready for the first time testCourtesy of Paramount
The gang finally succeeds in sending themselves back in time. They decide to have some fun and fix some messes in their own lives but always travel together. Adam uses the machine to win the lottery, Christina gets back at her bullies, Quinn aces a chemistry test to secure his academic future, and the group eventually decides to travel back to the Lollapalooza rock festival three months before. David messes up a chance to get romantic with Jessie and breaks the rules by going back to the festival to fix it.
Adam wins the lottery!Courtesy of Paramount
Of course, David messes up the timeline and bad things start happening in a ripple effect that hurts and even kills people. He goes back one more time to keep the machine from even being invented but Jessie has now disappeared due to one of David’s trips and the cops think he did something to her. David goes back to his 7th birthday, talks with his dad, destroys the machine and blueprints and is erased from that timeline. Will this fix everything or are David and friends doomed to re-invent the machine?
The time travelers at LollapaloozaCourtesy of Paramount
Special Features
- An Alternate Opening has David doing a video “pitch” to get into MIT as he does in the finished film but he is only sitting at a desk and not out with his buds flying a drone he has created. The pals use a robot to prank him as well. Some funny lines but the opening they used is better.
- Deleted Scenes – There are 8 short ones. Some are the same but with different and sometimes pretty funny dialogue, others are new and include Adam at bat in a baseball game and the gang time-traveling to make sure he gets some hits. Kickstarter is suggested to finance their time machine in one scene, etc. Worth a watch for some funny lines but you see why these weren’t used.
Deleted Scene "Predicting the Pitch"
- Alternate Endings – There are two. They aren’t drastically different from the one used but have variations on exactly how dad’s old camera is found then how David first approaches Jessie at school. In one scene, it is Jessie appearing as a 17-year-old at David’s 7th birthday.
Wrapping Up
Project Almanac’s dialogue is quite “real”. You can probably relate to some of these teens. The film is kind of slow getting started or getting to the first time jump but there are plenty of funny, relatable lines to get you there. The ending and the whole time loop thing is always confusing but film-goers have been taking time travel apart and finding flaws in logic since the Back to the Future films in the ‘80’s and before. It can be fun.
David escapes the copsCourtesy of Paramount
Extras on the Blu-ray aren’t that fab. A blooper reel or interviews and on set stuff with the young cast would have been cool. The film does look and sound great on home video.
For a sleepover or popcorn munching night with best buds, Project Almanac is certainly worth a rental if not a buy. We go three stars.
Project Almanac Blu-ray Rating:
Project Almanac Blu-ray CoverCourtesy of Paramount
Project Almanac is now available on Blu-ray + DVD!
