17 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies About Time Travel

T.W. Mitchell
Updated May 1, 2024 17 items
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1.2K votes
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Vote up the time-travel movies you should definitely make the time to see.

Everyone and their mother knows about time travel movies like Back to the Future and Avengers: Endgame, but what about the underrated time travel movies? It's a sci-fi subgenre with plenty of room to maneuver; there have been virtually countless time travel movies since the dawn of filmmaking. Some films fare better than others - the less said about 2002's The Time Machine, the better - but we're here to focus on some of the hidden gems and/or underrated films of the genre.

From low-budget gems like Primer and Timecrimes to big-budget blockbusters like Men in Black 3 and Deja Vu. From comedies to anime to the foreign arthouse, time travel keeps reliably cropping up. There's a lot of room to maneuver in this particular subgenre, so get ready to dive deep. Remember to vote up your favorite underrated films about time travel.

  • 1
    158 VOTES

    Frequency

    Frequency

    Does it count as time travel if the only thing traveling back and forth in time are voices? The answer is an unquestionable yes, and though Frequency uses its time travel to tell a by-the-numbers murder mystery, that doesn't make it any less worthy. Buoyed by grounded performances from Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, Frequency ends up being more than the sum of its parts. 

    There's nothing wrong with a classic thriller, especially when there are time travel hijinks involved. And if you thought Quaid and Caviezel weren't enough, let's bring Andre Braugher and Noah Emmerich to the party. The fact that it was directed by Gregory Hoblit, a man responsible for two of the most underrated thrillers of the past 25 years (Fracture and Primal Fear) is just a bonus. If you're a fan of any of these Hollywood players or time travel in general, you should give Frequency a look.

    158 votes
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  • 2
    154 VOTES

    Déjà Vu

    Déjà Vu

    Upon release in 2006, Déjà Vu was a minor hit for Tony Scott, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Denzel Washington. Critics were mixed on the film, and it has ended up as a footnote in the career of one of America's most celebrated actors. But Déjà Vu deserves better. Every film that comes out of Hollywood doesn't have to reinvent the wheel, and sometimes you're just in the mood for a competent, well-made drama. This one happens to be about a man who travels back in time to stop a domestic terrorist strike from decimating New Orleans.

    If you keep your expectations at a reasonable level, there's a lot to admire about Déjà Vu. With a cast that features Washington and a host of gifted performers like Val Kilmer, Paula Patton, and Bruce Greenwood as well as competent direction from Scott, Déjà Vu is the kind of big-budget filmmaking that has gone away in the wake of Hollywood's neverending hunt for the next blockbuster franchise. Besides, who doesn't like watching Denzel do his thing?

    154 votes
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    117 VOTES

    Predestination

    Predestination

    Based on Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 short story, "'—All You Zombies—'", 2014's Predestination struggled to make back its minuscule budget of $5 million at the box office upon release and that is a crying shame. Starring Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook, Predestination is a heady sci-fi thriller that's a bit hard to pin down. It's hard to sum up all of its twists and turns in the limited space here, but suffice it to say, Predestination is a hell of a trip.

    This is a film that demands rewatching in order to decode what it's trying to say with its themes on gender and fate, and even then it can be difficult to decipher at times. But that's okay! The journey is fun enough to make it all work. As Richard Roeper said in his review, "As soon as the credits rolled on Predestination, I wanted to watch it again. It was even more of a mind-dance the second time around."

    117 votes
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    114 VOTES

    Flight of the Navigator

    Flight of the Navigator

    It may be hard to imagine now, but there was a time not so long ago when the Walt Disney Company was floundering. Before Michael Eisner and Frank Wells came in to turn the company around in the mid-'80s, the House of Mouse was in serious financial straits and the creative side of the company wasn't faring much better. One of the first projects released during the duo's successful tenure was 1986's Flight of the Navigator. This was a few years ahead of The Little Mermaid and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids setting the box office on fire to bring Disney back to the top, but that doesn't make Navigator any less worthy.

    Flight of the Navigator is more a story of accidental time travel due to time dilation more than anything else, as the 12-year-old protagonist travels to a planet 560 light years away, and back, causing him to age just over two hours in a span of eight years. He sets off on an adventure to return back to his own time, and family-friendly fun is had by all. To be frank, it's heady stuff for a kid's movie and the special effects were top-notch for the time. A remake has been rumored for years, but for now let's stick with the undeniable charm of the original, thank you very much.

    114 votes
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  • 5
    66 VOTES

    Timecrimes

    Timecrimes

    It's certainly very shocking that a film called Timecrimes has something to do with time travel. But let's just focus on that title for a second, here. Timecrimes? That is an awesome title for a movie! And Timecrimes itself is a saucy little low-budget thriller. The Spanish film tells the story of a man who becomes part of a time loop thanks to an experimental time travel machine. That's not all, as he also must stop his other selves (who exist in the same plane of existence thanks to the time travel) from continuing to exist.

    It's a bit much to wrap your head around, but it all makes sense when you're watching it. Made for under $3 million, Timecrimes is an effective little thriller that you can't help but admire. And if that English-language remake ever actually gets off the ground, perhaps the original will find a bigger audience than it did upon release back in 2007.

    66 votes
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  • 6
    96 VOTES

    The Final Countdown

    The Final Countdown

    A few years before the iconic '80s song was released, The Final Countdown hit theaters. The film is about a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that travels through time to the day before Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. It also stars two titans of cinema, Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen, as they ham it up in a B-movie blockbuster. The Final Countdown doesn't take itself too seriously and it doesn't expect its audience to, either. 

    The real star of the show is the massive amounts of actual Navy aircraft aboard the real aircraft carrier the filmmakers got to use for the production. The USS Nimitz, which is astonishingly still in use to this very day, served as a shooting location for The Final Countdown and it is glorious to behold. There are more than a dozen genuine aircraft vehicles that appear in the film and it lends an authenticity that is hard to fabricate. Come for Douglas and Sheen, stay for some awesome Navy realism.

    96 votes
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  • 7
    101 VOTES

    Primer

    Primer

    Primer, Shane Carruth's 2004 sci-fi debut made on an estimated budget of around $7,000, was one of the first cult hits of the internet age. A cerebral tale of two men who accidentally discover time travel in a garage and subsequently try to exploit it to earn heaps of money, this micro-budget movie was less of a word-of-mouth success and more of a find-via-blog success. Still, Primer feels like an underseen classic in the age of endless streaming services.

    Perhaps that has something to do with the density of both the plot and the dialogue. Primer doesn't try to hold your hand, and it makes no apologies for it. To do so would be a disservice to both the film and the audience. More about humankind's ethical dilemmas and less about the time travel itself, Primer is a movie that is both hard to explain and impossible to forget.

    101 votes
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  • 8
    76 VOTES

    Time After Time

    Time After Time

    At a fundamental level, using time travel as a storytelling device lets the audience suspend disbelief a little bit more than they usually would. Case in point: 1979's Time After Time. Based on the novel of the same name, this film follows famous British writer H.G. Wells - author of timeless novels like The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds - as he uses a time machine to pursue Jack the Ripper into the future of 1979 San Francisco. It sounds more like fantastical fan fiction than a Hollywood studio film, yet here we are.

    Though this movie has largely been forgotten to time, it actually works! Obviously, the film isn't to be taken all that seriously, and that ends up working in its favor.  With charismatic leads as affable as Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen, it's easy to see why it succeeds. It's just delightful. And it's clear to see some people have fond memories of Time After Time as Kevin Williamson, of Scream and Dawson's Creek fame, brought a television version to screens in March 2017.

    76 votes
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    101 VOTES

    Time Bandits

    Time Bandits

    If you're in the mood for a kooky sci-fi fantasy featuring an all-star cast, Time Bandits has you covered. Co-written and directed by Monty Python's Terry Gilliam, Time Bandits features Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, and Ian Holm in an adventure that could only be dreamed up by the man who brought you films like Brazil and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Seriously, Time Bandits is nothing if not a whole mess of fun.

    Made for kids (and everyone who used to be kids) with vivid imaginations, Time Bandits follows 11-year-old Kevin as he becomes embroiled in a loopy time travel escapade. You know what kind of film this is going to be when an armored knight on horseback comes billowing out of Kevin's closet. It is so much fun. And hopefully you like dark comedy, because the ending of Time Bandits has a grueling fate in store for Kevin's parents.

    101 votes
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  • 10
    61 VOTES

    Synchronic

    Synchronic

    Some time travel films are light and breezy, meant to delight fans both young and old with capricious tales of science fiction. Synchronic is not one of these films. Unless stories about cancer and missing children are "light and breezy" to you. Alas, Synchronic remains a criminally underseen film from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (who are absolutely perfect choices to direct episodes of Disney+ MCU show Moon Knight). 

    New Orleans paramedics Steve and Dennis, played by Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan, become embroiled in a weird mystery surrounding Dennis's missing daughter and a new drug that somehow causes its users to travel in time. Benson and Moorhead manage to keep everything dark and moody despite the odd premise of the film, and it ends up being a ride worth taking.

    61 votes
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  • 11
    95 VOTES

    Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

    Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

    Bill & Ted's Excellent Excellent Adventure is the well-regarded original, while Bill & Ted Face the Music is the unexpected franchise revival. This means Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey is the unfortunate middle child too often dismissed as inferior. In many eyes, however, Bogus Journey is unfairly maligned by the movie-going masses. The screenplay may not be as tight as Excellent Adventure and it may lack the nostalgic punch of Face the Music, but don't go sleeping on Bogus Journey.

    It's a juvenile comedy that also spoofs The Seventh Seal - what more could you possibly ask for? It has something for everyone, provided you go into a viewing with the right mindset. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are as game as they were in Excellent Adventure, but it's ultimately William Sadler who steals the show as Death incarnate. Roger Ebert put it best in his positive review, saying it is for "lovers of fantasy, whimsy, and fanciful special effects. This movie is light as a feather and thin as ice in spring, but what it does, it does very nicely."

    95 votes
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  • 12
    117 VOTES

    Men in Black 3

    Men in Black 3

    Men in Black will forever remain a '90s classic and, well, the less said about Men in Black II, the better, but Men in Black 3 has quickly become an underrated movie - even though it grossed a monstrous $624 million at the worldwide box office. The sci-fi threequel follows Will Smith's Agent J as he goes back in time to team up with Agent K's younger self to save the world from evil aliens. 

    Josh Brolin is delightful as he does his best young Tommy Lee Jones impression as Agent K, and Jemaine Clement is just tons of fun as the villain, Boris the Animal. Is it a bit derivative of the first two? Yes, but sometimes you're just in the mood for some popcorn comfort food and Men in Black 3 is certainly that. Besides, it's much better than 2019's soft reboot, Men in Black: International.

    117 votes
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  • 13
    49 VOTES

    In the Shadow of the Moon

    In the Shadow of the Moon

    The problem with releasing a genre picture on Netflix is that they usually get lost in the shuffle. If it isn't something Netflix thinks it can market to a wide audience, it just sort of gets released with little-to-no fanfare. This certainly was the case with 2019's In the Shadow of the Moon. From director Jim Mickle, known for little-seen critical darlings like Cold in July and We Are What We Are, this sci-fi thriller is about a cop who tries to stop a serial killer who reappears every nine years to strike again.

    We don't want to give the twist away as to how this involves time travel, because doing so kind of ruins the whole point of the film. If you've got a Netflix account, it's worth a watch and is just waiting there for you. The Detroit News' Adam Graham puts it best: "[W]hen you least expect it, In the Shadow of the Moon delivers a powerful message about the roots of hate and the dangers it poses to society. Don't let this one stay in the shadows for long."

    49 votes
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  • 14
    41 VOTES

    La Jetée

    La Jetée

    What is there to say about La Jetée? From the fact that it is a 28-minute-long French film from 1962 almost entirely made up of still images, it's safe to assume all but the most fervent cinephiles haven't seen it. Of course, if you're game for its aesthetic, all there is a lot to love about La Jetée. And if you're a fan of 12 Monkeys, a film it directly inspired, then you're sure to have a good time.

    The film follows a prisoner in post-apocalyptic Paris right after World War III as he is used as a test subject in a time travel experiment. Throughout the events of the film, the protagonist is sent both back in time before WWIII and way out into the future, where he meets a race of technologically advanced beings. Had it been shot traditionally, it isn't hard to see an alternate timeline in which La Jetée became one of the most popular foreign films of all time.

    41 votes
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  • 15
    32 VOTES

    The History of Time Travel

    The History of Time Travel

    The History of Time Travel is a 2014 movie written and directed by then-film student Ricky Kennedy. It's a mockumentary that tells the story of the men who created the world’s first time machine and the unintended ramifications it has on world events. If this were all the film was, there wouldn't be much more to talk about. But The History of Time Travel has more up its sleeve than being a fake documentary about false events.

    The brilliance of the film resides in its clever use of time travel ramifications. As the film goes on, subtle changes begin to appear on screen as more information about the time travelers' exploits is revealed. Of course, the people being interviewed don't realize these changes are happening to them because, why would they? We wouldn't be aware of changes to our past because they would just become our history (at least, in the universe of this film). The History of Time Travel is quite low-budget and it shows, but it is still a rollicking good time for anyone in the mood for a new take on time travel.

    32 votes
  • 16
    45 VOTES

    The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

    The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

    Time travel and anime seem like they were made for each other - though couching the time travel in a coming-of-age story for young adults is a bit of a twist on the formula that's easy to get behind. And with a title like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, you kind of know what you're getting yourself into. This film is your average young adult fare with a sci-fi twist, which totally works.

    There's not much else to say about The Girl Who Leapt Through Time without giving the whole plot away. It's a film that was pretty much universally adored by critics and audiences alike as its infectious energy can't be denied. If you recall the plights of your teenage years with any sort of whimsy, jump into The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. You'll be glad you did.

    45 votes
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    26 VOTES

    Je t'aime, je t'aime

    Je t'aime, je t'aime

    2001: A Space Odyssey is often heralded as a film before its time - and rightly so - but there was another 1968 sci-fi film that dared to break the mold and challenge viewers to think outside the box. A supposed influence on Michel Gondry's landmark Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Alain Resnais and Jacques Sternberg's Je t'aime, je t'aime is about a suicidal man who volunteers for an experiment that causes him to experience his past through a series of disjointed memories.

    Je t'aime, je t'aime is not a happy film. By the end, we discover that our protagonist has killed his terminally ill partner to ease her pain and he ends the film about to perish from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We do not get to see whether he actually makes it or not, but that is beside the point. Je t'aime, je t'aime is a heady film about love, loss, and mental illness. It is both a relic of its time as well as highly forward-thinking in both its subject matter and its technique.

    26 votes