Imagine having the power to travel through time, maybe to the past, future, or change the present. Ah, it is such a cool dream that every human being has. Luckily, our entertainment industry has made some of the exceptional movies related to time travel. These Top Time Travel Movies show the challenges, dilemmas, and even miracles by altering the times. Yeah, yeah, we know it is just a movie. But isn’t it amazing?
We have compiled the list of top time travel movies in this article. You will find action, love stories, comedies, and mind-bending drama in these movies to take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride. These all films have one thing in common, they will make you think hard, very hard. Always remember that the past is history, the future is a mystery but the present moment will always be the most important time.
12 Top Time Travel Movies of all the time
13 Going on 30- 2004
13 Going on 30 is a time travel movie starring Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner released in 2004. Jenna Rink can easily travel between the present and the future, creating alternate timelines. In this movie, Jenna Rink wishes to skip high school and wants to have a life of 30 30-year-old woman. Her wish gets fulfilled thanks to the magical wishing dust. She wakes up in the future as a successful magazine writer who looks like Jennifer Garner. But in this process, she lost her childhood friend Matty and she can’t help thinking about the missed opportunities.
Star Trek -2009
Star Trek was released in the year 2009 and JJ Abrams was the movie’s director. He made a smart move in releasing this movie. Instead of erasing the old movies and shows, he used the time travel concept here. This smart move expanded the legacy to new possibilities. The movie mainly focuses on young Kirk in a different timeline, so here the future is uncertain. The movie did a great job with its visual aspects, cast, and storyline and gave the audience an exciting adventure in space. Still, the sequel had some shortcomings, JJ Abrahms’s initial movies are still one of the best movies to rewatch again.
Watch: Star Trek Trailer
Looper- 2012
Lopper was released in the year 2012. In the movie, the story narrates as it is illegal to time travel in their futuristic world. The time travel service is monopolized by a criminal organization. The story then follows Joe, a hitman who is good at eliminating targets is sent back in time by this organization. Things started to get tricky when his older self became the target. The movie’s idea is interesting because it introduces loopers, the assassins, who eliminate the future targets, including themselves to erase their past crimes.
Oh, such a mind-bending plot right? The story sticks to the rules that it sets up and shows the consequences of messing with the time. And also shows the importance of preserving the time loop. The movie director, Rian Johnson, skillfully handles the complexities of time manipulation while giving us an engaging and mind-bending plot.
Watch here: Looper
About Time- 2013
About Time is not the typical ‘save the world’ time travel movie. It is a romantic comedy-drama, directed by Richard Curtis. The story is about Tim, a young man who finds out that he can travel the time. He uses this gift to make his life better by finding love and happiness. In this movie, time travel is not about science, it is a hereditary talent that has been passed down through generations.
This movie focuses on the unique approach that is the main character’s emotional journey as he deals with relationships and self-improvement. About Time uses time travel to focus on love, family, and the importance of tiny moments in life. This movie gives a fresh perspective on what happens when you mess with time by concentrating on character growth and emotional bonds.
Watch here: About Time
Edge of Tomorrow- 2014
Edge of Tomorrow is the perfect mixture of action, strength, ambitious direction, and smart plot with Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Doug Liman, and Christopher McQuarrie. Here, it nails the whole stuck-up-in-the-loop concept, so even if they are repeating the same day, it doesn’t get boring. In this movie, Tom Cruise plays a character who is not like the usual hero material, he starts as a coward. This fresh take on his role makes the movie stand out. Edge of Tomorrow is a rare blockbuster Hollywood movie that is both exciting and unique.
Also see: The Best Horror Movies of All Time
X-Men Days of Future Past -2014
In 2014, X-men filmmakers took a big risk, after giving back-to-back six superhero movies. They decided to use the time travel concept. X-Men Days of Future Past was inspired by a comic book. In order to save both humans and mutants from a danger,Professor X sends Wolverine back in time to 1973 to changethe past.
You might be thinking that it’s just another superhero sequel but the movie takes time travel very seriously. Director Bryan Singer set the rules to ensure the time travel in the movie makes sense. And the result is a fun and mature movie with an engaging story. The story doesn’t even make you doubt about what is happening and ties up all the loose ends nicely.
Watch here: X-Men Days of Future Past
Interstellar- 2014
Interstellar was released in the year 2024. Christopher Nolan is the director of the movie. The movie, at first will seem like it requires a degree in Physics to understand the storyline. It can be very very confusing at first, but if you look closer, it is based on pretty hardcore science. Once you get the hang of its story, you will see that Interstellar gives us a fresh concept of time travel. It doesn’t rely on time machines or fantasy. In one scene of the movie Interstellar, we can see what happens when you spend time on a planet where one hour equals seven years on Earth. Uhh, very intriguing.
See you yesterday- 2019
See You Yesterday is a fantastic movie that you should definitely watch. It is a mixture of time travel, politics, and family drama. Produced by Spike Lee and Directed by Stefon Bristol with guidance from Professor Lee at NYU. The story is about two smart teenagers who love working on scientific inventions. They create time travel technology. When CJ’s brother got killed, she and her friend Sebastian built time machines to change what happened. But they discover a big truth about time travel: every action has consequences that can change the present in unexpected ways. This film takes a deep look at police violence and was made by a team mostly of African descent. It is a time-travel adventure that is entertaining, thought-provoking, and inspiring.
James vs. His Future Self- 2019
James vs. His Future Self was released in the year 2019. It is about a man named James, who is a scientist and has an interest in time travel. One day suddenly he gets a surprise visit from his future self. He has come to the past to stop him from inventing time travel. The future James, known as “Jimmy,” is on a mission to stop his younger self from messing with time travel because he thinks it will mess up his life. It is a funny movie that runs for about 90 minutes. Even though it is a comedy, the movie takes time travel very seriously. The makers of the film know what to make it work which helps the audience understand the story.
Tenet -2020
The movie Tenet is known for being pretty confusing with the story about time inversion. You can find lots and lots of articles trying to explain the concept. But once you get it, it is not that tough to crack. It is like going backward in time by reversing how things usually is which makes it messy and chaotic. When you understand what Christopher Nolan was trying, you will get a completely new version of time travel. In this version, people and things can actually go back in time.
Watch here: Tenet
Lightyear -2022
While Lightyear didn’t become as popular as other Pixar movies, it still managed to set things right. One of those things is how it deals with time travel. The story and characters are the same as in a movie Toy Story. It is about Buzz Lightyear, who gets stuck on a dangerous planet for many years and discovers a huge threat to the whole universe. The movie uses the idea of time dilation, where Buzz’s test flights, which last just four minutes for him, make four years pass for others. So every time Buzz goes on a test flight, the people around him get older, and this keeps happening until 66 years old. It is a sad part of the story, especially when he sees his best friend Alisha grow old and pass away. Despite its shortcomings, Lightyear is a visually stunning movie that uses time travel to tell an emotional story.
The Adam Project- 2022
In the year 2022, The Adam Project became available on Netflix. It may have its flaws but the story portrays how to make time travel fun. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as the older version of the main character. The story is about a 12 year old boy living in present day America, who teams up with his future self to save the future.
This movie takes inspiration from other time travel movies. It shows how much fun it can be when characters meet their past or future selves. While it is not as perfect as the other time travel movies, it’s still quite good and doesn’t get too chaotic, which keeps it entertaining.
Watch here: The Adam Project
Conclusion
Portraying time travel on a big screen can be really a tough job. Filmmakers have to balance making the time travel concept work with keeping audience interested in the storyline. The movies on this list have done a great job considering that fact. Each movie has its own unique concept of time travel by sticking to the rules.
These movies let you explore the creative and smart ways they use time travel. Watching them can help you understand what might happen if you change the past, present, or future. We hope this curated top time travel movie list gave you an excuse to watch this genre. This is it for now and stay tuned for future updates.
FAQs
Q. Which are some popular time travel movies?
A. Some popular time travel movies are, Interstellar, Tenent, Edge of Tomorrow, and Xmen Days of Future Past.
Q. Is time travel considered the best Superpower?
A. Time travel is considered as most desired superpower.
Q. Why do you love time travel?
A. Because time creates and eliminates the possibilities for us.
Q. Why are time travel movies so popular?
A. Time travel movies give a new perspective to see time, the consequences of one’s actions messing with time, and the importance of the present moment.