The Time Machine

Driven by a wish to fix a tragedy from his era, the 19th century inventor Alexander Hartdegen builds a device that lets him leap far into the future. Instead of learning the fate of a single moment, he awakens 800,000 years ahead to a world radically reshaped by time and distance. The human line has split into two rivals bound in a brutal war, with one side ruling over a mechanized, desolate landscape while the other clings to survival. Hartdegen must adapt quickly, testing his beliefs about progress as he encounters strange civilizations, perilous environments, and the heavy costs that come with changing what once was.

Directed by Simon Wells, this 2002 adaptation of H. G. Wells's The Time Machine is brought to the screen from a screenplay by John Logan and David Duncan.

The film grossed about $123.7 million worldwide on an $80 million budget, delivering a solid return for a big budget science fiction adventure released in 2002.

As a high profile contemporary retelling of a classic tale, it helped shape how mid budget science fiction presents futures, pairing sweeping action with stark social division. The look of its future and the clash between two civilizations left a visual imprint on later genre pictures.

Critical response was mixed, with praise for the effects and action but criticism of pacing and character depth. The film questions the ethics of altering destiny and the social costs of technological progress, leaving Hartdegen to face consequences that echo into the present and beyond for future generations.