With the upcoming release of Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, we've been thinking a lot about time travel. So, the Bitesize crew has travelled back through their history of cinema to compile Bitesize Breakdown's consensus Top Five Time Travel Films/Series. Of note, this list is focused on physical time travel so we've omitted any time loop content.
As per usual, each writer ranks their top 15 releases in the category. Those lists are then weighted on a reverse point system. After all the points are tallied up, the entries with the most total points make up the Bitesize Top Five.
5. AVENGERS: ENDGAME
You mean to tell me that Back to the Future is all… bullshit?! Well, we aren’t saying that, but Paul Rudd’s delivery of that line, along with every Endgame conversation about time travel (including Don Cheadle’s hilarious noose-tying gesture) is as perfect as the three-hour MCU Phase One finale is. After Infinity War left audiences in perpetual dread, wondering how the team was going to come back from such a horrific loss, the Russo Brothers directed arguably the greatest cinematic achievement of all time. They were able to culminate 10 years and 23 movies worth of storytelling with a competent maintenance of stakes using only three words (“Five... Years… Later”), intelligent use of the quantum realm to facilitate time travel, and a perfect use of said travel to combine nostalgia and catharsis to an extremely satisfying ending. Endgame combines characters we love, a top-tier villain, and the most exciting time heist this side of time heists to pull off what would never be considered possible before we saw Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) get bombed in his funvee in 2008. - Amarú
4. X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
Without comic-book knowledge, the idea of merging both of Fox Studios’ X-Men casts together into a mind-trippy, time displacement epic seemed too strange to work. High ambition does not always present too lofty a bar to clear, however, especially when your project is bulwarked by two universes of superior actors with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine as the connective tissue. The contrast of the dreary, cold, apocalyptic future with the colorful and fashionable aesthetic of the 1970s serves both sides of the plot to the point that not even controversial director Bryan Singer could ruin its appeal. Even when James McAvoy’s Charles has to enter Logan’s consciousness to look beyond him and converse with the Patrick Stewart version of himself for guidance, you don’t feel like your brain is completely acid-saturated. With a cool soundtrack, arguably the greatest slow-motion scene ever depicted on film, and mother-f’ing Sentinels (finally!), Days of Future Past remains top-level X-Men and time-travel storytelling, no matter when you watch it. - Robert
3. LOOPER
Looper may be the grittiest time-traveling film out there. Its unique premise and central conflict make it a thrilling and thought-provoking modern sci-fi classic. Rather than leaning on the more technical mechanics of time travel, the film functions more as a character-driven crime noir focusing on how these characters deal with the moral and emotional consequences of using such a tool. Time-traveling movies can often become convoluted, as there are so many rules and explanations that need to be communicated, but writer/director Rian Johnson cleverly takes the show-don’t-tell approach, and it works out masterfully here. He manages to craft a brilliant premise that features a stacked cast (Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, and Paul Dano), who all deliver fantastic performances. Looper avoids time-traveling cop outs and delivers one hell of an entertaining and action-packed thrill ride that never loses sight of its characters. - Paige
2. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
The rare example of the sequel exceeding the original, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of cinema's crowning action and sci-fi achievements. Director James Cameron, always one to push the boundaries of filmmaking, crafted a true spectacle out of this time-travel epic, with some of the most notable characters and quotes, yet, even with all that, T2 is not one to shy away from thought-provoking themes to complement its badass nature. This is a well thought out time-travel story, a father-son tale, and an artificial intelligence warning that’s sadly more timely than ever several decades later. But all of that is just icing on this delicious cake, as this movie can be best described as sick as hell, just about covering most of my preferential bases. Hasta la vista, baby! - Adriano
1. BACK TO THE FUTURE
Rarely does a film rule an entire sub-genre, let alone rule it for 40+ years. Although this complete list was a question mark, there was never a doubt to me that Back to the Future would take the top spot. Since 1985, this film has been the gold standard for time-travel cinema. Led by two iconic characters in Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd), Back to the Future is the perfect blend of comedy, adventure, and science fiction. My personal affinity for this film is well documented, but even if you set that aside, it's hard to argue that Back to the Future isn’t undeniably one of the greatest films of all time. - Nick
HONORABLE MENTIONS
AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY
BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
DEMOLITION MAN
STAR TREK (2009)
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