Project Almanac

Released:  January 30^th, 2015

Rated:  PG-13

Distributor:  Paramount Pictures

Starring:  Jonny Weston, Sofia Black D’Elia, Sam Lerner, Allen Evangelista, Virginia Gardner

Directed by:  Dean Israelite

Written by:  Andrew Deutschman, Jason Pagan

Personal Bias Alert:  not bothered by handheld cameras, likes time travel movies

4.3 of 10

            Say what you will about the quality of the films produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, but they have an excellent track record when it comes to turning a profit.  Last year, they produced three films, The Purge:  Anarchy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Ouija, collectively grossing nearly half a billion dollars.  As their sole release this year, Project Almanac seems to be a tide-over, a shoe-in money-maker that won’t do stellar business but will keep the money flowing.  Given that, it’s pleasantly surprising to find this film take the small chances that it does, but the devolution into a generic, safe ending undoes the goodwill it baits you with.

            Staring a quintuplet of relative unknowns, Project Almanac follows two teenage science wizzes who construct a time machine from some schematics and leftover parts found in a secret compartment in the main character’s basement.  Along for the ride is one of their sisters, their friend who can’t pass a chemistry quiz, and a cute schoolmate who’s car is perfect for powering their machine.  Granted, these last three were of no help in this endeavor, and even a teenaged dream team of Einstein and Stephen Hawking couldn’t have put something like this together when they were 17.  But if you throw that conceit aside, there’s actually quite a few things this film gets right.  For instance, they don’t get the machine working on the first try.  Or the second, or the third.  There’s troubleshooting and trial and error, building anticipation with each meager step forward and allowing the audience to get a good handle on the team’s dynamics.  Who likes who, who’s motivated by what, and what their concepts of time travel are is all fleshed out in these early scenes.  These plot points may be handled with some clunky dialogue, but the time spent on these things definitely pays off when the film shockingly builds on this framework.

            By the time they finally send a toy car back in time, you’re just as anxious for them to move on to human trials as the less cautious members of the group are.  But it’s not until they’re all huddled in a parking lot psyching themselves up for the first jump that you realize how effectively they’ve built to this moment.  There’s a palpable sense of wanting to be in that huddle, and thanks to the found-footage style the film’s shot in, you sort of feel like you are.  This scene, and the next twenty or so minutes of the film, is an energetic payoff.  There’s a real sense of joy as they move forward, both for the possibilities now afforded to them and for the sheer awesomeness at actually pulling this thing off.  Remember, they’re just teenagers, stuck in a sort of second-class citizenship where nothing much is expected of them.  So when they pull off this impossible thing, of course their heads get a bit bloated, and of course they abuse their power.

            It’s once this abuse takes a serious turn that the film goes off the rails.  Until then, it had been a good-hearted romp with characters that were easy to like.  After the plot kicks into high gear, it leaves pretty much any sense of character and fun behind.  Understandably, the film had to do something bigger with the ending, but they toyed with having the crux of the film be about the character’s relationships, something I would’ve been completely satisfied with, only to pull the rug out from under you when it turns into a generic untangling of twisted timelines.  It’s such a played-out ending that’s done without a hint of the joy or heart that the rest of the film contained, leaving you feeling like they dropped the ball on what could have been an enjoyably superficial film.

Granted, Project Almanac was never going to be an original or stellar movie.  It’s found-footage, make-your-own time machine plot is reminiscent of Chronicle, Primer, and many other, better films.  But it started out getting just enough right to be a decent, if forgettable, time at the movies.  The fact that it failed to achieve even this low bar is perhaps the most damning critique I can give this film.

Other Notes:

Ø  I have zero problems with motion sickness, so overly shaky camerawork doesn’t really register to me.  I think that’s why I’m not nearly as averse to the found-footage genre as many others are.

Ø  Some of the shots and the special effects were well done, indicating that first-time director Dean Israelite shouldn’t be dismissed just yet.

Ø  Nice shout-out to Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.  69, dudes!