A SOUND OF THUNDER
UK/US/Germany, 2005, 98 minutes, Colour.
Edward Burns, Catherine Mc Cormack, Ben Kingsley, David Ovelawo.
Directed by Peter Hyams.
A Sound of Thunder is an old-fashioned adventure set in the future. It is 2055. Ben Kingsley stars as a greedy entrepreneur who has created a theme park whereby people can transcend time and go back into the past, hunting dinosaurs. Needless to say, something goes wrong, waves of time are unleashed on the future, changing the rates of evolution. It is up to the hero scientist and the creator of the theme park to put things right.
The film is a blend of films like The Land That Time Forgot with Jumanji. Edward Burns is serious as the scientist. Ben Kingsley, with a white-haired wig, snarls and tries to be smooth as the entrepreneur. Catherine Mc Cormack is the scientist. Shakespearian actor David Ovelawo is one of the team.
The special effects for the creatures are impressive but the sets for the future look quite artificial. The film was photographed and directed by Peter Hyams who made such science fiction films in a long career as Outland and 2010.
1.Entertainment value of this kind of futuristic film? The future and the past?
2.The American city, the artificial sets and cityscapes? The interiors of the laboratories? The return to the past, the re-creation of earlier ages? The special effects for the dinosaurs and the creatures? The musical score?
3.The title, the sound of the dinosaurs and their approaching the humans? The time waves flowing over the city?
4.The possibilities of such theme parks in the future? The group’s being taken back into the past, Travis Ryer and his control with the gun, the initial expedition, the fears, the approach of the dinosaurs? The work of the team? The second expedition and the two men? The problem of extra material coming from the past into the future and changing development?
5.The dinosaurs, the special effects? The gorilla-like creatures and their action?
6.Charles Hatton, the entrepreneur, cutting costs, his henchmen and the supervision? His relationship with his team? His sacking the creator of the theme park? His having to confront the difficulties? The sequence with his death? Everything put to rights and his continuing his work?
7.Travis Ryer, his work, skills? Leading the expeditions? The members of the team? The men, the women? His encounter with the creator? Her attitude? The difficulties, the time waves, the change in evolution? Trying to seek a solution? Going to find the creator? Her attitude, carrying in the fertiliser? The collaboration? The theories, going back into the past? The butterfly? Rescuing the man – and appearing in the tapes? Disappearing? Putting the world on course again?
8.The creator, British, her harsh attitudes, with Charles Hatton? The encounters with Travis, in her apartment, her decision to help? The theories? Her hard-headedness?
9.The members of the team, the girl, the relationship with Travis, the African American, his sacrificing himself to the creatures?
10.The members of the expeditions, the rich, their fears, the issue with the butterfly? Tracking down the man in the city, the fears? Finding the infected man?
11.Audiences enjoying this kind of futuristic fantasy? Playing with time? The future? Going back into the past?
A SOUND OF THUNDER
US, 2005, 110 minutes, Colour.
Edward Burns, Ben Kingsley, Catherine McCormack?, David Oleyowo.
Directed by Peter Hyams.
A Sound of Thunder received terrible reviews when released. (Looking at the blogging in the Internet Movie Database will reveal quite an amount of universal venom.)
The film is based on a short story by Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, Martial Chronicles, Illustrated Man). For this film version, it is a variation on HG Wells The Time Machine. It then moves into something of a variation on Jurassic Park. The basic premise is that in 2055 an entrepreneur has the science and the engineering to take hunters back to prehistoric times in order to have a dinosaur hunting experience. This works for many groups and they are welcomed back into the main office of the company, presided over by Ben Kingsley with an extraordinary white wig and bouffant, transforming his appearance and presence. The expeditions are led by an earnest scientist played by Edward Burns. There is another scientist, shunned by the magnate and deprived of credit for inventions, played by Catherine McCormack?.
While we accept this kind of time travel, it seems somewhat simplistic here, and the science, especially at the end for restoring order with no one remembering the disasters, seems too easy. The screenplay also relies on the butterfly effect, a butterfly disturbed in prehistoric times can alter evolutionary history, with consequences in 2055 and a succession of time waves which destroy much of the city and introduce prehistoric creatures roaming and killing.
For undiscriminating fans of science fiction, this might be an enjoyable pastime. Those who take their science fiction more seriously have considered it one of the worst examples of its kind.
The film was directed by Peter Hyams, a veteran of all kinds of genres including science fiction such as Outland and the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010.
1. The enjoyment factor of this science fiction and time travel? Fans disappointed and condemning it? How justified?
2. The screenplay drawing on the story by Ray Bradbury? Drawing on The Time Machine? on The Butterfly Effect? On the popular B-budget films like Land that Time Forgot? And a variation on Jurassic Park? How well did these ingredients come together? How credibly?
3. The visualising of the expedition to hunt the dinosaur: the first time when it seemed real, other visits, the expedition and the destruction of the butterfly? The further visits, the volcano erupting? The attempts to rectify everything? The special effects for the expedition, the dinosaur? The further special effects for the baboons and their menacing Chicago, the other animals? The transformation of Chicago and the success of time waves? The trees growing amongst the buildings?
4. Travis Ryer, scientist, serious, investigating DNA…? His leading the expeditions, no one being able to shoot before he did? The safety of the time travellers? The success of the expeditions? His personality, working with his staff, Jenny, Payne, the technicians? His liaison with the wife of one of the travellers?
5. Charles Hatton, Ben Kingsley and his style, his money, the science and technology, his personalised computer, time travel, his clients and their money, welcoming them back from their travels, the champagne and the parties, the attack by Sonia?
6. Sonia, from Iran, her invention, Charles Hatton depriving her of credit? Her sabotaging the party? Travis and his discussions with her, the truth, her believing him? Her work, her apartment, Travis gaining entry by carrying the fertiliser? The change in the apartment, the insects? Their escape? Going back to the company?
7. The nervous client, his friend, signing the contract, going on the trip, the butterfly, the effect? Travis and Sonia tracking them down, the nervous client and his being innocent, his friend, going berserk with the gun, shooting himself, but finding the butterfly?
8. The supervisor, in the pay of Hatton, his decision to shut down the project? His double-dealing? Fears, persuasions by Hatton? His being found in the centre, the creatures hanging from the roof? his being attacked?
9. The members of the staff, going on the expedition through Chicago, each gradually being killed by the creatures? Payne and his being surrounded by the baboons?
10. The plausibility of being able to rectify evolution? Going to the centre, going to the University, the equipment, Travis and his being able to go back, knowing that he would not remember anything? Jenny and her taking the video? Giving it to him, his going to see Sonia, knowing what had happened through the video? That the worst had happened?
11. The popularity of this kind of story – even if this film was not popular?
