A Glean movie guide
Masterpieces of Time Travel
Rewriting the past, one loop at a time.
From mind-bending paradoxes to infinite loops, these are the definitive temporal adventures.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Back to the Future
A perfect blend of 80s charm and clever paradoxes centered on a time-traveling DeLorean.
Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.
- 02
Interstellar
A visually stunning epic that uses gravitational time dilation to tell a deeply emotional story.
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
- 03
Groundhog Day
The definitive time-loop comedy where a cynical man is forced to relive one day until he finds redemption.
A cynical TV weatherman, along with his idealistic producer and his sardonic cameraman, is sent to report on Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over.
- 04
The Terminator
A relentless pursuit through time that explores the dark consequences of a predestined future.
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
- 05
12 Monkeys
A gritty, haunting mystery that questions whether the past can truly be changed or only fulfilled.
In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.
- 06
Looper
A stylish noir-thriller where assassins must eventually 'close the loop' by killing their future selves.
In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.
- 07
Edge of Tomorrow
A high-octane action film that uses a 'reset' mechanic to turn a soldier into an unstoppable force.
Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again... and again - as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.
- 08
Primer
A low-budget masterpiece famous for its uncompromisingly complex and technical approach to temporal mechanics.
A group of fledgling inventors discover a complex method to manipulate reality. At first, they successfully game the stock market with it, but the consequences of the invention start to catch up with them.
- 09
About Time
A gentle, moving drama that focuses on the small, personal ways time travel can shape a life.
The night after another unsatisfactory New Year's party, Tim's father tells his son that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. They can't change history, but they can change what happens and has happened in their own lives. Thus begins the start of a lesson in learning to appreciate life itself as it is, as it comes, and most importantly, the people living alongside us.
- 10
Tenet
A massive spectacle that reinvents the genre with 'entropy inversion' and mind-blowing reverse-action sequences.
Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
- 11
Predestination
A dizzying, circular narrative that pushes the boundaries of identity and the grandfather paradox.
Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to prevent future killers from committing their crimes. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must stop the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time and prevent a devastating attack in which thousands of lives will be lost.
- 12
Palm Springs
A sharp, modern comedy that finds new life in the time-loop trope with a nihilistic twist.
When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated when they find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.