#9 Predestination

I love time travel movies. OK, let me qualify that. I love GOOD travel movies. NO, I'll change that again. I love time travel movies, but I loathe BAD time travel movies.

Best time travel movie? No question: Back to the Future.
Good ones? BTTF 2 & 3, Star Trek IV, Terminator I and II, Primer, Star Trek First Contact, Looper, Groundhog Day,  Planet of the Apes,

Many others arrive in the middle of the pack. And bad ones: Let's just say there's a reason that Terminator Genisys is on the "Movies I wish I could un-see" list.

So there's this little sleeper of a movie out there called Predestination. I did happen across the trailer for it on iTunes trailer page many months ago, but I don't ever remember it coming to local theatres, and if it did, it was gone in a jiffy. Happily, FthisMovie's year end roundup reminded me about it, as well as recommended it. So when I had the cance last week, I watched it.

Based on a short story by Robert Heinlein, the movie explores the temporal adventures of our main character, whose name is complicated. (Not to pronounce. Just, complicated) We are introduced to him as a barkeeper, who hears the life story of a down-and-out bar patron, but clearly something's going on that we're not being told about.

And then time travel steps in to complicate things, resolve things, and move the plot along. I didn't know where the story was going at the outset, and a few of the plot points were telegraphed a little earlier than they could have been, but it is a neat story, and treats time travel with respect. And that's what makes it good. (Terminator Genisys does NOT treat time travel with respect, so it deserves the derision I feel for it).

I'm guessing it'll be out on Netflix soon enough, so catch it if you can.

Recommend: Yes