Plot Summary
The year is 1890. Dr. Carlisle does the unthinkable and writes a seminary textbook advocating for the teaching of morals apart from Jesus Christ, Dr. Andersen sees fit to stall his vote for the book’s endorsement until Carlisle comes and sees his time machine invention. When Carlisle finally stops moping around and agrees to meet with the mad scientist, he is roped into travelling through time to the future so that he can learn what supposedly happens when society teaches morals apart from Christ. What he finds is a shocking new culture he’s not familiar with in many ways. Will he ever make it back so he can sell his textbook?
Production Quality (.5 point)
Time Changer is one of those films that is very memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. While the production team should get some slight credit for attempting to dress characters in historically appropriate attire, there are too many other negatives that outweigh the small amount of positive. For starters, money was wasted building ridiculous time travel contraptions that look like they belong in a 1980s sci-fi film. The camera work and video quality are okay, but the audio quality is inconsistent, including a very annoying soundtrack. As usual, the editing is all over the board and is basically just a pasting together of heavy-handed scenes that demonstrate the Christiano brothers’ ridiculous worldview. Unfortunately, the production isn’t the worst this film has to offer.
Plot and Storyline Quality (-1 points)
Time travel plots are always going to be a problem. There’s rarely an instance when this concept can be justified. But when you merge this mind-bending sci-fi premise with an extreme fundamentalist Christian worldview, disaster occurs. There is no plot present here, since the Christianos are content to shove their unwanted opinions on the state of humanity in your face at every possible turn. Who believes that if some crazy professor from the late 1800s discovered time travel, he would use it to ‘solve’ the world’s biggest theological nitpick? Time Changer is entirely built on the incorrect assumption that the ‘good ole days’ were better, when old white guys made all the decisions, women were not allowed to do anything but sit at home, and religious idolatry reigned. Thus, the dialogue is chock-full of religious jargon and fundamentalist talking points while at the same time making a mockery of anyone who opposes the assumptions of the writers. Besides this, in an attempt to be ‘historical’, the dialogue is also overly awkward and cumbersome. Because of this, the characters are extremely programmed and robotic, just waiting to spew their lingo when the time is right. There are also subtle racial stereotypes and jabs at modern women’s roles throughout the film. The ending of the film is borderline bizarre, as it quietly depicts the nutty professor trying to find the ‘end of time’ using his contraption. Not only do the writers silently let you know that they think the end of time occurs before the year 2050, but they also show disdain for Jesus’ own words in the Scriptures, which state that no one knows the time or day when He’s returning. In short, there is nothing good about this storyline, and it even goes far enough to be rated in the propaganda category. It’s purely preaching to a small audience that already agrees with these narrow-minded views and accomplishes little else.
Acting Quality (-1 points)
As can expected, the acting is as outdated as the ideas in this film. Line delivery is forced and awkward and emotions are not present. Male cast members are overrepresented while female cast members are painted in a strange light. As previously mentioned, there are also some subtle racial stereotypes. But what else is new about this film?
Conclusion
This movie is a wide open window into the disturbing worldview of the Christiano brothers. In the end, they blame all of society’s ills on Hollywood. There may be some truth to this, as there are other nuggets of truth buried throughout the sludge of this film. Immoral Hollywood movies have certainly contributed a great deal to the corruption of society, but the world is always going to do what it does best—recede into sinful entropy. It is up to the Christians to stop this slide; we cannot expect the world to fix itself and pat us on the back for it. What people like the Christiano brothers really want is a return to their idea of a comfortably religious society. But what they don’t realize is that today’s culture is a reaction against that older worldview. If a white patriarchal religious utopia built on ivory tower theology was the answer to the world’s problems, it would have never ended. The problem is that those who claimed the name of Christ tainted His Name with their actions, not those who do not claim His Name. Jesus is the answer for culture’s problems, not some Pharisaical dominion. And when it comes to movies, if you don’t like what you see, make something better. So far, Christiano brothers and everyone else who complains about the state of Western culture, you have not produced any movies that are better or more worthwhile than the Hollywood alternative. So shame on you.
Final Rating: -1.5 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 
My husband and I enjoyed this movie because it has sci-fi elements in a historic setting. The question asked by the storyline is timely and interesting. The quality is so-so, but without Hollywood’s big bucks, we didn’t expect a Tom Cruise level production.
I do have a question though. If the purpose of this sight is to give reviews of Christian entertainment, then why do you mock and ridicule the media for holding Christian views?
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I agree Darcy. This reviewer is the very thing he attempts to accuse Christians of….a hater. His review is a joke and his obvious ignorance of Biblical related subjects show throughout his hate filled review.
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Because contra the post/modernist view of art as social deconstruction, the true higher purpose of art is to bright ‘Truth’ into contact with the ambiguous, messy realities of everyday life in a way that provokes the audience to reflect on both.
Using two dimensional characters and contrived situations to exalt a narrowly defined worldview – in terms relevant to a specific cultural setting – that faces no credible challenge in the narrative accomplishes none of that. Instead, it does what propaganda does by definition: Uses ‘small’ lies( narrative lies of omission, if nothing else) to promote a ‘greater truth’. God cannot be glorified that way.
More colloquially, the post apostolic fathers of the Church defended the faith by ‘hitting up’ at their critics; the Christiano brothers protagonists are constantly hitting down. Their films don’t do what they say do.
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Yes Brad Heller, we know, I’ve seen most of your laughable films.
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Love the goggles.;)
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I am not familiar with this
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