18 Time Travel Films, Ranked From Totally Ridiculous To Actually Pretty Believable

Make ~time~ to watch these movies.

Watching Loki made me think about the many many time travel films that have graced our screens over the years.

Disney+

Some films that include time travel really make you think. Others, well not so much.

So, of course, I decided to rank some. Get ready for the journey through time that I'm about to take you on!

BBC

🚨 Warning – this post contains A LOT of spoilers, so if you see a film you haven't watched yet, feel free to scroll by! 🚨

18. Hot Tub Time Machine

20th Century Fox

Hot Tub Time Machine has all the classic tropes of a time travel film and it's well aware of its own hilarious ridiculousness. Some films are so bad they’re good. This is the sort of film you watch while looking at your phone. The time machine is a hot tub – need I say more?

17. About Time

Universal Pictures

The use of time travel in this movie borders on creepy. Tim essentially stalks his love interest through time, in a move that should probably carry a prison sentence. One redeeming factor is Tim’s relationship with his dad, which could have been explored more. There are some genuinely touching moments, but the stalky vibe overshadowed them.

16. Tenet

Warner Bros. Pictures

The use of time travel in this film is ambitious, but let's be real – it's not the most entertaining. I love Christopher Nolan and his famous complex plots, but this was a step too far. Tenet throws in terms like "introverted entropy" and "temporal pincer movement" to try to create a sense of awe, but it feels overcomplicated. The real trick here is that your future self must watch this film at least one more time for it to feel somewhat comprehensible. 

15. The Time Traveler’s Wife

Warner Bros. Pictures

The genre of time travel is clearly an interest I share with Rachel McAdams. The Time Traveler’s Wife sees Henry DeTamble flit between different periods of time while trying to maintain his relationship with his future wife, Clare. The film's okay, but the use of time travel here is not particularly entertaining – as far as romantic sci-films go, this isn't the greatest. 

14. Avengers: Endgame

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

I'm a huge Marvel fan and the time travel in this reminds me of how far the characters have come. The Avengers are forced to go back and retrieve the infinity stones, recrossing old paths and films. This part was by far the most entertaining and gave us some great scenes. Many people were shocked to see Marvel go down this route but it has generally been considered a success. Still, Tony Stark building a time machine overnight? No.

13. The Butterfly Effect

New Line Cinema

With a central theme of 'you change one thing – you change everything', you would expect Evan’s world to change more dramatically. I'm sorry, but there should be wider consequences. The movie does use time travel well and is entertaining, but the impacts of the butterfly effect could've been bigger.

12. X-men: Days of Future Past

20th Century Fox

Any movie that can use time travel to get both versions of Magneto and Professor X on screen is a win to me. Kitty Pryde suddenly manifested the power to send Wolverine’s consciousness back in time – random, but I'm not mad about it. The use of time travel here is good but full of inadequacies. Despite this, the film uses time travel to do something commendable – wiping out all the bad parts of previous X-Men films. For that point alone, it’s catapulted into 12th place. Added bonus: the best depiction of superspeed in any comic book film to date.

11. Source Code

Summit Entertainment

I like films with original concepts, so that's why this is high on the list – it uses time travel in a compelling way. Source Code is good on first viewing but falls apart on its ~scientific coherence~. There isn’t even any real attempt to rationalise the ‘science’ used. It’s one of those movies where you can’t think about it too much or it’ll totally fall apart. The ending is once again a traditional Hollywood happy ending and gives me strong focus group vibes. That being said, I do actually like it.

10. Donnie Darko

Pandora Cinema / Newmarket Films

Let's be honest – parts of Donnie Darko are a little confusing. Between the jet engine, The Philosophy of Time Travel book, and Jim Cunningham, there's a lot going on. But when everything rewinds at the end, the true genius of the plot finally reveals itself (and you want to watch it all over again). 

9. Looper

TriStar Pictures

This includes a fairly original concept and ambitious execution. While the plot can get strange (thanks to the rainmaker), Looper does a good job of cleaning up its own paradoxical mess. Something very few time travel films do. Credit to the prosthetics team for managing to make Joseph Gordon-Levitt look like Bruce Willis, while simultaneously looking nothing like him at all.

8. Edge of Tomorrow

Warner Bros. Pictures

Based on the manga All you need is Kill, this film has all the essence of an excellent time travel movie. William Cage (Tom Cruise) finds himself in an unlikely position due to an encounter with a rare ‘mimic’, which forces him to constantly be stuck on the day of a beach landing if he dies. Edge of Tomorrow is like Groundhog Day fused with action and visual effects, and for that reason I love it. 

7. The Terminator

Orion Pictures

I think we can all agree that The Terminator stands the test of time. It deservedly sits high up here – it helped introduce action into the time travel film sphere and definitely influence other films on this list. It's thoroughly entertaining and also contains a quote that we’ve all said at least once before, I can’t help but appreciate its originality.

6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Warner Bros. Pictures

This classic is a good example of time travel being seamlessly woven into a movie, without it taking over. Azkaban needed time travel to keep the audience guessing and it was executed perfectly, plus, we left the cinema with all the loose ends very much tied. Although, the question remains as to why the time-turner wasn’t used again? I’m fairly sure it would have been useful against Voldemort.

5. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Tri-Star Pictures

This is widely regarded as one of the best sequels, which already says a lot. The T-1000 is relentless and sets up a finale that is easily the best out of all the other Terminator films. This sequel is very different to its predecessor in very positive ways and stands as an early example of a very good time travel movie. I'd maybe even say it's one of the last good Terminator movies.

4. Groundhog Day

Columbia Pictures

This is one that obviously had to be here. A classic film and one of the original big names, this entry is popular, funny, and remains a pop-culture staple. I'm certain it helped set the agenda for some other movies on this list. Groundhog Day uses optimism and humour to sidestep the fact that there's no real explanation for the time loop. It is not as cleverly constructed as the next few entries but earns its place for originality.

3. 12 Monkeys

Universal Pictures

I know it's not the most well known, but bear with me –  this film is extremely ambitious with its use of time travel and it manages to pull it off. A virus is released, resulting in the wiping out of a large portion of humanity, and James Cole is sent back to find said virus and help develop a cure. But as expected, time travel is never easy. Without giving away too many spoilers, this film helps to truly demonstrate the complexity of time travel.

2. Back to the Future

Universal Pictures

The Back to the Future franchise has a strong claim as the most famous time travel franchise of them all – you know it deserves this spot. Whether you think it makes sense or not, the time travel logic is fairly consistent and is still fun to watch. They also managed to paint a vivid picture of the future and got some things right, flying cars aside. Quotable, iconic, and a DeLorean that went at 88mph – flawless. It's a shame they weren't right about the flying cars though.

1. Interstellar

Warner Bros. Pictures

It may not be the typical way we see time travel, but Christopher Nolan did no wrong here – it's got an amazing cast, brilliant, and utilises time in the most interesting way.  Nolan plays with time manipulation expertly here, not just as a plot device – Interstellar shows the horrifying effects it can have. Who could imagine being younger than their own daughter?! It's easily the most emotional and scientifically accurate of the films on this list, and that's a hill I'll die on. 

What's your favourite time travel film? Tell us in the comments!