DVD In the distant future Earth has become barren and humanity can no longer reproduce. The only solution is to travel back through time and rescue people who are destined to die in disasters, such as airline crashes.
Details
Louise Baltimore is part of a highly secretive team from the future who travel back through time to rescue passengers from doomed aircraft moments before they crash. These unfortunate travellers are transported one thousand years into the future where their healthy DNA is desperately needed to help rebuild the dying human race.
During one such operation something goes wrong and a piece of advanced equipment is accidentally left behind in the wreckage of a crash. The device is discovered by Bill Smith, an experienced air crash investigator who soon realises that the strange object could not possibly belong to anything from the present day.
Bill's investigation leads him to the eccentric Professor Arnold Mayer, a man who has spent years trying to prove that travellers from the future are secretly visiting the present. Initially sceptical, Bill slowly begins to realise that Mayer's wild theories may not be so far-fetched after all - especially when several recovered digital watches appear to be running backwards.
As Bill digs deeper into the mystery he begins to uncover the truth about the time travellers. Meanwhile Louise is forced to repeatedly return to the past in an attempt to recover the lost equipment and prevent any dangerous paradoxes from altering the timeline.
Picture & Sound
The sound presentation is fairly average, largely because the disc only offers a Pro-Logic soundtrack rather than a full Dolby Digital mix. Dialogue remains clear enough, but there is very little use of the surround channels.
The picture quality is also somewhat inconsistent, shifting between reasonably sharp scenes and noticeably grainy ones. At times the image appears slightly washed out. Considering this was an early DVD release these issues are perhaps understandable, although it does mean the presentation feels a little dated today.
The special effects, while ambitious for their time, can look rather dated now. Some of the futuristic technology - particularly a so-called stun gun covered in wires and flashing lights - looks more like something from a low budget television production. At times I almost expected Fox Mulder to wander into the scene and offer his opinion on the investigation.
Overall
Millennium presents an interesting science fiction concept built around the idea of rescuing victims from historical disasters before they die. The film does a surprisingly good job of explaining the complicated rules of time travel, even having the characters discuss paradoxes and timelines in a way that helps the audience keep track of what is going on.
The story itself unfolds from multiple perspectives as events are gradually revealed from different points in time. Once the pieces begin to fall into place the narrative becomes far more satisfying, with earlier scenes gaining new meaning when viewed from the travellers' point of view.
While the film may not have the budget or polish of the bigger science fiction productions of the era, it remains an enjoyable and thought-provoking time travel story. For fans of classic late-80s sci-fi, Millennium is certainly worth a look.
Special features
- Theatrical Trailer
- Production Notes
- Cast and Crew Information
