Director: Dean Israelite
Cast: Jonny Weston, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Sam Lerner, Allen Evangelista, Virginia Gardner, Amy Landecker
Certificate: 12
Special Features: Alternate Opening / Deleted Scenes / Alternate Endings
Project Almanac is the debut feature film for director Dean Israelite, with production backing from Michael Bay, and he puts together a solid film with likeable characters who draw you into the story. Initially centered on David (the sturdy Johnny Weston), a good-looking high school lad who gets accepted into MIT and may well be a young mastermind, the film takes us into his life via the already classic ‘handheld/found-footage’ form as he and his friends discover the blueprints for a time machine.
There’s obvious early scripting that blatantly tells us David’s Father had passed away and that his Mother is struggling to get a job, so when David and his sister Christina (the criminally underused Virginia Gardner) find an old camcorder in the attic and a video of his 7th birthday, your first thought it that he’ll end up going back trying to stop however he died. This isn’t the case though, because what they see is David from 2014 in the background of his own 7th birthday…. and so the adventure begins.
Once they find the secret time travel machine and build it (remember our lead David is a scientific king) the real fun begins as they work out ways to power it and then start their exploration of days past. In an entertaining High School segment, we witness one of many nods to other films – Groundhog Day here – but also the fairly classic nature of what teenagers would do if you gave them money and temporary status i.e. Party, drink, dance and live life to the full. And why not.
Obviously, you feel this is all build-up to things going wrong and the twist kicks off when David makes the incorrect decision over whether to kiss Jessie (the elegant Sofia Black D’Elia) at a music festival. Upon wanting to make right from what once went wrong, ah hem, he goes back by himself to get the girl but in turn this sets off a Butterfly Effect, which means everything doesn’t happen as it did once before.
I enjoyed a lot of moments in Project Almanac and although the teenage undertone of falling in love for the first time doesn’t appeal to me, I can see that audience loving this movie. There are also endless echoes and elements of older films for the movie fanatic in you with snippets of Bill & Ted, Back to the Future, alongside literal references to Looper and the Terminator saga. You also easily connect with the cast and Sam Lerner as Quinn; Allen Evangelista as Adam and the aforementioned Garner all deserve a mention.
Project Almanac is a fun and, ultimately, an impressive homage to all those teenage dreams of time travel with additional what ifs but done with a good heart and a true passion for adventure.
Project Almanac comes to Blu-ray, DVD and Digitial HD on 15th June. Buy it here and watch a clip below:
