The main character has no idea how to be a man. We don't see much of his history before the film begins, but it probably involves a single mother and no strong, confident male role models. Then, because he's a weak guy (mentally, emotionally, physically, you name it), with the BIGGEST case of "one-itis" ever, he invents a time machine to go back and fix everything he did "wrong".

This is actually a very good movie for younger guys to watch to learn how NOT to be. Don't get stuck on one girl. Don't tell the girl you love her first (girls HATE this even though many will say they like when the man says it, when he expresses his feelings). Speaking of "expressing feelings", the female protagonist is always telling the male protagonist to "say what he's feeling". He does. She hates him for it (this isn't explicitly laid out, but it's obvious by their interaction), both because he's complying with her request and being emotional like a woman.

Guys, don't tell her what you're "feeling". Don't apologize to her (there is a way to apologize without being a b_tch in her eyes, google Corey Wayne "how to be a 3% man" to learn how to do an apology if it is ACTUALLY warranted).

My god, the fact that there are dudes out there who actually act like and have motivations like this main character is just painful to think about. Dads, be a part of your son's lives! It's NOT ok to let single moms be the sole parents of boys. Sure, this is just a character in a movie, but it's art imitating life.

Ok, all those life lessons aside, the time travel part is done well and without getting too deep into it. The "best friend", played by Skyler Gisondo is a good character and the acting is spot on. Why do the two dudes in this movie, about a guy who doesn't know how to be a guy, have girl's names? Life imitating art, perhaps. I digress. That's about it for the good: time travel, best friend character, and lots of life lessons on how men should NOT act.

The bad: The lead male and female characters have ZERO chemistry. Besides this, they simply don't fit on screen well together. Sophie Turner plays her character well, but her character is garbage and, while she is an attractive girl, she's not the "irresistible" type. So, the audience is confused as to how this guy has such a hardcore case of one-itis for her. Suspension of disbelief or not, it simply just doesn't fit. Combine this fact, that she's not a "keeper", with the fact that they have no chemistry and by the movie end you really just want the dang time machine to break and for them to split and the movie to be done.

I kept watching hoping something like would happen (and because the best friend character was a GREAT grounding point and the only believable, relatable thing in the film). I won't share what happens at the end, but I'll just say that whatever the end is, unless you're a guy who wants to learn how to be a man by how to NOT act like the male lead in this movie...it's just not worth watching. In fact, it's so not worth watching that I felt compelled to write this review.

-Dads, your sons need you.

-Men, don't tell her you love her (it kills the mystery, gives her validation, and removes her motivation to chase you as a source of potential validation).

-Men, don't apologize to her unless it's actually warranted and then only if you've learned how to do so correctly (so, don't apologize because you won't bother to learn when and how to do so correctly).

-Men, take care of your friends, your work and your hobbies. They will be there once she's gone.

-Men, DON'T get stuck on one girl, "one-itis". Even if you have entered into a committed relationship, if she knows she can run you through the ringer and you won't leave her, she will eventually leave you (because she's wired to not respect a man she can push around). If she knows you can leave her, she'll want you more.

Uhg. Two stars: one for time travel that wasn't convoluted and the well cast, written, and acted best-friend character

ALL THE SPOILERS .... DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT.....

HOW ARE PEOPLE COMPLETELY MISSING THAT THIS IS QUINTESSENTIAL TOXIC ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP 101??

AT the end, when she TAKES HIM BACK....how is that not stockholm syndrome. She literally knows that he has locked her up (essentially), trapped her, and taken away her choice....and somehow she's like...."but baby, we've been through it, so this time...don't do that and give me a choice...." WUT. WUT?????

The sad part is....our society has flipped us upside down so badly, that we see stuff like this....and yearn to be wanted this badly. This is not it. This just simply isn't it. And I know...I know....it's a movie....but sweet goddess.....I was SCREAMING NOOOOOOOOOOOOO when she warped in at the end.
Oftentimes in our linear ways of thinking...we think....oh, abusive toxic relationships and we imagine this violent person, who drinks too much and slams you against a wall, and gets in your face and screams....but ultimately....THIS movie is what most of your average toxic relationships look like. That are all about control, where people are WAY too consumed with who the other person needs to be, and where we feel as though if we aren't toridly pursued...then there is no passion.

Like...just.....*sigh*

Now, ahem.....with all that said....each of these characters played their roles so perfectly. And truly...they do a fantastic job.

But by gosh.....this is not a happy ending. Period. Point Blank.
Now pardon me while I put away my pedestal and end my sermon.

Amen.

But the story and casting dragged it down. The main was simply too boyish. I had to look up the male/female leads to find out she was only two years older. She looked at least five and he looked maybe 17, 18.

It's very well acted and paced but ignore the time travel other than a fantasy plot device. There's no 'traveling', you go back and confiscates your previous body. The story ignores any problems with loss/switched/suppressed consciousness by simply saying 'they don't remember it'. Mind you, this would encompass way more difficulty than simply traveling in time as all that's necessary as well.

Oh, and it's the very old trope of the guy who designs and builds everything himself despite having no obvious resources or the time to do so.

The science and depth of thought on time travel sucks but the characters int he story are worth following.

I'd love to see more movies like this. It was good production quality, good story and good actors. I wish it was not for rent, but for sale also. I would have purchased it to watch again.

I'm a huge fan of the 3 actors in this movie. Asa Butterfield (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children), Skyler Gisondo (The Santa Clarita Diet) and Sophie Turner (from Game of Thrones). These 3 make up the main cast for this cute movie about a boy going back in time to prevent his girlfriend from breaking up with him. I watched this with family on my birthday and it was entertaining. I would watch it again! It's funny and clever and there's a lesson to be learned somewhere in there.

...this one does it about as perfectly as it can be done. There are quite a few time travel movies to take a look at, many of them excellent, some light-hearted, some dark, some uber sci-fi This one is of the light-hearted variety, with the also-familiar theme of getting the romantic relationship right, given enough do-overs. So what makes Time Freak the perfect romantic comedy with a time-travel hook, is that it gives just enough of the quantum physics jargon to let you suspend your disbelief, and then gives some very memorable, quirky characters (both lead and supporting) that you care greatly about (some who are incredibly funny), all of them unavoidably likable (even those that seemed like they might be villains). The director lets some very fine actors just take over these characters, having a ball even while delivering a nice, grand-scale theme: intellect (represented by the main character, Stillman, who is a physics genius) needs to be accompanied by a strong, clear heart that work in partnership to create right action in the universe. Where there is too much head or heart, a conflict between them, only wrong action results. Time Freak is a small movie that does a great job of delivering a big message, doing it with a sense of humor and with great affection for the people who live out its story. I loved it.

This movie gets you thinking.
The main character was selfish and controlling, but also I could identify with his perfectionism and his genuine desire to make things right for those he loves. But at the same time, by using time travel to make other people's lives perfect, he was keeping them from truly living and that type of extreme manipulation borders on relational abuse. I think he realized that by the end, but the ending could have been more explicit about it. If I were his girlfriend, it would have taken me way more than 5 minutes to decide whether I could stay in that kind of relationship and forgive someone who was so perfectionistic that he needed to go back in time and fix all his mistakes to make me love him. I would need some space to figure out who I really was after enduring so much manipulation, even if the manipulation was done out of love, even if my boyfriend had really changed. Which leads me to consider why she broke up with him at the beginning of the film. I doubt it was because of the mistakes he made in the relationship, as she seemed content with imperfection. It was probably his unhealthy character issues that she was able to recognize before being manipulated. In the end, the main character grew to recognize his problem of manipulative perfectionism and did something about it in the last 5 minutes, but his girlfriend, she was a pretty flat character who could have been much more developed.

The acting was good, I just am not sure how I feel about all the perfectionism and manipulation I just witnessed and I don't think the movie dealt enough with the problems of such behavior.

This is delightfully far away from the typical romantic "tears ending with joy" formula film. Yes there are tears. Yes there is joy, but they are the context, not the film. The outstanding actors create very real people that you can't help but care about, but he is a genius who will bend time itself to make her happy, not knowing that love and happiness must pass through life's sorrows, not away from them. The consequences create a roller coaster that leaves you wishing you could go back in time, just so you could watch it again for the first time.