3 gibbles out of 5

Director: Nacho Vigalondo

Timecrimes is a fun little time travel movie that succeeds by keeping it simple.

While aspects of the plot seem sort of foolish (the plot hinges around repeating certain things in order to keep a timeline, but why the main character chooses to change certain things and not other things is a little hazy), there’s a certain charm to the small setting (three or four characters, three or four sets) and how the events unravel easily and understandably. It doesn’t fall strictly into sci-fi or horror, which also makes it fun, nabbing bits from different genres.

What prevents the movie from becoming great is its predictability. Once the first time travel card is played, you can pretty much suss out what’s going to happen, but to the credit of the director, it’s still enjoyable to watch. Make sure to get the DVD and not stream this so you can enjoy the director’s short film in the extras.