Top 10 Most Memorable Movie Time Machines

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

TERMINATOR: GENISYS brings another round of time travel paradoxes our way in the form of naked men from the future, robots bent on revenge, and all sorts of destruction and devastation. It got us thinking about the most memorable and unique time machines in film history. So, here is our ranking of the best devices or machines used to travel back and forward in time. If your favorite didn’t make the cut, let us know in the talk backs below.

#1 – DeLorean

Was there any doubt that this would have been number one? Doc Brown’s use of a unique car that must hit 88 mph in order to travel in time before eventually being retrofitted to fly as well as run on railroad tracks makes this one hell of a ride. Every kid of the 1980s grew up wanting one and knew the phrase Flux Capacitor. This is the coolest time machine.

#2 – Telephone Booth

Taking cues from Doctor Who and BACK TO THE FUTURE, Bill and Ted are two of the most underrated characters in movie history. As we wait for the seemingly never coming third film, the first and second movie are chock full of great quotable lines and the most out-dated time machine on this list. Most kids would never know what a phone booth is, but it still rings true for the rest of us,

#3 – Time-Turner

Harry Potter’s foray into time travel is fraught with plot holes but it is a pretty cool and thrilling sequence. Involving patronus charms, doubled characters, and a couple of great lines from Dumbledore, the Time Turner ranks as one of the coolest time travel devices on screen.

#4 – Time Sphere

The exact rationale as to why time travelers have to be naked in the TERMINATOR franchise has never been fully explained in a way that makes much sense, but it made for one hell of an entrance in the first film. Since then, we have come to expect a giant ball to cut away anything in it’s path to herald the arrival of heroes and villains in the series. Plus, buttocks, if you are a fan of that.

#5 – Hot Tub

Yeah, this movie is ridiculously dumb fun, but the combination of the hot tub as the time travel device and the great Chevy Chase as the repairman makes this one of the more memorable devices on the list. While the sequel was not as good as the first movie, the use of the hot tub itself and Craig Robinson’s memorable line delivery in the video above earns it’s place on this list.

#6 – Map

The time machine in TIME BANDITS may look like a basic map, but this is not just any old map. This one belongs to th e Supreme Being, an entity you do not want to mess with unless you have a crew of dwarves who can help guide you through everything from the Napoleonic Wars to Ancient Greece.

#7 – The Box

PRIMER is a must see. If you haven’t watched Shane Carruth’s film, go watch it immediately. Rooted in hard science, the time machine in the film makes perfect sense even if it isn’t the flashiest invention on this list. It is a stunning film made for only $7,000 but can compete with any other movie on this list. Seriously, go watch it now.

#8 – The Vortex

While the exact explanations from Roberta Sparrow’s book may never be known (please avoid the awful director’s cut that tries to explain it), DONNIE DARKO still manages to have one of the most mysterious and intriguing time travel methods. It all seems to boil down to a massive vortex that forces a jet engine into young Donnie’s bedroom with two very different results.

#9 – Klingon Warship

Double dumbass on you! Captain Kirk does not f*ck around with the fate of humanity. He will take his stolen Klingon warship and fly it at warp ten right around the goddamn sun and send himself back in time to collect humpback whales to defeat an evil space tampon. Kirk for the win!

#10 – Kitty Pryde

While it may not be the flashiest machine or device on the list, you could do worse than Kitty Pryde. The cute X-man has the ability to send someone’s consciousness to their younger self, essentially circumventing the need for any sort of time machine. How cool is that?

Source: JoBlo.com

About the Author

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Alex Maidy has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of Chicago Indie Critics, Alex has been JoBlo.com's primary TV critic and ran columns including Top Ten and The UnPopular Opinion. When not riling up fans with his hot takes, Alex is an avid reader and aspiring novelist.