Produced by Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes, “Project Almanac” is an agreeable and entertaining teen time-travel thriller that’s equal parts Ray Bradbury and John Hughes, as our five teen leads unlock the secrets of “temporal relocation” and then trample through the delicate space-time continuum in pursuit of riches, repair and romance. Directed by Dean Israelite in his feature-length debut, the big conceit of the script and story is that what we’re seeing is all footage recorded by the film’s characters throughout their adventures. It’s a stylistic and shooting decision that adds very little and ultimately distracts from the pleasures of the script and performances.
‘Project Almanac’ Review: The Good Outweighs the Gimmicky in This Time-Travel Thriller
The hand-held camera grows tiresome, but the characters and storyline are compelling in a smart teen film that’s more “Final Destination” than “Looper”
