Christopher Lloyd Starred As The Villain Of This Sci-Fi Time-Travel Movie You Never Heard Of
When you think of Christopher Lloyd and time travel in a film together, the first franchise that comes to mind is "Back to the Future" with its ridiculous time machine. His character, Doc Brown, is the literal inventor of time travel in the trilogy, but that isn't the actor's only run-in with the subject. He is a villain in the 2015 movie "88," which follows a woman seemingly with amnesia who agreed to a murder plot. It never made it to theaters, and instead went to home video as a DVD release in the United States, causing the flick to quickly fall into obscurity.
That doesn't sound like it will involve time travel, but the project's title gives it away. After all, 88 miles per hour is the speed needed to activate the DeLorean time machine. "88" has two different timelines as it flashes back to a different point in the woman's, Gwen's (Katharine Isabelle), life. Lloyd is Cyrus, the man she is supposed to kill at the start of the movie, and their history takes center stage by the third act.
88 didn't turn heads upon release
Despite an interesting premise and solid cast, including Katharine Isabelle, who is known for the Canadian paranormal cult classic "Ginger Snaps," and pop singer Jesse McCartney, in addition to Christopher Lloyd, "88" never took off. Its release, or lack thereof, is the most significant reason for that, but it isn't the only one. While few have heard of the film, the ones who have and bothered to watch it aren't impressed, with "88" earning just a 27% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes and a 2.7 rating on Letterboxd.
The editing, particularly the repetition of flashbacks, didn't resonate well with audiences, and many found the story boring or silly. "'88' is a morass of disastrous editing and lazy plotting," a user on Letterboxd wrote in their review. Despite the poor narrative, the highlight of the movie for many is the work of Isabelle and Lloyd. "The best performance definitely goes to Christopher Lloyd," Daniel Edwards wrote on Letterboxd, with user Dan commenting that "Katharine Isabelle was great to watch."