Film Review of Peter Hyams' A Sound of Thunder Starring Edward Burns and Ben Kingsle

Coming from the director that supervised a classic like Outland in addition to at least plausible releases such as The Presidio and 2010, you can't help but wonder whether A Sound of Thunder is a firm heralding of Peter Hyams' professional twilight. How an accomplished filmmaker such him signed on to a disaster like this remains a mystery, just as perplexing as the destruction of Ray Bradbury's venerable source short story.

To pre-empt, what was a great read those many years ago now comes across as a poor imitation of vastly less intriguing concepts like Jurassic Park. Marred beyond recognition by shoddy production values and subpar performances, the original text barely makes a cameo amid the desolation.

Thunder features Edward Burns and Ben Kingsley, two respected performers in roles they'd certainly live to regret. Burns plays one Dr. Ryer, chief scientist in a Total Recall-esque firm specializing in time travel safaris, whisking ultra-rich clients 65 million years back to hunt for vicious dinosaurs. As greedy company owner Hatton, Kingley's hardly evident except for a whacky hairdo, whatever else he contributes (or tries to) makes absolutely no impression. There's some friction between his money-grabbing mantra and Burns' masculine idealism, however, you would need to be seriously bored to care either way.

Naturally, like any story dealing in time travel and other meddling in the universal order of things, there's a cautionary note. Staff and clients must take care to avoid changing anything while in the past, lest repercussions chase them back to the present. We don't need to tell you this flimsy proviso lasts about as long as a short lived insect, but that's not where the surprise lies.