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Clockstoppers

EMAILPRINTParamount Pictures

Clockstoppers reviews
40
5.1 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 10 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Sci-fi

Written by: Rob Hedden (also story)
J. David Stem (also story)
David N. Weiss (also story)
Andy Hedden (story)

Directed by: Jonathan Frakes

Release Date:
Theatrical: March 29, 2002
DVD: August 13, 2002

Running Time: 93 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG for action violence and mild language

Starring Jesse Bradford, French Stewart, Paula Garcés, Michael Biehn, Robin Thomas, Jason Winston George, Linda Kim, and Julia Sweeney

When Zak (Bradford) discovers a high-tech watch that speeds up his body's molecules so that the rest of the world seems frozen in time, it's like having the ultimate super power -- until he winds up in a true race against time! (Nickelodeon)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

70

Los Angeles Times Jan Stuart

Exceptionally user-friendly for the technologically challenged among us and rides over its less inspired patches on a wave of cheeky humor.

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63

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie has been produced by Nickelodeon, and will no doubt satisfy its intended audience enormously. It does not cross over into the post-Nickelodeon universe.

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63

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

They may not have made another "Back to the Future," but to their credit, the makers of Clockstoppers don't patronize or underestimate their pre-teen audience nearly as much as has become customary.

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60

The New York Times Dave Kehr

A competent, unpretentious entertainment destined to fill the after-school slot at shopping mall theaters across the country.

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50

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

To be fair, Clockstoppers isn't a bad film, merely bereft of creativity and personality.

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50

LA Weekly Mark Olsen

Intermittently fun, but mostly just efficiently passable.

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50

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

If I were 13, I might be sufficiently entranced by the movie's bicycle stunts (down stairs! across countertops!) and wouldn't be wondering why ideas for science fiction films haven't progressed very far from "Star Trek's" first seasons all those decades ago.

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50

USA Today Claudia Puig

Tries and winds up with a pleasant, if forgettable, romp of a film.

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50

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

After the first hour, it starts to convince you that time really can stand still.

50

Boston Globe Loren King

The film doesn't have enough innovation or pizazz to attract teenagers, and it lacks the novel charm that made ''Spy Kids'' a surprising winner with both adults and younger audiences.

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50

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

This moves back and forth between slightly clever and dopey or silly, kept vaguely watchable by the charming leads.

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50

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

There's a scientific law to be discerned here that producers would be well to heed: Mediocre movies start to drag as soon as the action speeds up; when the explosions start, they fall to pieces.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

The result is mixed bag, an intermittently pleasing but mostly routine effort.

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40

Salon.com Damien Cave

What Clockstoppers achieves in acting and decent special effects, it undermines with weak dialogue and directing. The movie isn't bad; it just makes you wish that certain scenes could be hypertimed into oblivion.

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40

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Although it looks like an action thriller with a sci-fi twist, the bad guys aren't scary (Biehn's soul patch notwithstanding), the sci-fi element is silly and the action is limited to some extreme bike riding and computer-generated zipping around.

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40

Variety Robert Koehler

A blandly conceived youth adventure lacking zing or style.

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40

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Botches what could be the most mischievous power since Scott Baio's telekinesis in the 1982 comedy "Zapped!": a wristwatch that speeds up time for the user until the rest of the world seems to be standing still.

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40

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Benign but forgettable sci-fi diversion.

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40

Austin Chronicle Russell Smith

Pack the kids off to the multiplex with an easy conscience and forgiving critical sensibility.

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38

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

With Clockstoppers, Frakes hobbles along with a high-concept film that doesn't live up to its potential.

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25

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Not enough to keep Clockstoppers from turning viewers into clock-watchers.

20

Film Threat Eric Campos

If I had the ability to engage in hyper-time, I would’ve ran up to the box office, snatched my money and left.

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20

New Times (L.A.) Luke Y. Thompson

Its most redeeming quality is that it's so inoffensive parents can feel OK about taking kids.

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16

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Stops time, all right -- it stretches 94 minutes into something that begins to feel like infinity.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 5.1 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Guy! gave it a2:
A perfectly good idea, but sadly wasted. This movie is like a matrix movie intended for 4-year-olds.

Michael F gave it a1:
Good premise, and intriguing idea. Terrible movie.

Anna S. (spriggangirl) gave it a 10:
An amazing movie with the matrix and clock tower put together. The no.1 movie in the house!!!!

A movie fan gave it a 5:
Had some thrills at the beginning, but completely DRAGGED ON later.

Irene B. gave it a 9:
It's called 'fun and entertainment'. jesse bradford shines.

Simpson S. gave it an 8:
A good movie, not great but not bad at all. A fun movie. Definitely worth seeing in theaters. Better than most other movies comming out.

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