A Sound of Thunder

Synopsis: 2055, Charles Hatton has made a fortune by founding 'Time safari', which offers rich 'big game hunters' short time travels to kill off dinosaurs just before their natural death. When Travis notices the weather and wildlife are not behaving as usual, he consults Dr. Rand, the contractually invisible inventor of the supercomputer which controls the time travel. They soon face 'time waves', each worsening the effects in 2055 of evolutionary distortions, lower lifeforms first. They attempt to identify and rectify the past alteration, but each attempt gets harder in their distorted present.
Director(s): Peter Hyams
Production: Warner Bros.
  4 nominations.
 
IMDB:
4.2
Metacritic:
24
Rotten Tomatoes:
6%
PG-13
Year:
2005
101 min
$1,717,608
Website
778 Views


I haven't seen any wildlife yet.

We could be in downtown Pittsburgh,

for all I know.

Dad, how are you holding up?

I'm fine, I'm fine,

except for you asking me every

two minutes how I'm holding up.

Sorry, honey.

I'm hot.

How much further do we...

Jesus, take that thing

out of my face!

Sorry, Dad doesn't like cameras unless

he's got his trench coat over his face.

How's the old man doing?

Heart rate slightly elevated,

blood pressure normal.

I got $100 says Travis

taps his daughter tonight.

Sucker bet.

You might want to record

over the last bit.

When are we gonna see something?

What?

If you don't talk,

you might hear something.

Hear what?

All right, everyone, get ready!

Remember, your weapons

won't fire until mine does,

so be patient!

What the...?

Wait for my command!

Dad, how are you...

Sorry!

Whatever happens,

do not step off of the path.

Thank you for sharing.

Oh, my God!

Cute, isn't he?

You don't see that in downtown

Pittsburgh, do you Mr. Wallenbeck?

Shoot, for Christ's sake!

Heart rate elevated.

- Shoot it!

- Wait.

Hold it.

- Not yet!

- Are you crazy?

Shoot it!

Now!

Anything to say, Mr. Wallenbeck?

Gentlemen and lady.

Today you stood shoulder-to-shoulder

with Columbus discovering America,

Armstrong stepping on the moon,

Brubaker landing on Mars.

You are true pioneers

on the very last frontier:

Time.

On behalf of us all at Time Safari,

Incorporated,

I congratulate you

on a truly thrilling hunt.

I'm proud to know you.

I have to say,

of all the jumps I've seen,

your group's was by far

the most courageous and skillful.

I was scared out of my mind.

My heart's still pounding.

That's a nominal physiological

reaction to the jump.

Your heart rate will slow

as we gain distance from the event

and adrenaline flow

is reduced.

What?

It is.

Can I ask you something, Mr. Hatton?

Of course.

Anything at all.

Where's Travis Ryer?

- You look like you could use a drink.

- Nope.

You're a government inspector.

- You're supposed to drink on the job.

- I don't drink.

Then this is the best

you'll feel all day.

- I hate these jumps, is all.

- Picked the right line of work.

Biding my time.

Couple more years, I'll be out.

Civil Service pays you guys

enough to retire early?

Have a good night.

This is the clearest reading of

molecular blood structure

- we've ever had.

- You are correct, Dr. Ryer.

I'm getting closer and you know it.

- Yes, Dr. Ryer.

- Contain your enthusiasm.

My function is to facilitate

the operation of Time Safari,

not your private research.

On that subject,

will you be filing your report

on today's jump tonight

or at the last possible moment

tomorrow, as usual?

- Nobody likes a nag.

- Reminding is not nagging.

You've got an answer for everything.

I have to.

I was extremely expensive.

It's not always a good quality.

I understand, Dr. Ryer.

So don't have the last word.

- I won't, Dr. Ryer.

- You did it.

- I'm sorry, Dr. Ryer.

- You did it again.

Anything going on between you two

that I should know about?

- Good evening, Mr. Hatton.

- Hello, TAMI.

The guests are asking for you.

I'll be finished in a few minutes.

When I say guests,

it's a euphemism. I mean clients,

as in "people who pay. "

If I remember correctly,

clients keep us waiting,

not the other way around.

I'm almost done.

I don't think

you're catching my drift.

You work here so you can study

your silly animals

who don't exist anymore.

I work here so I can grow

rich and fat

and own everything

that does happen to exist.

I hired you because

you're this big deal scientist

and clients pay more for a big deal

anything, it makes them feel important.

Rotten, I know.

But progress is a rotten business,

which is why you have to go

out there and mingle with them.

They pay, you study, I get rich.

Is this a great country, or what?

Did I mention you signed

a contract and you have to do this?

I don't remember if I did.

Oh, my speech was that good?

Or were you done anyway?

A safari suit, boots, helmet

and a holo-disc to relive the jump.

Take an especially close look

at this disc,

- Mr. Wallenbeck.

- Why's that?

Well...

I can't be certain

until I review it myself,

but I'm pretty sure

your shot brought him down.

Well, yeah.

Security!

A toast to all of you big,

brave hunters!

Congratulations!

What's the matter?

You want to shoot dinosaurs,

you're afraid of a little blood?

You don't understand

the danger of what you're doing!

You keep messing with the past,

one day you'll ruin the future!

You should know better!

Are you so stupid

you can't see you're being used?

Well, that was fun.

Harder and harder to get good waiters.

- What was she yelling about?

- The usual:

Time jumps

will destroy the world. Crackpot.

A century ago she would have been

screaming about the Internet or biotech.

Some people are afraid of progress.

She's a dinosaur herself.

Let her yell all she wants.

Don't let her spoil the party.

I'm fine!

- I prefer walking on my own, thanks.

- Guys, whoa! Hold on.

It's okay. I'll take care of it.

Tell me what that was all about.

You don't have a clue what you're doing.

You'll destroy everything!

Lady, no offense, but I think

I'm qualified to offer an opinion.

I work with TAMI. I lead the jumps.

You're the one who's clueless.

- You're Travis Ryer?

- That's right.

Mr. Ryer, there's a lot

about TAMI you don't know.

- It's Dr. Ryer.

- Dr. Ryer.

One of the many things

you don't know is that I'm Sonia Rand.

I invented TAMI, you a**hole.

Excuse me!

Miss, wait up a second.

There are seven credited names

on TAMI's patent.

I don't recall

a Dr. Rand being one of them.

- I don't have time for stupid people.

- Make some time.

And stop with the insults.

It gets on my nerves.

Do you think I'd devote

my career to designing

an amusement park ride

for rich men with little willies

to shoot prehistoric animals?

I think if you were a guy

someone would have knocked you

on your ass a long time ago.

So shoot me.

If you oppose TAMI's use,

why build her

- in the first place?

- I built her because I'm a scientist.

Possibilities drive us. What they said

was impossible, I knew could be done.

I applied for a research grant

with a company called CJN Co.

They handed out money

and left me alone.

Your actual dream come true,

until I finished developing TAMI.

Then why haven't I heard of you?

I'm a nerd, not a lawyer. Turns out

there was a clause in my contract.

CJN Co. Owned the patent on whatever

I developed with their money.

Guess who controls the company?

- Charles Hatton.

- Very good.

It seems I signed

a non-disclosure agreement,

so Hatton removed my name and,

except for tonight, shut me up.

I get upset watching you people

destroy the world with my dream.

That can piss someone off.

What's your excuse?

You really want to know?

I'm getting close,

- really close.

- Close to what?

Look carefully.

Tell me what you think it is.

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