Gears of Time

Critic Reviews

In the ambitiously titled 'Gears of Time,' one finds themselves transported into a milieu that is at once both anachronistically futuristic and charmingly antiquated. The directorial hand of Wes Anderson is evident in every meticulously placed cog and steam-powered contraption, his penchant for symmetry almost outdoing the mechanical precision of the world he portrays. Eve Marinade Saint, embodied with a plucky resolve, and Brie Larcheese, whose slapstick antics provide a deliberate counterbalance, are the quintessential Andersonian protagonists - quirky, endearing, and curiously out of touch with their surroundings. Leonardo DiCappuccino operates as the deus ex machina, a term I employ in its most literal sense, given the context of machinery and destiny at play. While the film ambitiously attempts to marry the vistas of a prehistoric world with the innate complexity of a steampunk aesthetic, one cannot help but feel as though the narrative cogs do not mesh with the same precision as the visual ones. The PG rating ensures that the film remains accessible to a younger audience, though one questions whether they can fully appreciate the subtleties of its intricate conspiracy. 'Gears of Time' spins, albeit somewhat laboriously, a yarn that is part homage to a bygone era, part commentary on the inexorable forward march of time, and part exhibition of Anderson's directorial idiosyncrasies. The truth, as the tagline promises, spins in unexpected gears, yet the film itself struggles to maintain the momentum necessary to keep its audience fully engaged in its pedantic narrative clockwork.