''Time Runner'' (also known as ''In Exile'') is a 1993

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed by Michael Mazo and starring

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...

and

Rae Dawn Chong Rae Dawn Chong (born February 28, 1961) is a Canadian-American actress. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1978 musical drama film ''Stony Island (film), Stony Island'', and in 1981 starred in the fantasy film ''Quest for Fire (film), ...

Plot

An alien force attacks Earth on October 6, 2022. Aboard a military

space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...

, Captain Michael Raynor, faces the loss of his wife, and escapes before the aliens destroy it. A

wormhole A wormhole (Einstein-Rosen bridge) is a hypothetical structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special Solutions of the Einstein field equations, solution of the Einstein field equations. A wormhole can be visualize ...

appears and sends him thirty years into the past, where he crash-lands on Earth. He goes into hiding, and tries to get a bearing on where he is. Meanwhile, two scientists discover Raynor's

escape pod An escape pod, escape capsule, life capsule, or lifepod is a capsule or craft, usually only big enough for one person, used to escape from a vessel in an emergency. An escape ship is a larger, more complete craft also used for the same purpose ...

, and analyze its origins before operatives from the

Intelligence and Security Command The United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) is a direct reporting unit that conducts intelligence, security, and information operations for United States Army commanders, partners in the Intelligence Community, and nationa ...

(ISC) take custody of the unit. The scientists analyze some of the unit's components and discover that it is from the future, having found that a certain Indiana electronics company named in the parts doesn't exist. Upon discovering what time period he is in, Raynor tries to escape the ISC agents, making contact with the scientists and explains his origins. They recover a

flight recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...

and destroy the escape pod. Having seen the data in the flight recorder, they decide to find Sen. John Neila, who is in the midst of a re-election campaign, explain to him about the invasion. However, Raynor discovers that Neila and the ISC agents are the aliens themselves, having been planted years before as sleeper operatives; one of the scientists, Karen Donaldson, is also revealed to be an alien, turning over the flight recorder to them. Raynor sees visions of his pregnant mother being killed by an assassin. Knowing that he was about to be born in a few hours' time, Raynor scrambles to save his mother while Neila tasks Donaldson to ensure it never happens. Flash forward to the future and it is revealed that the aliens gain the advantage and attack a secret base in Capitol Hill, where the humans try to launch a nuclear strike while making their last stand. Neila, who is now the Earth's President, asks the launch crew to allow him to negotiate with the aliens, but lulls one man into giving up his revolver, allowing Neila to kill the launch crew and ensure victory for the aliens. Flashing back to 1992, Raynor kills the assassin and convinces his mother to go with him - just as she goes into labor. The baby is delivered en route, but his mother dies, and Donaldson brings the baby to Neila. Having a change of heart upon cradling the baby, Karen protects the child from Neila. In a last-ditch effort, Raynor pushes Neila off a tall construction plant to his death while Arnie kills Freeman, the lead ISC agent. With Neila dead in 1992, the future Neila disappears from existence as well, but the adult Raynor also screams in pain before dissipating as well, leaving Karen and Arnie with the baby Raynor.

Cast

as Captain Michael Raynor *

as Karen Donaldson *

Brion James Brion Howard James (February 20, 1945 – August 7, 1999) was an American character actor. He portrayed Leon Kowalski in ''Blade Runner'' and appeared in ''Southern Comfort'', '' 48 Hrs.'', ''Another 48 Hrs.'', '' Silverado'', ''Tango & Cash'', ' ...

as US Senator John Neila * Mark Baur as Freeman * Gordon Tipple as Arnie

Critical reception

The film received mostly negative reviews. EW.com graded it a C− for having "plenty of gunfire and what-are-we-gonna-do-now? dialogue", and noted that while six screenwriters were credited, more were needed.

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

called the film "silly, poorly plotted, badly presented."

References

External links

*
Review at Badmovies.org
* {{rotten-tomatoes, id=time_runner, title=Time Runner
Worst of Netflix Review

Mark Hamill is world's crappiest time traveler (review)

1990s Canadian films 1990s English-language films Canadian science fiction action films Canadian science fiction adventure films 1990s science fiction films 1993 films Films about time travel Films set in 1992 Films set in 2022 Films shot in Vancouver