Spoilers ahead for Time Cut!
This article mentions attempted suicide and also includes Netflix spoilers Time cut film.
Netflix Time cut features some interesting takes on its biggest sci-fi trope, but the film also introduces a big concept as part of film lore and never revisits it – despite the fact that it should have come into play many times over. Although Time cut is filled with hidden references and Easter Eggs, the story’s time travel logic is a little shaky at best. At worst, the film canon is a mess and a Time cutThe world-building demonstrates this perfectly.
Netflix’s new temporal adventure falls far short of making the list of the best time travel films of all time, but despite Time cutSince time travel rules are fraught with problems, it’s still a relatively fun ride. Hardcore science fiction fans will likely find Time cutPlot holes are distractingalthough one of the beauties of time travel stories is that they are often subjective and possible to correct with crowdsourced logic. That said, a member of the Time cut the cast openly declares one of the world’s most prominent rules, as if it’s going to come out in a big way. Unfortunately, this never happens.
The Huge Time Cut Paradox Has No Impact on Anyone, Despite Quinn’s Warnings
Almost every character in Time Cut is caught in what should be a paradox at some point
Griffin Gluck’s Quinn is Time cutthe resident genius, who apparently knows everything there is to know about time travel. While it’s hard to believe that a high school student knows so much about real temporal mechanics, Time cut uses Quinn to dump the film’s story to the audience. When talking to Madison Bailey’s Lucy Field about whether she should intervene and prevent the Sweetly Slasher’s murder spree Quinn gives a stark warning that altering the timeline could essentially end the universe creating a paradox. Time cut creates several paradoxes, and Quinn’s explanation comes to nothing.
“It would be a big mistake. You shouldn’t change the past. This isn’t a Marty McFly scenario where he just disappears from a photo. You could create a paradox where everyone, everywhere simply disappears.“
Quinn himself, fully aware of the risks, travels back from the future as the Sweetly Slasher, which in turn would have impacted the following years. So there was probably already a timeline where none of the victims were killed. Likewise, Lucy is confused Time cut the ending results in her parents never having her again in the future, which should have made it impossible for her to travel back and live with her sister. The film is a great paradox, and the fact that there are no temporal consequences removes all credibility from Quinn’s explanation and makes him a character with zero authority.
Time Cut’s confusing time travel rules are secondary to the film’s plot
Netflix’s sci-fi/horror film has other priorities than tracking down its time travel canon
Although Time cut is quantifiably a time travel filmthe sci-fi elements of the plot strangely take a backseat to the character dynamics. The film’s main genre is just a loose vehicle to allow Lucy to meet and bond with her sister, and to allow the relatively predictable twist of the Sweetly Slasher’s identity to reveal itself. It is not an issue that Time cut I didn’t want to focus too much on time travel, but the concept is very tied to the story due to little attention paid to the rules it tries to establish.
The film attempts to provide a general explanation for all of its paradoxes, but only gets there near the end of the film. Time cutand is incredibly lazy. When Quinn threatens to take her own life in an attempt to stop the Slasher, Future Quinn simply says, “You’ll Learn That’s Not How Time Travel Works.” The implication here is that there is no butterfly effect in the Netflix movie worldwhich has proven incorrect numerous times throughout Time cutmaking the line the greatest evidence of the script’s refusal to prioritize the science fiction trope that actually makes sense.