Netflix has no shortage of amazing content, but time travel movies in the list of must-watch Netflix titles bring an oomph factor to your streaming experience.
Time travel – it’s a concept that has fascinated people for generations. Going back in time to change stuff that happened in the past is a dream. But, you can live that life by watching the 20 best time travel movies on Netflix.
From a thriller about time travel to a hit comedy, there are plenty of gems for every type of fan. These movies are the sole reason people come up with ways to return to their best times.
You do not need to deal with any quantum mechanics theories. So grab your popcorn and settle in to enjoy the 20 best time travel movies on Netflix.
1. Synchronic (2019)
Director: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Writers: Justin Benson
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Katie Aselton, Ally Ioannides, Ramiz Monsef
IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
A new drug has hit New Orleans, and its users are dropping dead. Synchronic is a critically acclaimed film that follows two paramedics who find themselves dealing with an epidemic of these disturbing deaths.
The drug in question is an enhancement, like a designer drug called Synchronic, which shortens users’ lives. A small group of detectives led by Ripley and Skinner investigated the phenomenon to try and crack the case.
2. In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)
Directors: Jim Mickle
Writers: Gregory Weidman, Geoffrey Tock
Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Cleopatra Coleman, Bokeem Woodbine, Michael C. Hall, Rudi Dharmalingam
IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
The story follows a man’s obsession with one of the most cold-blooded criminals in history. A police officer haunted by the still-unsolved slayings of 11 women has always felt himself in pursuit of the same prey decades later.
Driven by an unhealthy desire to wipe out evil, he lives and dies within the space of 24 hours. But on that day, he finds himself violently policing not just a city but time itself.
3. Extinct (2021)
Director: David Silverman, Raymond S. Persi
Writers: Joel H. Cohen, John Frink, Rob LaZebnik
Cast: Adam Devine, Rachel Bloom, Ken Jeong, Zazie Beetz, Jim Jefferies, Catherine O’Hara
IMDb Rating: 5.5/10
Our tale began in the Galapagos Islands in 1835 when Op and Ed were stranded on a rocky island and left by their fellow pirates to face starvation. But before they meet their grim fate, they are transported through time to present-day Shanghai.
Op embarks on a series of adventures as he struggles to find a way back home, while Ed dotes upon his robotic dog and searches for female companionship.
4. Time Trap (2017)
Director: Mark Dennis, Ben Foster
Writers: Mark Dennis
Cast: Reiley McClendon, Cassidy Gifford, Brianne Howey, Olivia Draguicevich, Max Wright
IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
Professor Victor Crowley is a great stature who his students and colleagues adored. After he goes missing while exploring the mysteries of an ancient site in Texas, his students set out to find him.
Pursuing their theories as to what may have happened, they find themselves trapped in the cave as well. Will they be able to find their professor and do what he has been trying to accomplish?
5. When We First Met (2018)
Director: Ari Sandel
Writers: John Whittington
Cast: Adam Devine, Alexandra Daddario, Shelley Hennig, Andrew Bachelor, Robbie Ameli
IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
Noah is an engineer who builds a time machine when he learns his girlfriend, Avery, will marry another man. Noah goes back in time to the day he first meets Avery.
He falls head over heels in love with her all over again. But he’s got some serious competition: Avery’s fiance, Malcolm, and the memory of what life was like before they met.
6. Mirai (2018)
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Writers: Mamoru Hosoda
Cast: Rebecca Hall, John Cho, Daniel Dae Kim, Crispin Freeman, Victor Grace, Stephanie Sheh
IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
Based on the award-winning children’s book The Garden of Words, this series tells the story of a young boy and the magical garden he discovers, which enables him to travel through time and meet his relatives from different eras.
With guidance from his younger sister from the future and the help of his new friends, he learns about love and family through the power of words.
7. See You Yesterday (2019)
Director: Stefon Bristol
Writers: Fredrica Bailey, Stefon Bristol.
Cast: Eden Duncan-Smith, Dante Crichlow, Astro, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Michael J. Fox
IMDb Rating: 5.2/10
When two Brooklyn teens build make-shift time machines out of old washing machines, they have no idea that their actions will cause ripples through time.
See You Yesterday is a coming-of-age story about saving a brother from being killed by a police officer. Follow C.J. and Sebastian on a wild ride as they try to fix the past and save Calvin’s life in See You Yesterday.
8. II etait une seconde fois (2019)
Director: Guillaume Nicloux
Writers: Nathalie Leuthreau, Guillaume Nicloux
Cast: Gaspard Ulliel, Freya Mavor, Patrick d’Assumcao, Steve Tran, Jonathan Manzambi
IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
ll etait une seconde fois is a French film about two people dealing with their failed relationship. They both get a chance to go back in time to the day before they broke up and try to fix everything that went wrong.
There are only limits put on them of what not to do. They soon realize how much of an impact every little thing has on every relationship.
9. About Time (2013)
Director: Richard Curtis
Writers: Richard Curtis
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Richard Cordery
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
After getting kicked out of his bunk bed by his even more immature roommate, he suddenly finds himself in the middle of the biggest adventure of his life. It’s a story about love that stretches across time and changes lives.
Go along for the ride as Tim discovers that modifying minor events from the past can have disastrous consequences and ultimately learns that time travel can be hazardous.
10. Fireworks (2017)
Director: Akiyuki Shinbo, Nobuyuki Takeuchi
Writers: Shunji Iwai, Hitoshi One
Cast: Suzu Hirose, Masaki Suda, Mamoru Miyano, Shintaro Asanuma, Toshiyuki Toyonaga
IMDb Rating: 5.6/10
Norimichi, Yûsuke, and Jun’ichi are all in the second year of middle school. They form a plan to head over to the town’s fireworks display and use their smartphones to take a picture, to find out once and for all if fireworks look round or flat.
But, Nazuna, a girl in love with Norimichi, is scheming to run away with him or Yûsuke, whoever wins the contest at the pool.
11. Looper (2012)
Director: Rian Johnson
Writers: Rian Johnson
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
The story follows 2074 when time travel will be illegal and only available on the black market when mobsters want to get rid of someone they sent 30 years back, where a “looper” – a hired gun, Joe is waiting to mop up.
Joe’s got big problems, though: the mob has changed the point of return so that if Joe tries to escape, he’ll die at the hands of his future self.
12. Stand By Me Doraemon 2 (2020)
Director: Ryuichi Yagi, Takashi Yamazaki
Writers: Fujio F. Fujiko, Marlan Moore, Takashi Yamazaki.
Cast: Bakarhythm, Brain Beacock, Johny Yong Bosch, Mari Devon, Dorah Fine, Barbara Goodson.
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
No one ever told Nobita Nobi that people don’t live happily ever after. For 30 years, he’s been a devoted husband in the future, and he’s going to protect that marriage at all costs—even if it means traveling back in time.
Doraemon accompanies him to fix the plot before getting into trouble with his best robot pal. Discover the science fiction worlds of Doraemon and Nobita in his all-new, futuristic adventure!
13. Midnight In Paris (2011)
Director: Woody Allen
Writers: Woody Allen
Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Michael Sheen
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
An idealistic screenwriter who, while vacationing with his fiancée’s family in Paris, finds himself slipping into a time-space warp back to the French capital’s 1920s heyday every night at midnight.
The movie explores themes of romance with a nostalgic sensibility that recalls such a joyful family. With its playful juxtaposition of present and past, this sentimental drama is sure to leave you dreaming of Paris during its golden age.
14. The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020)
Director: Chris Columbus
Writers: Matt Lieberman, Chris Columbus, David Guggenheim
Cast: Kurt Russel, Goldie Hawn, Darby Camp, Julian Dennison, Jahzir Bruno, Darlene Love
IMDb Rating: 6.0/10
Sometimes, you need a family to make the holidays magical. Set in the North Pole, this claymation movie tells the story of Kate.
She travels back in the past to save Christmas after one of Santa’s elves inadvertently allows an evil spirit to escape into the world. With quirky characters and non-stop adventures, The Christmas Chronicles is guaranteed to bring back the magic of Christmas.
15. Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)
Director: Rob Minkoff
Writers: Jay Ward, Craig Wright, Robert Ben Garant
Cast: Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Lauri Fraser, Pat Musick
IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
Explore the time-traveling adventures of the only dog in history. Mr. Peabody and his adopted son Sherman use the WABAC machine to travel through time.
But, when a simple trip to the prehistoric era goes awry, they end up face to snout with some of the most fearsome beasts to ever roam the earth. And if you think they’ve ruined history before, wait until you see what happens this time!
16. Free Birds (2013)
Director: Jimmy Hayward
Writers: Scott Mosier, Jimmy Hayward, David I. Stern
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Dan Fogler, Amy Poehler, George Takei
IMDb Rating: 5.8/10
Weighed down by the darkness of a long-ago betrayal, you may feel like you can’t go on. But you must summon the courage to go back in time and change events before your mistake turns into a turkey holocaust.
After being turfed from their small-town pen for inciting a turkey rebellion, two headstrong birds travel back in time to change the history. They get turkeys off the Thanksgiving menu for good.
17. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
Director: Stuart Gillard
Writers: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Stuart Gillard
Cast: David Fraser, Jim Raposa, Stuart Wilson, Sab Shimono, James Murray, Mark Caso, Matt Hill
IMDb Rating: 4.8/10
Our wary warrior heroes get whisked through a whirlwind trip back to 17th century Japan. An ancient scepter that transports them to warring kingdoms packed with wily warriors helps them kooky East to meet West characters.
They’re here to save a wise master from an evil wizard’s ultimate weapon: an awesome mega-monster the turtles call the Dragon Lord! Who will be the hero this time?
18. Naruto: Shippuden (2007-2017)
Creator: Masashi Kishimoto
Director: Hayato Date
Writers: Masashi Kishimoto
Cast: Junko Takeuchi, Maile Flanagan, Kate Higgins, Chie Nakamura, Dave Wittenberg
IMDb Rating: 8.6/10
Naruto is a teenage ninja who strives to become the village’s leader to obtain respect and attention. He relentlessly searches for recognition but often fails.
His friends Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha join him as they strive to become a respected ninja.
After fighting off the world’s villains, Naruto also mentors Hinata Hyuga and Konohamaru Sarutobi, who vowed to become ninja after facing hardships.
19. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Writers: John Brancato, Michael Ferris, Tedi Sarafian
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken, David Andrews
IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
An evil corporation called Cyberdyne Systems is creating machines to hunt people who are against this corporation’s goals. But the terminator, John Connor, from the future named Kate Drummond, is trying to stop all this from happening.
Dive into a post-apocalyptic future full of killer robots and one human who can’t seem to stop them from killing. The movie is a mix of action, special effects, and being sent back in time.
20. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Director: James Cameron
Writers: James Cameron, William Wisher
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Earl Boen
IMDb Rating: 8.5/10
The battle for the future began with a machine. Now it will end with one. In 1991, a sequel to the 1984 film The Terminator hit theaters. Schwarzenegger returned as the T-800, and Robert Patrick played a liquid metal, endoskeleton version of The Terminator.
The cyborg assassinator, this time, is back to save the future leader, John. But, as before, it won’t be easy to stop this soulless machine from turning these two into cold cuts.
Wrapping Up!
Though you can watch anything and everything on Netflix, including comedy, thriller, horror shows, Halloween movies, suspense, horror movies, classic, cartoon, action, romance, cooking shows, sci-fi, reality, kid movies, emotional drama, Marvel shows, and documentaries – it is time to enjoy the best time travel movies on Netflix.
These twenty time travel movies on Netflix deserve a chance, and they have something to offer for every taste. The list is diverse, and you will find tons of movies that you can watch with your family or friends.
If you want to start watching time travel movies on Netflix, consider reading this article first; it is helpful for both newbies and frequent viewers.