As innovative scientist turned protestor Dr. Sonia Rand (CATHERINE McCORMACK) constantly reminds them, such trips are fraught with potential danger, not only for the time travelers, but also for everyone else in the present should anyone change anything in the past. Only using an Allosaurus that was ready to die anyway, the expedition - run by lead scientist Dr. Travis Ryer (EDWARD BURNS) -- follows a strict regimen of operating procedures on all such trips.

None of the guns -- filled with frozen liquid nitrogen "bullets" -- can be fired until Ryer fires his and everyone -- including Tech Officer Marcus Payne (DAVID OYELOWO), hologram trip recorder Jenny Krase (JEMIMA ROOPER) and Dr. Andrew Lucas (WILFRIED HOCHHOLDINGER) -- must stay on the virtual pathway created by the time machine and which hovers above the ground to prevent any potential contamination. And for an extra layer of caution, government worker Clay Derris (AUGUST ZIRNER) is present to oversee the operation.

On one such trip, however, Ryer's gun malfunctions -- preventing anyone else from firing -- and they're nearly eaten by an Allosaurus, sending two of the clients rushing away to hide on the virtual pathway. When they return to the present, they eventually realize that they inadvertently changed something in the past that's now having a temporal ripple effect in the present. With each tidal wave type ripple progressively changing how things have evolved over millions of years, Ryer realizes they must act quickly. With the aid of Dr. Rand, they then set out to make a return trip to the past to fix things, but must race against time and the rapidly changing evolutionary forces that threaten them and their world.

Re-entering our time portal, we now jump forward to 1976 when a middle-school student reads the story in class and is blown away by the concept and the big twist at the end, prompting him to consider a career in writing. But then we move forward again, this time landing in 1987 when a recent college graduate tries his hand at writing a time travel screenplay, but gets so bogged down in the endless temporal loops and inability to make such material logical and able to stand up scrutiny, that he eventually scuttles the project.

All of which brings us to August 31, 2005 when that one-time, would-be writer is now a movie reviewer who just so happens to be watching the first big screen adaptation of Bradbury's work. Yet, not long after the 7:30 pm start of the screening, yours truly wished he could travel back to 7:25 pm that same night.

That's so he could run from the theater, warning others to get out before the legendary tale would be tarnished and irreparable brain damage set in for those unfortunate enough to view this travesty. Then again, such time travel would be more wisely used going back and interrupting the studio executive the moment he was about to green-light the project. Better yet, how about stopping whichever of the three screenwriting suspects started this before he put his pen to paper or finger to keyboard.

Bad in so many ways it's almost impossible to list everything -- although I'll certainly give it a try -- this is easily one of the worst films of the year and isn't likely to inspire any youth of today as occurred with me so long ago. Of course, many contemporary kids are more into video games than reading sci-fi tales of old, so perhaps they'll better associate with the video game approach that director Peter Hyams ("Timecop," "2010") has taken with the material.

Yes, rather than sticking with the fun, if heady elements that made Bradbury's short story so good, the filmmaker and screenwriters Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer ("Sahara") and Greg Poirier ("Tomcats," "See Spot Run") have turned this into an action-filled, on the run thriller with occasional moments of sci-fi thrown in for good measure.

Actually, make that "bad" as most all of the time travel material simply doesn't hold up to much scrutiny. In fact, the sheer idiocy and ridiculousness of much of it would probably standout much more if not for the awful dialogue, wooden acting (I know, an insult to trees, furniture and posts everywhere) and, most surprisingly, some of the worst special effects you'll ever see in a contemporary, big-budget Hollywood release.

The latter is so bad that you have to see it to believe it (although that's not a command, as we don't want to encourage such atrocious filmmaking with your hard earned dollars). My favorite is where characters are supposedly walking through a futuristic version of Chicago (set in 2055) but are obviously just in front of a special effects blue screen simply walking in place (or on a treadmill, etc.).

It looks so bad that it would seem to be occurring in a parody, if not for most of the actors looking so serious in their roles. I know, the world's in danger from the time ripples -- yada, yada, yada -- but only Ben Kingsley ("House of Sand and Fog," "Sexy Beast") seems to realize the stinker he's in. Donning a bright wig and chewing up the scenery more than the resultant, time-changed monsters do their victims, he's almost campy enough to be fun, but no one else plays along.

Yes, Catherine McCormack ("Spy Game," "Dangerous Beauty") is as beautiful as ever, but Edward Burns ("Confidence," "Life or Something Like It") seems bored and/or irritated that he's appearing here, while everyone else seems just to be biding their time until their exit when they can then go and wash off the muck that is this film. As is oft said, that's 102 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.

Even with a time machine, you'd never want to revisit those nearly two hours that will forever be contaminated in your mind should you be unfortunate enough to see this film. Bad to such a degree that it even ruins the "so bad it's good" possibilities, "A Sound of Thunder" could prevent kids from reading the classic, original tale. And that's the greatest travesty of all. The film rates as a 1 out of 10.