CLOCKSTOPPERS at HOLLYWOOD TEEN MOVIES

"Clockstoppers" Cinema Synopsis:
Clockstoppers, a teen sci-fi adventure, updates an idea that the prolific and inventive H G Wells used in a short story he wrote over one hundred years ago. It was called The New Accelerator and it was about a drug that allowed its inventor to move at lightning speed while all else around him seemed to slow down to a near-frozen state.

In this movie, the effect is achieved through a watch-like device that speeds up the user’s molecules so that he can move in “hyper-time”. It’s the invention of Dr Earl Dopler (French Stewart) who has been kidnapped by Henry Gates (Michael Biehn), a guy who is obviously up to no good and who has given Dopler an ultimatum to find a way to stop the aging process that occurs while in hyper-time. Dopler, in the meantime, has sent one of the watches to his former teacher and mentor, George Gibbs, whose son, Zak (Jesse Bradford) finds it. Trying to impress new girl in town, Francesca (Paula Garces), Zak quickly wins her attention when he finds out what his new “watch” can do.

Zak, his best friend, Danny (Garikayi Mutambirwa) and Francesca make the most of their fantastic discovery by having some fast fun around town where everything else moves at less than a snail’s pace. While they pull off a few pranks on deserving victims, the movie comes up with some very clever special effects.

But it’s not all fun and games and when Gates and his men turn up at Zak’s place searching for the watch, things turn serious. Zak finds out what’s going on when he runs into Dopler who has escaped from Gates. He also discovers that Gates has now taken his father prisoner and Zak, Francesca and a reluctant Dopler set out to save him.

The movie’s director is Jonathan Frakes, best known as Commander Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and director of two of the series’ feature movies. He can’t resist a plug for the much-loved series with a couple of lines of dialogue spoken by Francesca.

"Clockstoppers" Book Description:

What if You Had the Power to Stop Time?

Seventeen-year-old Zak Gibbs knows how to work the system. With a little creativity, an old, thrown-out typewriter can become a "Crash Proof Word Processor" and get him $25 closer to driving his dream car. But when notices a watch in a junk box from his physicist father's workbench, he has no idea what a real treasure he's found.

At the push the timepiece sends him into "hypertime," a state of super-fast movement that makes everyone else appear frozen. Zak has fun with his new ability to play pranks without being seen and impress his aloof crush, Francesca. But the situation soon turns serious when his father is kidnapped by the ruthless creators of the top secret device. Now Zak's battling the clock to protect his family...and save the world from an invisible foe.

Clockstoppers [DVD](2002) DVD
Family fantasy with Jesse Bradford as a teen who discovers that a special watch invented by his physicist father has the ability to freeze time. Trying to impress pretty new South American student Paula Garces, Bradford is able to make the world stand still and do whatever he likes while remaining invisible. When Bradford's dad is kidnapped by a sinister high-tech organization, he uses his powers to try to save him. With Michael Biehn, French Stewart and Robin Thomas. 93 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby 5.1 Surround, French Dolby surround; Subtitles: English; "Making of" documentary; music videos; TV spots; theatrical trailer.