History sometimes repeats itself, though it’s not always easy to recognize it as humanity and the world around it evolve throughout time. In the Blink of an Eye selects three seemingly separate stories to tell in its meditation on human existence and the nature of the universe. While there is indeed connective tissue to link them, the bond isn’t all that strong and none of this film’s three parts stand particularly well on their own.
In 45,000 BCE, at the end of the Neanderthal age, cavemen Thorn (Jorge Vargas) and Hera (Tanaya Beatty) provide for their daughter Lark (Skywalker Hughes) and newborn baby Ebb. In 2025, researcher Claire (Rashida Jones) meets statistician Greg (Daveed Diggs) just as her mother (Karin Konoval) gets sick and Claire considers abandoning her work altogether to care for her. Two hundred years later, a longevity-enhanced pilot, Coakley (Kate McKinnon), is headed towards a new planet but must make tough decisions with her AI copilot Rosco (Rhona Rees) to ensure the mission’s survival.
This film is evenly divided between its three time periods, but they’re not equally interesting. While the lack of subtitles in the film’s earliest setting is deliberate and it’s relatively easy to deduce the meaning of what they’re saying even without understanding the words, there’s ultimately not much to it. The vision of the future is bold but also lonely, and it’s much more conversation-based than anything else. Claire seems closest to a three-dimensional character but doesn’t get to do much aside from fall in love with one person while anticipating the loss of another.
This film, which is the recipient of the Sundance Film Festival’s Alfred P. Sloan Prize for films dealing with science or technology (Love Me, The Pod Generation, and Marjorie Prime are some past recipients), comes from Spaceman writer Colby Day and director Andrew Stanton, best known for Finding Nemo and Wall-E, as well as the forthcoming Toy Story 5. Stanton’s last – and only – foray into live-action before this was John Carter, and the magic that exists in his animated productions just doesn’t materialize here.
Unlike a film that treats time as something other than what we see it to be like The Fountain, this film doesn’t feature any science fiction elements aside from Coakley and Rosco’s ship. There’s no time travel or true link between any of the time periods aside from a mediocre reveal towards its end. Selecting these separate temporal settings and groups of characters feels almost random, particularly because the first of the three is so distanced from the other two, which are practically the same time by comparison. Any plot-related payoff by the end just doesn’t feel worth it.
Performances-wise, the most impressive in this film is Jones, also at Sundance this year as co-writer of The Invite. She adds layers to a character who isn’t nearly as sophisticated or well-drawn as she should be, and is well-complemented by Diggs, who also doesn’t have much to do other than flirt with Jones, which he does just fine. McKinnon is a peculiar choice to play a character who isn’t meant to be a comedy lead, and though she tones down her typical antics, it’s not the most resonant role. The actors playing the cavemen are buried under makeup and dirt, and none of those turns stand out from behind that. In the Blink of an Eye is adequate entertainment that doesn’t justify its story structure and focus on these three storylines from throughout all time, better as an idea than as a cohesive film.
Movie Rating: 5/10
In the Blink of an Eye premieres in the Premieres section at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and will be released on Hulu on February 27th.
