I haven't read the book or watched the 1960 take on it, so I have no idea how much praise the screenwriter, Logan, deserves vice the author, H.G. Wells, or the earlier screenwriter, Duncan, but I really enjoyed the story. It started simply, and grew to adventurous proportions; grew is the important word, because so many movies seem to introduce the action based on audience time-in-seat: oh, they've been sitting for half an hour now, cue the beast!
And speaking of beasts, the Morloks were truly terrifying, especially the bigger ones that rose out of the sand to snatch their prey. The effects were unbelievable. As Samantha Mumba (playing Mara, one of the Eloi/sheep) said in The Making of the Time Machine, you
didn't have to act scared [when they came at you].
