In A SOUND OF THUNDER, based on a short story by Ray Bradbury, director Peter Hyams (END OF DAYS, TIMECOP) creates a world where time travel is possible and life as we know it is threatened. In the year 2055, Charles Hatton's (Ben Kingsley) company, Time Safari, will take anyone with a big enough wallet back 65 million years for the thrill of their lives: dinosaur hunting. Thanks to Tammy, a talking computer created by Dr. Sonia Rand (Catherine McCormack), the time-travel team returns with clients to a specific moment 65 million years ago, with explicit directions not to leave anything behind, change anything, or bring anything with them back to the future. Expedition leader Travis Ryer (Ed Burns) is certain that the protocol is flawless, but Dr. Rand isn't so sure. She knows that Hatton will cut any corners necessary to make bigger bucks, and she's waiting for the worst.

Sure enough, a safari goes amiss when Ryer's gun malfunctions and he sends the clients scampering for cover from an irate dinosaur. The team returns to 2055 shaken but unscathed. The next day, all over Chicago, mysterious trees and vines begin springing up through sidewalks and out of walls. It seems that something went terribly wrong on the last jump, but no one can pinpoint just what it was. According to Rand, the problem will only worsen as "time waves" continue to sweep the planet, resulting in 65 million years of evolution and growth catching up with the present time. Soon, monstrous creatures--giant baboons with lizard-like features, bat-faced teradactyls, and huge sea serpents--abound, leaving Ryer and his team in constant danger as they fight the clock to determine what caused the anomaly and to save life as we know it.