(#21) Primer (2004) - [6.5/10]

Two engineers accidentally invent a time-travelling machine.

Intellectual engineers Aaron (Shane Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan) build and sell error-checking technology with the help of their friends Robert (Casey Gooden) and Phillip (Anand Upadhyaya). But when Aaron and Abe accidentally invent what they think is a time machine, Abe builds a version capable of transporting a human and puts the device to the test. As the two friends obsess over their creation, they discover the dark consequences of their actions.

How would I describe this film in one word?

Confusing.

Note Confusing. That would be putting it mildly how confusing this movie really is. As a lover of time-travel films, this was not one of them. The concept of the story was great about how... Alright I can't even begin to explain. The concept was great but if I'm going to be honest, the only reason I understood it is because of the explanation video I watched.

Review

This movie looks like it's explicitly trying to tell you that it's a low-budget film. Grainy camera, overexposed shots, lack of necessary special effects (a lot of things would've been clarified if they just adopted the simple clone feature - time travel movie 101), that credit roll - I mean I appreciate Shane Carruth's remarkable solo effort in engineering most everything in this film seeing his story come to life but this was among the many flaws I found in this film.

I would say this movie is rewatchable. Not because it's good, but because it's incomprehensible. But I don't think even watching it twice would be enough to actually comprehend the density of this plot. All I did was feel confused after my first watch, then I looked at a explanation video and realised how much I didn't understand and I realised how much dense the movie really is.

At some point in this criticism of the complexity of the movie, one has to commend the skill in writing such a detailed story but one also has to condemn his lack of skill in portraying and directing a movie of such staggering layers story.

RATING: 6.5/10

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Director: Shane Carruth Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 1 hr 17 min Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller Starring: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden