Primer (2004)

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Primer (2004)

Tagline: If you always want what you can’t have, what do you want when you can have anything? (even the tagline is convoluted!)

Directed by:  Shane Carruth

Actors:  Shane Carruth (Aaron), David Sullivan (Abe)

Screenplay:  Shane Carruth

Plot:  4 engineers work projects in a garage.  Two of them invent a time machine.

Comments:  I think Carruth made a mistake in that he began the film as a science fiction puzzle and then ended it by asking us to care for his lead characters.  But I found it impossible to do.  I couldn’t even tell them apart as stock characters.  It would have helped if he’d dressed the characters differently, so I could tag them blue shirt and green shirt in my head. As in, oh, blue shirt is still convinced that it’s marketable and green shirt wants to take over the world.

I really wanted to like it and it starts out great with the blank-personalit engineers mumbling sciency stuff and everything being boringly realistic.

And I liked the time travel paradox thing they set up.  I just couldn’t care when their schemes begin to unravel.  They didn’t have discernable personalities or character traits, so I couldn’t care when they began to struggle with the implications of time travel and their own consciences.

So, an interesting idea for a film.  It was a frustrating and disappointing experience for me.

Reviews…

Here XCKD’s take on it -link (at the bottom right)

James Berardinelli (not pleased) – link

Moria (really liked it) – link

Sci Fi Cool (liked 2/3 of the movie) – link

I Hate Movies (liked it, ironically enough) – link

Sci Fi UK (liked it) – link

Slant – link

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