Review of Primer (2004) by David D — 24 Mar 2013

I feel like the people behind the movie Primer came up with an incredible, creative idea and an interesting twist ending and then simply filled in the blanks from there. I say that because those two aspects of the film - the time traveling idea it is centered around and the ending it presents us - are very strong and enjoyable, while the rest of the movie feels much less fleshed out.

There are a lot of ideas that just seem random or out of place and others that could have used more time/explanation. The movie is credited as being one that is hard to follow, but I'm not sure all of it is intentional.

I think in some instances it is just because of poor writing. Often times I would have trouble just hearing what the characters were saying (I had to turn on subtitles, which lagged behind - I'm assuming Netflix/my internet's fault - and didn't help much because of it).

The acting was also - for the most part - pretty sub-par, which detracted a bit from my viewing. I can't and won't fault a movie for having a low budget; I thought Primer did a good job working around its small budget.

That being said, it was noticeable and might turn some people off. Primer is not an amazing movie. It's rather short and has its share of flaws (as listed above). However, it is a very creative and unique movie, thanks to its core intriguing concept.

It is, therefore, at least worth watching because it is so very different.