Primer Is Strictly For Nerds

When you have $7,000 to make a sci-fi thriller, you have to compensate for your lack of special effects with an intelligent and engaging story. Engineer-cum-Director/Writer/Star Shane Carruth gets it half right with Primer. With a plot that digs deeply into the ramifications of inventing a time-travel device, Primer is definitely an intelligent film. Unfortunately, Carruth is so concerned with the scientific speculation involved that he completely neglects even the simplest attempts at characterization, and the inventors in the film become little more than mouthpieces for his ideas. Those concepts make for an intriguing puzzle, but they can't overcome the fact that there's nothing engaging about the characters and, by extension, their plight. Sci-fi and tech geeks will love this film, but others might find it a little cold.