“Time Travel Is Dangerous” and Also Nonsense

Time Travel Is Dangerous (Chris Reading, 2024) 2½ out of 5 stars

United Kingdom-based director Chris Reading takes us on a wild ride of a comedy about time travel that is both simplistic and, inevitably, ludicrous. Time Travel Is Dangerous follows Ruth and Megan (Ruth Syratt and Megan Stevenson, respectively), two pawn-shop owners who hit the jackpot when they discover a time machine tossed near the local dumpster. Soon, they realize they can use that machine to travel to the past and bring back genuine relics for sale, which means business is booming! But Ruth and Meagan realize that when you mess with time, time messes back, and with a secret organization of inventors, led by bureaucratic Martin (Guy Henry, Peter Rabid), start to track their every move, the two will have to determine whether it is worth risking the fabric of reality to keep their pawn shop up and running.

Time Travel Is Dangerous initially plays with its science-fiction themes in a minimalist—if not low-budget—style, leaning on immensely clever production design to utilize props and costuming to its advantage. Reading’s commentary about human greed is played out hilariously at times, as Ruth and Meagan drive the film with mundane and dry humor. The film’s comedic style mirrors such British comedies as The Office with its documentary-style interview techniques, all the while grounding the story in its Muswell Hill/London setting.

Where Reading’s film starts to unravel is during the climax, where time travel starts to reap its revenge on our heroines. A previously successful comedy gives in to ideas and themes that tend towards the silly and absurd, which weighs down the narrative’s second half. It is not that Time Travel Is Dangerous ceases to make the viewer giggle any less than in the first half, but rather that the quality of storytelling drops tremendously. In the end, there is no real resolution that the viewer cares about, and the initial dramatic build up is squandered.

What starts as a clever use of time-travel technology and themes, with a certain suspension of disbelief behind the lunacy, starts to become a little more slapstick and whimsical. A particular scene requiring a “made up table game” managed to kick me out. Though it is still a very cheeky film throughout, Time Travel Is Dangerous inevitably becomes droll to the point of disinterest, and the established premise leads to nothing exceptional.

Adam Vaughn

Adam Vaughn is a graduate of the Film & Moving Image program at Stevenson University, with a focus in Cinematography and Production. He also has a minor in Theater and Media Performance. Adam works as a freelance photographer and videographer, focusing his craft on creating compelling photographic and cinematic imagery. Adam is excited to join the Film Festival Today team and explore the world of cinema and visual arts.