Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Carruth challenges us to imagine the impossible, then asks us to consider the moral, ethical and spiritual implications of what we have witnessed, and put those considerations on equal footing with man's desire to go where no man has gone before. Read more
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The ingenious debut of writer-director Shane Carruth, who assembled the film on his home computer and also plays one of the two leads, is purposely designed to be a little bewildering. Read more
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Scary, puzzling, and different. Read more
Mary Brennan, Seattle Times: Intriguing but flawed. Read more
Neva Chonin, San Francisco Chronicle: By turns inventive, confounding and obtuse, it doesn't always work, but it challenges, nonetheless. Read more
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: The first thing Shane Carruth should have done as a director was fire himself as an actor, because I think he gives a terrible performance. Read more
Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Has such an engaging, offbeat first half that it's all the more frustrating when it gets lost inside its own convolutions and delayed revelations. Read more
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: What's impressive -- aside from the fact that Carruth got the thing made in the first place -- is that the movie's tone skates right between coherence and an appreciation for endless, even infinite possibilities. Read more
Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: Incredibly confusing but oddly compelling. Read more
Michael Booth, Denver Post: Mind-bending thrillers like Primer are terrific viewing with your teenagers. Maybe if you're nice, they'll explain the ending to you. Read more
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Alluringly knotty. Read more
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: This no-budget brainteaser from Dallas native Shane Carruth offers ample intellectual rewards. Read more
Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: A dense and dazzling science-fiction mind-bender unassumingly dressed up in a tech geek's short-sleeved oxford shirt, pocket protector and safety goggles. Read more
Robert Dominguez, New York Daily News: An impressive, if muddled, first effort from writer-director-actor Shane Carruth. Read more
A.O. Scott, New York Times: An ingenious first film made on a budget of about $7,000 by a former engineer and self-taught filmmaker about the perils of ingenuity. Read more
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: It takes a lot for a movie to surprise today's jaded, seen-it, bought-the- PlayStation-version sci-fi fan. Primer can. Let it. Read more
James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It has all the hallmarks of an amateur production: questionable sound and picture quality, crude performances, and dubious editing. Read more
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It is maddening, fascinating and completely successful. Read more
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Carruth has made a fascinating first film and a solid foundation for things to come. Read more
Leah McLaren, Globe and Mail: An unapologetically cerebral movie of ideas. Read more
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: It's one thing to admire what writer/director/composer/actor Shane Carruth wrought on his $1.98 digicam budget; it's quite another to have to sit through the mind-numbing results. Read more
Jessica Winter, Time Out: This film imagines its viewers to be smart, possessed of a decent attention span and game for a challenge. It doesn't happen all that often. Read more
Dennis Harvey, Variety: Despite its shortcomings, Primer remains watchable thanks to Carruth's dense and intriguing filmmaking. Read more
Dennis Lim, Village Voice: Its analog-egghead approach may be the freshest thing the genre has seen since 2001. Read more
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It's dense, and in a way that doesn't begin to reward the effort required to untie it. Read more