Time Travel is Dangerous (2024) review: Sci-fi comedy that’s past a joke

If there’s one genre that can stir the imagination like no other, it’s time travel. Whatever the medium, there’s almost limitless potential to tap into, which in turn brings you along for the ride and transports you to some weird and wonderful places. Here we have a mockumentary that has the opportunity to do just that, but in its own tongue-in-cheek way.

Sadly – and this is a genuine sentiment – Time Travel is Dangerous misses the mark by a good few light years. With it’s evidently low budget production, you’re not exactly expecting Marty McFly and company, but come on.

Oh, and it’s not very funny either. At times it’s like this project was treated as a bit of a joke, and not in a good way, so unless you know beforehand that this is a mockumentary, it’s not that easy to tell. Raising the odd smile is stretching things a bit, as the movie falls well short in the guffaws department as well as all-round entertainment value. As we’ve already touched upon, the low budget is no excuse as we follow the tale of best friends Ruth (Ruth Syratt) and Megan (Megan Stevenson) who run a vintage shop in London’s Muswell Hill.

After striking it lucky by stumbling upon a time machine, they travel back and forth through time, bringing back the rarest of bric-a-brac which makes their premises a hit. This is not, of course, without consequences of the cosmic kind. By the time these become evident, you’re almost past caring. While it’s this film’s job to poke fun, it does so in such an overly disagreeable way that its satirical edge is dented beyond repair.

Yes it’s a dose of harmless fun, but all of this robs Time Travel is Dangerous of any spark, as well any kudos for churning out a time travel flick on a shoestring. Without having to issue a spoiler alert, one of the real highlights – sincerely – is Busted‘s Year 3000 playing over the end credits. Unless you’ve got access to a time machine, this is an hour and forty you won’t get back. You only want it to be longer in the forlorn hope it gets better, but it hardly ever does.

It’s the performances from Johnny Vegas and Mark Heap that really elevate this past one-star territory, whilst Jane Horrocks and Sophie Thompson provide admirable turns. What the heck Brian Blessed‘s octopus-alien is doing in amongst it all is anyone’s guess, whilst it’s not completely obvious whether Stephen Fry‘s disinterested narration is deliberate or purely for effect. But, Vegas and Heap bring their characters to life as only they can.

The former doesn’t seem to have much luck when it comes to the big screen, despite his best efforts. First there was the underrated bowls caper Blackball, in 2003, followed by the more forgettable Sex Lives the of the Potato Men a year later. This latest vehicle finishes in a distant third because at least the other two had a kind of innocent charm about them – another area where Time Travel is Dangerous is lacking in spades.

So if you’d like to see a load of your favourite comic actors star in something that’s basically pointless, then by all means go check it out as it is at least a good lesson in how consummate professionals can rescue something from being a complete failure. Time Travel is Dangerous is available on digital download from September 29.