Tries to be too clever for its own good

pcwaterton

I had hoped for a mindless, easy watching film about a tyre which makes people's heads explode. If your expectations are similar, the tyre does make people's head explode, but beyond that it won't really be what you are looking for.

The film states that it is a 'homage to no reason', after a tedious opening monologue where one of the characters 'breaks the fourth wall' by regaling us (the audience - who are actually portrayed as watching the events of the film within the film) with a list of things in films which don't have any particular reason. Once he has tired of pointing these things out he then goes on list other things without reason ('Why can't we see the air? No reason.').

Apart from there being is a very good reason for why we can't see air, my main objection to this is that the film makers seem to think they are making a deep philosophical point, whereas the fact that things happen for no discernible reason has probably occurred to a lot of people. This sort of bullshit philosophy that spoils this film a bit for me; the film tells you it is trying to make a point, but its an 'emperors new clothes' situation with a serious point only being made if you really want to believe it is there.

Breaking the fourth wall is a common theme in the film, and the inclusion of an audience watching from afar within the film is a sort of cool idea, which sadly isn't used as well as it could be later on in the film.

The film is generally well shot, with a good soundtrack, but in the opening scenes this is relied upon too heavily. Watching the tyre learn and explore is interesting for a bit, and it is surprising how expressive a tyre can be, but the camera lingers a bit too much and the beginning of the film does drag.

Heads do explode (in quite a funny way), but this film is definitely not a gorefest. Instead the plot just sort of toddles along (a bit like the tyre) before grinding out a bit of an anticlimax.

In trying to make a film that is a homage to no reason, this film probably succeeds, though lacking any sort of drive or direction there isn't a hell of a lot of reason to watch it.

score 4/10

pcwaterton 24 April 2011

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2418978/