"Time Travel is Dangerous" (2025)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s Chris Reading’s Time Travel is Dangerous.

Synopsis

Best friends Ruth and Megan run a vintage shop in Muswell Hill. When they stumble across a time machine, it occurs to them that stock is much cheaper if they “borrow” from the past — well, it’s free. They don't want to change history, or rob banks, they just want to find a nice Victorian lamp or authentic ‘80s bum bag without getting sucked into the hellish time-space vortex that is “the Unreason”. The thing is, Time Travel Is Dangerous.

The Good

Joseph: Ruth Syratt and Megan Stevenson are — as characters in Time Travel Is Dangerous and in real life — the proprietors of vintage shop Cha Cha Cha, which is located in London’s Muswell Hill. With Syratt having only two previous acting credits and Stevenson seemingly none, the duo does a terrific job of displaying comic timing. Their chemistry together feels natural and lived in, which helps make them wonderful main characters for the film. They are supported by a fun cast of experienced comedians and other actors. Director/co-writer Chris Reading and co-writers Anna-Elizabeth Shakespeare and Hillary Shakespeare mine both science fiction comedy and mockumentary humor well. The time travel machine is a souped-up bumper car, and a sequence in which Ruth’s character comes back to the present as a sassy teenager (Rosa Gee in a pitch-perfect portrayal) is a highlight of the film for me.

Mike:  Shot in a faux documentary style (like “The Office”), Time Travel is Dangerous should hit all the right notes for fans of British humor.  Ruth and Megan - both the characters and actors - are devastatingly great together, coming across as a couple of real life, long time friends who have, over the years, fit themselves perfectly into the roles they inhabit with one another.  

The film’s plot stays simple and while it can indeed be dangerous, the time travel is neither over-explained or held by too stringent a set of rules, allowing for plenty of funny moments involving our gals collecting trinkets and goods for their secondhand shop.  

The humor, in typical British fashion, is mostly dry, sometimes absurd, and always exceptionally funny.  Whether it’s just Ruth and Megan talking to the faux camera crew or the gadgets of the inventors who cross paths with them (rocket boots anyone? Perhaps a smaller size for your pet?), laughs are plentiful.

The Bad

Joseph: Not truly “bad,” but for the sake of putting something in this category, a few of the jokes seem to be specific not only to the U.K. but to the Muswell Hill area. Not getting these few humorous references doesn’t take away from overall enjoyment of the film, though.

Mike: The only real fault I could say that I had with Time Travel is Dangerous is that the pacing seems to be a bit off.  While a totally engaging film, I still found myself glancing at the clock a few times, wondering if and when a specific segment might end. This didn’t necessarily hinder my enjoyment of the film, but others may find themselves getting a bit fidgety here and there.

The Verdict

Joseph: With likable characters, a cracking ensemble cast,  and the one-two punch of British humor and mockumentary comedy, Time Travel is Dangerous gets a solid recommendation from me. Fans of either or both of those genres should find plenty to enjoy in this charming feature, as should sci-fi comedy aficionados.

Mike: With a simple story that doesn’t mix too much science with its fiction, there’s a lot to like about Time Travel is Dangerous, but chief among them is the relationship between the two leads portraying friends with both Ruth and Megan coming across as fully developed and totally real characters.

While the pacing may, at times, have some folks checking their watches, there’s enough going on that most viewers should find something to keep them engaged as Reading and company have put together an entertaining film that should appeal to all but the most cynical and jaded of viewers.

Time Travel is Dangerous, from Shakespeare Sisters & Candr Pictures, is available in U.K. cinemas March 28th. It also recently played at Cinequest, which ran March 11–23, 2025, in San Jose, California.

Time Travel is Dangerous

Directed By: Chris Reading

Written By: Chris Reading, Anna-Elizabeth Shakespeare, and Hillary Shakespeare

Starring: Ruth Syratt, Megan Stevenson, Johnny Vegas, Jane Horrocks, Sophie Thompson

Run Time: 1h 39m

Rating:  Cert 15

Release Date: March 28, 2025 (U.K.)