TT3D: Closer to the Edge review

When we first mentioned the new film TT3D: Closer to the Edge in the CMG news we got more than a few inquiries as to when the film would make it across the pond to Canada.

Sadly we still don’t know when or even if, but I took one for the team and viewed the film during my recent visit to the U.K. I thought that if CMG readers can’t see it, at least they can be told about it (though I’d be very surprised if it doesn’t make it across the pond eventually).

The film, which was directed by Richard De Aragues and filmed in 3D, focuses on several of the main riders in the 2010 TT, but wisely focuses on a real character by the name of Guy Martin, with some attention given to John McGuinness and Ian Hutchinson, who is hoping to win all five races this time out.

Martin, a charismatic truck mechanic from the midlands of England is the underdog of the event and espouses what it is about the TT that keeps him going back year after year for that elusive win.

He’s quite the character and not your typical racer, as he takes a devil-may-care attitude to a very serious race. He’s the obvious people’s choice of the event and comes with a loyal fan club, complete with faux flop of hair and stick-on muttonchop sideburns, though even I — a lad originating from the north of England — found it took a while to tune into his strong accent.

Subtitles may come with the eventual North American release!

My sympathies went out to Martin’s main sponsor who must have been overjoyed to get all the publicity that comes with the film but must have gained a few grey hairs in the process, as the carefree Martin regularly keeps the team guessing where he is and is liable to throw the occasional outburst, too.

The film does a great job covering the history of the unique road race that first started on the Isle in 1907 and claims one or two lives every year. It’s easy to see why, as the camera sits by the edge of a jagged corner of a very solid stone wall as the bikes whoosh by at speeds of up to 200 mph.

Inevitably there were a couple of fatalities in 2010, and the film does well by not glossing over the reality and actually gives a good amount of time to Bridget Dobbs, the widow of Paul Dobbs, who was one of the two riders taken. You’d think she’d hate the TT but she knows what the TT is all about and somehow manages to accept that death is part of it — and you can’t embrace the event without acknowledging that. Strong woman she is.

The action is exhilarating with plenty of on-bike and helicopter shots, as the film follows the subjects through the several races that take part over the span of the TT. Oddly if there’s any part of the film that seems to slow down a little and get repetitive, it’s when it gives an overview of the different races, but it’s a fourth gear slow, as the rest is pretty much flat out – especially the final 15 minutes.

The 3D makes the action pop without resorting to silly gimmickry like wheels flying into your face, and adds some interesting elements to much of the footage. However, it’s by no means an imperative part of the film and if the film does eventually come to a cinema near you in standard 2D format, you’ll still get 95 per cent of the thrills.

Although I’ve yet to make it to the TT (though I did get my first glimpse of the isle from the Cumbrian coast last month when I was over in the UK), I now feel that I’ve experienced it somewhat, albeit at a distance.

A must-see movie if you like motorcycles (of any kind) and one that you should also take your non-motorcycling friends to watch. Just leave your non-riding parents/partner at home; they may get this weird idea that motorcycling might be a tad dangerous.