TT3D: Closer to the Edge

Directed by Richard De Aragues 15A cert, gen release, 103 min ****

FOR FANS OF road races, the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is where it’s at, a pitiless, gutsy arena where the planet’s pluckiest speed freaks come to do battle. For non-fans, it’s a rumble of motorbikes going round and around an island with suicidal haste, as interesting as sitting in front of a washing machine or goldfish bowl.

TT3D: Closer to the Edge, a thrilling documentary account of last spring's meet, should delight both faithful and agnostic alike. Adorned with crisp 3D images and helmet-eye views of potentially fatal twists and turns, the film is certainly spectacular enough to make gimmicky, multi-angle HD broadcasts look flat and analogue.

TT3Dalso functions swimmingly well as a punch-the-air sports movie, replete with underdogs, family tragedies, old masters and young upstarts.

Irish audiences will likely recognise the Dunlop clan and young Michael Dunlop, who recently joined his father and uncle Joey in the record books. Michael, like the rest of the competitors, is aware of the inherent dangers: he only took up the bike when his father was killed in a 2008 crash on the North West 200.

Michael’s colleagues similarly pay tribute to fallen comrades. The TT is rarely run without fatalities. Sadly, at least one of the film’s contributing interviewees will not make it to the final reel.

Why do they do it? The enquiry is quickly put to bed. Maybe it’s the adrenalin and a burning need for speed, but these chaps (and the occasional lady rider) are not backing down. Returning champ John McGuinness has 15 wins under his belt, yet still packs up the wife and kids in a campervan and leaves for Manx country with a determined look on his face. He has stiff competition – youngsters Ian Hutchinson and Conor Cummins are coming up on the inside.

They’re all intriguing and impressively dedicated daredevils, but the undoubted star of the show is Guy Martin, the mouthy maverick from Lincolnshire who is an uncensored, unbridled force of nature. No rulebook is safe when he’s around. When he isn’t annoying track timekeepers or kidnapping his own bike, Martin can be trusted to provide hilarious commentary on, well, everything. “No crime in a wank, is there?” he chirps during a revealing monologue.