88 Minutes

Starring: Al Pacino, Leelee Sobieski, Alicia Witt, Amy Brenneman, William Forsythe, Neal McDonough
Directed by: Jon Avnet
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Box Office: $
2008

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A forensic psychiatrist (Al Pacino) waits for the execution of a murderer (Neal McDonough) his testimony helped convict. He begins getting a series of mysterious phone calls telling him he has 88 minutes to live. While convinced the convicted killer is somehow behind it, he has only a short amount of time to prove it before his life ends.

Review:

Tim: I'm not really sure what Al Pacino saw in this movie. He is such a tremendous actor, I feel like he has some difficulty in choosing roles- there's just not that many great roles out there for such a productive actor. This film is a middling, run-of-the-mill action thriller. Nothing is particularly new or exciting here. The film is decent, keeps us engaged, before ultimately letting us down. There's not a whole lot to say for a movie that never tries too hard.

Al Pacino is decent in the role, but it seemed like he knew this film was more for a paycheck than anything else. He's not interested in putting too much effort into the role, and this shows. Luckily for us, Pacino can give a half-assed performance, and have it still be better than half the other actors out there. Around Pacino is an impressively rounded out cast, all who have just a little to do. No one is really given enough screen time to make a lasting impact on the film. I did like the casting of Neal McDonough, though- that worked well for the movie.

I could have been persuaded to like this movie more had the conclusion been even the least bit original. Instead, it was terribly predictable, not very well done, and as a whole, a fairly big letdown. While the movie keeps you guessing for a while, it ultimately telegraphs the conclusion, and you can't help but feel a bit disappointed.

This movie made me feel a longing for those better movies Pacino has starred in. Those movies actually required some effort to create, and that showed up on screen. This film feels like it was rushed to get completed, regardless of the logical mistakes or plot holes. None of that seemed to matter, because the film was banking on suspense to fill those holes. This doesn't work out very well, and the movie is greatly hurt because of it.

88 Minutes is not a great movie. It isn't a terrible way to spend a few hours, but I can think of much better uses of my time. I sincerely hope Al Pacino can find some great roles in great movies, because with too many more of these films, he'll become a caricature of himself. Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Righteous Kill, Heat, 15 Minutes, The Recruit