In Time

Starring: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde, Johnny Galecki, Matt Bomer, Alex Pettyfer
Directed by: Andrew Niccol
Rating: Pg-13
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In a future where people stop aging after 25 and have to purchase additional life, one man (Justin Timberlake) goes up against a system he believes is unfairly stacked agains the poor.

Review:

Tim: Is Justin Timberlake a movie star? That's the question this movie poses to us, and after watching it, I'm not sure I can say yes. In Time is an interesting science fiction thriller, but one that ultimately struggles to stand up on its own. The film is fine, but should have been much better. This is another one of those movies that had a lot going for it, but fails on the execution.

It's hard not to focus on Justin Timberlake when discussing this movie. He's the main protagonist, and he's at an interesting point in his career. He's been working to establish himself as an actor, and this is his first attempt to carry an action movie. Timberlake certainly has charisma and isn't terrible, but I can't exactly say his performance here won me over. For most of the film, he makes a serviceable lead. He was believable in the part and I cared about his character. That doesn't come automatically, so Timberlake definitely does some things right to get the audience on his side. However, there's more than a few scenes where his acting just doesn't reach the level needed. I cringed a few times. He certainly has potential, but this movie could have been better had his performance drew us in more.

I didn't mind Amanda Seyfried in the film, although I'm still not a fan of her. I think she's a decent actress at best. She had some good chemistry with Timberlake, but it takes a while for her to warm up. In her earlier scenes, I understand that she was playing a slow moving, naive rich girl. I get the character, but I was frankly bored with her performance. Cillian Murphy was a nice addition to the cast, and I thought he did good work. Olivia Wilde was an inspired choice to play Timberlake's mother. The rest of the cast are made up of good looking 25ish year olds who are only average actors.

Even at 109 minutes, this movie feels too long. It never had a clear path of momentum. It felt like the film changed course mid way through to be a Robin Hood type film (he steals time from the rich to give to the poor). It felt like director Andrew Niccol was juggling too many different storylines and was never clear on exactly what kind of movie this was supposed to be. The story meanders too much around and lacks focus. There were long stretches in the middle that felt like the movie was just treading water, trying to figure out where it wanted to go. That doesn't make for an entertaining experience.

I'm disappoined I didn't like this movie more, because I think there's a terrific idea at its heart. I love the idea of a futuristic society where time is the currency. This creates some fascinating possibilities, and Niccol (who also wrote the screenplay) does an impressive job of pursuing them. It's a very thought provoking concept, and I loved seeing this unfold on the screen. There's definitely some cheesy moments (the battling was pretty awful), but overall, Niccol does a good job of contemplating what this future might be like.

There's a few tense moments in the film, but it felt like far too much time was spent on areas without a lot of payoff. We have many scenes with Murphy, but not all of them were particularly effective. The movie jumps around too much. In addition to the Robin Hood theme, I also got a "Bonnie and Clyde" vibe. The film was too scattered, and that hurt the overall quality. The movie also starts to break down in the third act and it just feels a bit much. The film's conclusion was pretty weak.

In Time definitely has some interesting ideas and it was fun watching them explored on the big screen. However, the script is too unfocused and takes far too long to figure out what kind of movie this will be. The viewing experience is uneven and there were long stretches where I didn't know in which direction we were going. The film has some strong parts, but overall, is more disappointing than anything else. I thought the movie was fine, but I'll save the stronger adjectives for a better film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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