In Time Review

Spare absolutely no time for In Time.

Nominally, In Time is an inquisitive piece of science fiction which offers to explore the attractive proposition of the adoption of time as a form of currency. It is however, in most parts a cluelessly stitched material of mindless action scenes that are also unfortunately tepid by today’s standards. The result is a motion picture that at first feels promising in the wrapper of a unique concept but winds up as one of the most disappointing movies this year when its premise proves far too ambitious for even science fiction veteran Andrew Niccol to handle.

The film takes place in the near future where all humans have been genetically engineered to stop aging physically at 25 and where time is both the only currency and the deciding factor between life and death after 25. The poor work tirelessly or borrow to replenish the hours left on their timer while the rich gamble their centuries away at the casinos. Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) lives in the poorest zone in the country but inadvertently receives a century from a wealthy stranger who dies quickly after. With the help of the beautiful Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried), he must now escape the suspicions of timekeeper police (Cillian Murphy) and the greed of mafia boss (Alex Pettyfer).

These curious notions of time are perhaps most effective in the tour of a vastly fascinating world. In a period where the apparent blemishes of mature age do not show, the opportunity for the audience to chortle arises when a guy introduces his wife, mother-in-law and grandmother, all of whom look equally young and pretty. At other times, the cautious divide in residential zones between the rich and the poor teases us with the familiarity of our malevolent survival instincts that might force the poor to rob the rich of time if the citizens are not placed into specific zones marked by varying levels of wealth.

These are the survival instincts which drive the movie forward at a relentless pace. Almost immediately after Salas acquires his unexpected wealth and decides that the smartest way to enjoy his fortune in a future country ruled by an iron fist is to distribute it to each of the less privileged and arouse the attention of everyone, the authorities send their elite badass timekeeper in and the mafia starts their hunt for the loot of their dreams. It is a fine approach for a science fiction or action film but only if the characters are compelled by motivations, reasonable or otherwise, to do what they are doing in the movie.

Unfortunately, In Time hurts from a regrettably mediocre script which is more brainless than it is naive. “I’m just a Timekeeper who maintains time. I keep time running daily,” the script replied when asked “Why are you chasing us?” Much of this hinders the propitiatory action scenes from feeling any more meaningful than the question of why a fireman would fight fire. But perhaps the most deplorable failure of In Time is its conspicuous incompetence in translating its brilliant concept into something more of a science fiction piece that delves deeper into its subject and less of a mean to articulate an uninspired handful of random action segments.

Like much of the fashion these days, movies sometimes bank on the always reliable explosions to provide the audience with a good time. In Time shares this unchanging enthusiasm but in practice, its appetite is limited by either a lack of funds for even a firecracker or the constrictions of a PG13 rating. The duration of the film is punctuated with the decidedly cliché the-chased-is-moving-in-reverse car chase and another chase across a rooftop. While it is not in our interest to spoil the movie, we feel we must tell you that Salas kills the mafia boss with a victory in an arm wrestling match. If the producers were so strapped for cash that they had to use a harmless arm wrestling match to substitute firecrackers, it probably means that you should not even spare an hour of your life for In Time.

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