In Time (2011) - Short Review

In Time (2011) Dir. by Andrew Niccol

In a future where people stop aging at 25, but are engineered to live only one more year, having the means to buy your way out of the situation is a shot at immortal youth. Here, Will Salas finds himself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage - a connection that becomes an important part of the way against the system.(IMDB)

Andrew Niccol is commonly known for is ability to dance between genres but bring life to anything he touches. If it weren't for The Terminal boring the crap out of me (yes... I know he was just the writer), I probably would have watched this sooner, since he has directed some great movies like Gattaca and Lord of War, as well as writing The Truman Show. All I can say now is that I just wish I would have watched it earlier.



Niccol has managed to create what I believe to be a unique futuristic version of Robin Hood. We are still stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, but in this case we are stealing time. It also adds a bit of Romeo and Juliet to the mix as there are two distinct classes... the rich and the poor. The rich have plenty of time on their hands (literally), and the poor are dropping like flies whenever their time runs out.

The acting, aside from Amanda Seyfried who I have yet to see do any sort of acting, is done exceptionally well. Timberlake once again shows he is just as capable of being a leading man as Jake G, but I don't know about more than that, and the supporting cast is booming with well known people. The always amazing Cillian Murphy plays the man in charge of finding the two runaways and restoring balance to the system. Johnny Galecki steps out of his Big Bang Theory realm to play a short lived role as Will's (Timberlake) best friend. The beautiful Olivia Wilde plays Will's mother (remember they stop aging at 25). Matt "I'm a badass" Bomer(White Collar) also joins the cast for a small but important role. Up and coming actor Alex Pettyfer plays nicely into his role.



I'm not going to go in to great detail since that would probably be giving most of this very simple but very effective movie away. I'm a sucker for science fiction so the story had me stuck from the beginning to the end. There are a lot of undertones to our society and where we are headed in our future and blah blah blah. Just know that it is a short movie, plenty of action, and a satisfying ending. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I shall leave it at that.

Entertainment Value: 7/10 Cool Car Chases
Cinematic Value: 7/10 Cool Car Chases