In Time but in Time for What?

            In Time is one of those movies that take place in the not too distant future and that’s what drew me to it. I get a kick out of seeing what Hollywood thinks the future holds for us. This one, though a cool idea, was a bit of a letdown to me. It may be because I’ve seen so many movies, but I saw what was coming next at every step. This makes me say that I don’t hate this movie but I also don’t make it a point to watch it a lot.

            In Time, as I said above, takes place in the not too distant future. In this future humans have been genetically engineered to stop aging at the age of 25, however that is when your clock starts and you only have one year to live after that, unless you can get your hands on more time. Our hero Will Salas, Justin Timberlake, has never had more than a day on his clock. But then he has a chance meeting with 105 year-old Henry Hamilton, Matt Boomer, and with a little gift Will finally finds that he has the time to take his mother out of the ghetto. But then can it really be that easy?

            The most notable thing about this movie that I have found is that there was a lawsuit filed and later dropped by sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison. His complaint was that director Andrew Niccol stole his story line from his 1965 story, “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman. There was never an official reason given for why he dropped the lawsuit, but it has been rumored that he made his decision after he had a private viewing of the film. Other than that there really doesn’t seem to be much out there to be found. The movie felt very predictable at every turn. Any time you were introduced to a character there was some kind of hint as to what was going to happen to them. Which is why it should come as no surprise that rich Sylvia Weis, Amanda Seyfried, falls madly in love with Will the second that she lays eyes on him. This of course, also, ends up giving Andrew Niccol the perfect opportunity to make a futuristic Bonnie and Clyde type movie. Not very original of him. There’s also several times in the movie when people say things like “I don’t have time to gamble” and of course this is supposed to be a clever way to say they don’t have the money, but it get’s over used and by the end of the film you will find yourself rolling your eyes at statements like that. They did have a pretty good line up of actors for this film including Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Olivia Wilde, and Cillian Murphy, but that’s really all they had. You might find yourself in the video store sometime soon and come across In Time in the dollar rentals and you may think “Hmm, this has Justin Timberlake in it, this could be good.” Well I would have to warn you that it is a step bellow good. It’s not awful but it’s still not good. Only rent this one if there’s nothing else on that dollar wall that interests you just a little more.

In case you're curious, here's the preview for In Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdadZ_KrZVw
Be sure to come back and check out my next review. Here's a little taste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQMSaRd2TSE

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