In Time: "His Crime Wasn't Taking Time. It Was Giving It Away"

Director: Andrew Niccol
Writer:    Andrew Niccol
Starring: Justin Timberlake
               Amanda Seyfried
               Cillian Murphy
               Olivia Wilde
               Johnny Galecki
               Alex Pettyfer
               Matt Bomer
               Vincent Kartheiser

Rating:   **

Release Date:
Out Now


In Time is possibly Andrew Niccol's most intriguing idea yet. With a brilliant concept and fresh up and coming cast, it should work, but it's stale and lacks the chemistry the cast so desperately needs.

The year is 2161, and humans are genetically engineered to stop ageing at 25. They are then allowed a year extra to live but with a twist - they can extend their life by buying time, the currency in this future. A glowing clock embedded on peoples' arms counts down, providing a harsh reminder of how long they have left. The world is split by time zones, one side; the rich who can splash out and live carefree, the other side; the poor who have to steal and save just to survive another day. The rich are raising prices in the ghettos, meaning they receive up all the time for themselves and that leaves the poor to die young.

Will Salas (Timberlake) gets by on the poor side, but a chance meeting with rich Henry Hamilton (Bomer) leaves him with a whole century on his clock. His joy is short lived when he loses his mother (Wilde) leaving him enraged and keen to fight against the system. With his new riches, Will soon meets Philippe Weis (Kartheiser) and his daughter Sylvia (Seyfried) at a casino, and it just so happens that he is the richest man alive.

This is when the film could have gotten brilliant, and added a new twist on the whole Robin Hood tale, but alas, lack of chemistry between the two stars ruins it. They soon start stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, which gets Raymond Leon's (Murphy) back up. He is a Timekeeper, who leads the search for Will, as well as Fortis (Pettyfer) the leader of a gang who hunts the rich and steals their money. Accused of murder and theft, Will and Sylvia go on a high speed chase to save the poor and stay alive.

Niccol's direction lacks tension and adrenaline for the big set pieces, which is pretty underwhelming when the the whole idea of life ticking away should be super tense. Plus, the lame and jerky subplot involving Raymond's connection to Will's father and pretty questionable editing makes me feel like alot of important scenes missed the cut. As have previously stated, there is a serious lack of chemistry between the whole cast, and that for me can ruin a film. I'm not a big Sci-Fi fan, but I'm sure this is one of those cases where it could have worked superbly, but it just missed the mark resulting in a slow and pointless movie. It's out in cinemas now, and maybe you disagree with me, if so post in the comments below.

In Time - Trailer

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