In Time

Painting “The Last Supper” is a great idea but whom would you trust with it: Leonardo Da Vinci or Picasso (nothing against Picasso, it is just a metaphor)? The basic idea behind “In Time” is good, maybe even great. But without the right filmmakers behind the scenes, the idea could go to waste. Not only were the filmmakers not the right ones for this story idea but also they lacked the experience. Director Andrew Niccol in my opinion did not have enough experience to do this project right. There were some major story and directorial problems.

It is an interesting idea for a story to have human life as the earth’s only currency. The subsequent world that is created is interesting to think about. If that is the only thing that entertains you in a film, you will enjoy “In Time”. Otherwise, the movie has multiple flaws. Story-wise, the movie had drama potential but it failed to capitalize on it. For example, there is very little exposition concerning Will’s father or exposition of much kind at the start of the film. I feel that added exposition would have made the characters more relatable. Also, I would have had Will act a little bit happier with his many, many years. The same should have been done with those who were poor who suddenly became rich. You also would think that the death of Will’s mother would have given him a purpose with his wealth. Instead, his resolution comes once he is with Sylvia. The mother becomes quite forgotten once the film gets going. I also have a problem with the timekeepers taking away all of Will’s years in the Weis mansion. The film had an important plot point when Henry tells Will not to waste his time. Will did waste that time and it is bad storytelling. It would have been better for Will to keep his winnings up until the end of the movie. This in turn would have contributed to the climax. There were too many puns in the script concerning time. The jokes got old because they were overdone. The worst element of “In Time” was the car accident when Will and Sylvia hit the spike strip. It has been a long time since I have seen something so cheesy in terms of special effects. The romance didn’t work in the movie because of a lack of sincerity. There were some good scenes such as when Will and Sylvia both share what it was like turning 25 but that was it in terms of drama. Sylvia should have been more emotional once she has a lack of time and this could have done something for the romance in movie. One scene that was good was the fight between Will and Fortis but even in that moment, Will shouldn’t have been able to kill all those gangsters so fast. “In Time” had a lack of climax as well. The abduction/robbery of Weis was a fun moment but after that things were too easily for our main characters such as driving in a bulletproof car. They also drive though the “toll booth”. I don’t buy that. As mentioned, it would have been more dramatic for our main characters to lose their time only during the climax instead of throughout the film. I have seen worse acting in other films than in this show. This film introduced me to Amanda Seyfried by the way. The actors just didn’t have all that many moments to shine. Something else, some actors appear older than 25 to me like Cillian Murphy.

The only thing good about “In Time” is the basic idea of people using life as currency. The story had flaws, as did the direction of the movie. “Jumper” was better than this movie because of its action and adventure. Don’t bother seeing "In Time" unless it is for free.

1.5 Stars