Review of In Time (2011) by Mckillustrator — 03 Nov 2011

For GATTACA fans: Firstly let me say that I love Gattaca, it's one of my all time favorite films, and, of course, it is the director of In Time, Andrew Niccol's, first film. Unfortunately Niccol has never quite delivered a movie since Gattaca that has been on the same level and, I'm sorry to say, In Time is no different.

You'll see similarities between the two, a futuristic society that's retro not scifi, a cop trying to catch our hero, muted colors, excellent music (though not Michael Nyman unfortunately), a handsome cast of actors and actresses, the battle between upper and lower economic classes, and really cool cars and architecture.

As you can see, most of these similarities are superficial. The elegance and sophistication behind Gattaca's story is not present here, and In Time has very little going for it otherwise. There is one thing that In Time does have going for it and that is a really interesting concept: In the future people's bodies don't age past 25 years old but once they reach age 25 they have to earn hours or days like income in order to stay alive.

Also, money is no longer a currency. Instead people pay with time off their clock for food or rent. So, for example, a person might wake up in the morning and have 8 hours to live. They get to work and might pay for a cup of coffee with 4 minutes of their life.

When they leave work if they got their job done they might get paid 1 day of time back to their clock. It's an interesting parallel to our current society's dependence on money. Of course there are people in In Time's universe who are considered rich by having centuries or millenia of time on their clock--which, by the way is located on the forearm as a countdown to the moment when your body will suddenly give out.

These people who are rich in time can live (very) long lavish lives in luxury while the poor live day to day just trying to survive. Unfortunately, In Time does not explore this concept enough, and instead resorts to the cheap thrills of a typical action movie.

The hero character, Salas, played by Justin Timberlake, initially quite poor comes into a large sum of time and proceeds to go on a Robin Hood-esque crusade of taking time from the rich and giving it to the poor.

His partner in crime, played by Amanda Seyfried, helps him rob time banks and creates a Bonnie and Clyde element that, again, transforms this movie from an intellectual exploration of time and money into a dissatisfying popcorn thriller.

In Time also hurts itself by all the terrible "time" one-liners and puns and the general lack of sophistication in the dialogue and acting. Things that can be said for In Time include the interesting concept, music, good looking people, clothes, and cars, and Cillian Murphy, but unfortunately these aren't enough to save In Time.

If you are hoping for another Gattaca, look elsewhere. Or better yet, instead of going to see In Time, watch Gattaca again and enjoy an afternoon or evening well spent.