Review of In Time (2011) by Drlowdon — 21 Apr 2014

In Time is set in an alternative universe in which, for reasons that the film never explains, humans stop ageing at twenty-five and then have only a year to live unless they can continually ‘top-up’ their eternal body clock. The worlds population is divided into distinct zones by wealth, not terms of money that no longer exists, but by how much time they have left. The elite are free to enjoy their, almost eternal, lives knowing they have thousands of years to spare while the majority struggle to earn enough time just to stay alive. When factory worker Will Salas (Timberlake) is given over a century of time from a suicidal tycoon he decides to use it to take down the unjust system.

Andrew Nicol, who brought us Gattaca and The Truman Show, has an excellent track record when it comes to adapting interesting sci-fi premises for the big screen but, while In Time is certainly an entertaining watch, it has far too many problems to be considered alongside his best work. Chief among these issues are the way the movie continually contradicts itself in order to progress to its finale, the use of the central time premise to artificially create tension (why does everyone cut everything so close?), and a lack of any real chemistry between the lead duo.

In Time is not a bad movie but you can’t help feel it could have been something more.