Entertaining, but forgettable.

Rating: 6/10 (1 May 2012)

"The truth is, for a few to be immortal, many must die."
In Time is a decent action movie, but nothing more. It's enjoyable for an afternoon, but never rises above disposable entertainment.
The cast is likable. Timberlake and Seyfried have good chemistry, even though Timberlake occasionally seems like a less than convincing fit. I like the guy as an actor, but he doesn't entirely match the character he's asked to play. To be fair, though, the character (Will) is like an amalgam of every positive protagonist trait in movie history. He's completely selfless, generous, smooth, charming, crafty, and seems to be able to transform into an invincible action hero any time the need arises. That would be tough for any actor to sell. Amanda Seyfried is here only to look hot running around in heels and be won over by the hero. She does a good job, but since those criteria are accomplished by her genetics, wardrobe and the script (in that order), that's only to be expected.
Cillian Murphy isn't given anything more than a generic "tough and relentless, but fair" detective/antagonist role to work with. Vincent Kartheiser, on the other hand, is the one actor in the movie that's absolutely perfectly cast. No one can play a rich d-bag like Vincent.
The main problem with In Time is that the script needed a lot more polish. The concept is cool (people are essentially immortal, but every moment after they turn 25 must be "bought"), but the "time is literally money" angle could have worked a lot better if it was wielded with a bit more subtlety. Yes, we get that the rich and privileged few are "living" off of many. The story hums along at first, but then seems to waver in tone and purpose. What's simple and straightforward at first eventually unravels to the point where even the characters themselves seem to not know what they're doing or why. Timberlake and Seyfried never seem to be in any real danger, and the climaxes are thoroughly anti- climatic (the fight scene between Timberlake and a bad guy in the third act is absolutely, though unintentionally, hilarious).
Still, I didn't dislike In Time. It has a lot of flaws and certainly didn't live up to its potential, but if you take it as a faintly ridiculous Bonnie & Clyde-lite action movie with a thick and cheap coat of social issues slapped on, then you can have a good time with it. The movie definitely wants to have substance and a message, though, and it fails at that.