When Life is Money

Rating: 6/10 (26 October 2011)

"Do you want life or money?!"
Apparently this is the question thieves ask. Because we all know that no matter how much we wanted 'money', there is no use if we have no 'life' to use them. Which means we have to obediently and reluctantly give our 'money' to the thief. (But of course it is not the case now, because thieves just snatch. That's why they are called 'snatch thieves')
But in "In Time", it is a different story. Because Life IS Money.
Ever wish that you can be young and look young forever? or even live an immortal life? Well I'm sure everyone does. And in the movie, your dreams come true. But with a price to pay, and you have to earn them.
In the movie, people stop aging at 25. And after that, you have a timeline for your life. Imagine having to live your life by constantly looking at how much time you still have. But you can earn them, like how you earn money by working, and paying everything with the time of your life left. When you gamble or fight, you don't gamble or fight for money, you gamble or fight for exchange of your life. Pretty challenging task. And you kind of have to be a good 'time' manager and organize your 'time' well.
Like the real world, they have borders which divide the 'rich' people and the 'poor' people. 'Poor' people live day by day, with not much extra to spend, earning enough for a day's living. Maybe spend 30 minutes for a meal, 1 hour for a bus ride. 'Rich' people have a higher possibility to live a longer life. Even can afford to spend years to buy assets. But they all live in fear that their 'time' might get 'stolen'. Which then, they die.
Well imagine today in this world, if all these are real. If you can earn your life, and live to be young forever. Would you want to be immortal and live forever? If you are among the poor, what would you do to continue living? If you are among the rich, how long do you want your life to be? how many years do you consider as 'enough'? or you think you will never get tired of living? Would you keep all the years to yourself?
The story reflects very much to the reality, when money takes its place. In the real world now, people see money as important as their lives. Money is important, but how much money is considered 'enough'? Are you living happier with lots of money? Is earning a lot of money really the achievement of life?
The movie focused a lot on actions. When Justin Timberlake, starring as Will Salas, was incidentally given a lot of years to live. So he wanted to 'transfer' to the 'rich' zone. But he was tracked by the police, or better known as the 'timekeeper', because they thought that the years he got were stolen. I will leave you to watch the rest of the story, because the truth is, as a movie (or action movie), this was actually not such a great film. There were lots of plot holes that you could not really explain or list down, but you know they were there. The transformation and the flow of the movie was not quite there, and it could have been better if it was written a little differently. But if you actually watch the movie on different perspectives, you could gain a lot from the movie. If you are willing to go deeper from just the surface, it could make you think further and comprehend the true message of the story. I personally think that the idea or concept is actually bloody damn good. And if it was given to a different director, for example someone like Christopher Nolan (Inception), the movie could have been turned around.
I find the movie funny at some point though. Was it fun when everyone looks 25 years old? Imagine our grandparents and parents look exactly the same age as us. Or you might be dating someone who is actually 100 years older. :) But well that is just a minor opinion on the movie.
Now let's come back to the real world, you are back to a normal human, earning money, not life. You have the ability to earn your living. But you have a limited life. How many years do YOU have?
*Interested readers do feel free to visit my new movie blog http://joethemovieblogger.blogspot.com/ I will keep a weekly update on new movie reviews. Thanks! :)