Time out, please...

Rating: 4/10 (3 February 2012)

...for me to digest the fact that this misfire sprang from the brainpan of writer/director, Andrew "Gattaca" Niccol, who has also blessed us with the likes of "Simone,""Lords of War," and (script only) "The Truman Show." I am unsurprised to discover that "In Time" essentially tanked domestically, and somewhat saddened to see it did rather well internationally. For all its topicality and production value, it's still pretty much a polished bolus of a film.
Threadbare storyline to the side (amply detailed elsewhere on this board), "In Time" falls apart primarily due to its failure to adequately justify/explain its fantastical premise, and in particular ruined itself for me in the poker game sequence, in which our ostensible hero (Justin "NSYNC" Timberlake) providentially beats the temporal tycoon father (Vincent "Mad Men" Kartheiser) of his lovely soon-to-be partner-in-timecrime (Amanda "Chloe" Seyfried) in a game of Texas Hold'em. Not only does our boy stupidly call a long-odds bet, staying on the turn in hopes of filling an inside straight, he then fails to raise when he achieves the lock hand, and to top it off has the temerity to tell his opponent, "I knew I was going to win." Right. When stories hinge on such unlikelihoods, credibility falls by the wayside, and "In Time" simply doesn't offer enough to make up for it.
Otherwise well shot by ace lensman, Roger "pick one" Deakins, and well produced/designed/costumed, etc., etc., etc., "In Time" proves itself to be little more than a high-rent "The Twilight Zone" episode that fails to validate its thematic conceits, preferring to indulge in various low-rent witticisms ("99 Second" stores) and unsubtle "time is money" social commentary emphasizing topical rich vs. poor concerns. Beyond that, it's a simple chase film owing its time-wasting debt to the likes of "Logan's Run" and "Bonnie & Clyde," as many have noted elsewhere (I'd add "Thelma & Louise," too). Support from the likes of Cillian "28 Days Later" Murphy, Olivia "Turistas" Wilde, and Alex "I Am Number Four" Pettyfer is small comfort.
Sadly, "In Time" is one of those movies that makes you wonder, once it's over, how much better it might have been had more attention been paid to the scripting. Vaguely worth a watch, but only if you have time on your hands (and nothing better to do).