It's an Interesting Idea ...

Rating: 5/10 (29 September 2013)

...but then again a dancing pig telling jokes would be an interesting idea. This movie isn't THAT interesting.
It is a very USA-specific movie which draws heavily on that country's fascination with guns, crime & their constant fears of a decaying society. It was intended to explore the idea of what would happen if we could all do exactly as we like to anyone else without later sanction. Unfortunately there is little depth to any of the characters.
Counter-intuitively, a period of 12 hours occurs once a year when there are very few laws against violent crime. This is supposed to almost extinguish crime somehow. Weapons up to "Class 4" are permitted, whatever that means.
This movie is not very good, it has too many "Why don't they just...." moments where the characters act in an illogical, or even suicidal, way.
We have a version of the 'noble savage' in the form of a homeless black guy to kick the story off. We don't see much of him 'til the end where he acts predictably and is supposed to represent all that is good in people. We don't even learn his name. It just doesn't work. This guy is homeless yet in return for his acts of bravery he doesn't even ask for hospital treatment for his wounds? Maybe that's because his serious injuries were pretty much healed by the time he wanders off.
In fact, why stop with just him? Most of the characters do stupid things & some details are annoying. For example, with a super-HiTech home defence system there is a slot to open in the door for a chat? Wouldn't there be a video intercom for goodness sake? I wanted to scream on a few occasions "The gun, the gun!! Take the gun!!!" And it starts & stops exactly on time? Why? How the hell could the time limits be so strictly enforced?
It's an OK 80 mins. 5/10