In Time

Running Time: 109 minutes
Media: Cinematic Release

Due to circumstances beyond my control, the last film from my seven movie marathon on 29/10/2011 started about fifteen minutes earlier than advertised. Needless to say I've sent my concerns to the cinema in question ad awaiting further word to their response for starting a film much earlier than they should have. Granted, it was probably one of the final sessions for the day and they may have wanted to finish early, but at the cost of not notifying patrons of this change may have gotten a few more disappointed movie-goers such as myself.

That aside, In Time, a film which is set in a future where the aging gene has been turned off, so (woohoo!) everyone gets to live forever, right? Wrong, it turns out there's a contingency plan set in place... You stop aging when you turn 25, however once you hit that quarter century, a timer activates on your arm, counting down a year... At this stage, you know you have a year to start earning more time in order to stay alive. Time has, as a result become the ultimate currency. As a result, the rich can pretty much become immortal while the poor, like Will Salas, played by Justin Timberlake struggle to get through day by day. When your counter reaches zero, the death is like having the plug pulled from you and you basically fall where you die. This form of death is the basic driving point of the film, beating the clock in order to get the next few seconds, minutes and hours just to stay alive. A scary thought indeed.

Will Salas finds himself in a unique dilemma after saving an aristocrat from "New Greenwich", the rich side of where he lives; it seems the 105-year old Henry Hamilton is tired of his life and wants to end it. He transfers the 116 or so years left on his timer to Salas while he sleeps, leaving him enough time to go to a nearby bridge and wait for time to catch up with him before plunging to his death into a storm drain. Salas sees this happen and runs for his life, whilst also being pursued by a mob known as the Minutemen, led by a 75 year-old chap called Fortis, who rob the unsuspecting poor of their precious time; and a Timekeeper known as Raymond Leon, who attempts to adhere to the laws set by time, to ensure that nothing illegal happens, whilst also trying to live day to day.

The movie which also features Amanda Seyfried as Sylvia, an aristocrat whose dad is 110 and the overall bad guy of the movie, and Olivia Wilde, who plays the part of Will Salas's mother, Rachael Salas. Now, I know there have been a lot of MILF jokes going around the 'Net, with guys saying how much they'd love to do Justin Timberlake's mom... I know, crude... but, hey have you seen Olivia Wilde lately? She's still one smoking woman!

The movie takes on a "Bonnie and Clyde" sort of feel to it toward the end, and with the lack of color available in this film, which is usually the case in many a dystopian type of movie, the film does seem to work rather well. You find yourself racing against time with them as they try to survive with every action they take. For some reason I could have seen this movie being a bit longer, but the length was quite adequate, and I did find myself glancing at my left arm a few times expecting to see thirteen numbers counting down instead of my Fossil watch! I've given this movie 4½ stars and a strong recommendation to see it if you fancy a bit of a sci-fi fix... This is by far one of the most original films I've seen.