Today's Review: In Time

"Time is money", so they say. Well, here is the official movie adaptation of that quotation.

In Time follows the rise and fall of Will (Justin Timberlake), a man working away for a living in a poor neighbourhood. Of course, things aren't that simple, because this is sci-fi. In Time takes place in a world where human beings have been genetically altered to never age past 25 years, but to avoid overpopulation each person gets only a year of time to stay alive after their 25th birthday. To gain more time they must work for it, and everything they do costs minutes, days, or even months. Get enough time and you can live forever, but inflating prices and lower wages means life is ever tougher in the ghetto. But when Will suddenly finds himself with more time than he knows what to do with, he ventures into areas of the country where people can literally throw their time away. But with the local police force, or Time Keepers, on his back, Will is soon forced to take desperate measures to get himself enough time, and perhaps level the playing field between rich and poor.

Yes, if you haven't already guessed it, let me spell it out for you. In Time is purely about the distribution of wealth. It's actually a really neat concept to switch out money with years and hours left to stay alive, and every aspect of the financial situations laid out by the recession and the Occupy movements recently is perfectly mirrored in this universe. There are a lot of neat comparisons and ideas executed throughout the movie, but it all trails off a bit when the plot becomes like a more futuristic Robin Hood. I guess there are several indicators that this is where the plot is going, and while it makes for a stylish and action packed latter half, it seems like the deep thought processes behind the first half are abandoned in favour of guns and heists.

Performances in In Time are pretty good. Cillian Murphy is as great as always, and while I normally can't stand Amanda Seyfried she didn't annoy me too much in this movie. Justin Timberlake is good too, I didn't believe he could really make it in his transition to acting, but he has surprised me in several movies that he's been in. The trouble with the casting of In Time is that everyone has to look 25, so there's no veteran talent to back everyone else up. Some people in the movie certainly look a bit older than 25, but for the most part they got it right, and there was never a point that I thought the acting was terrible.

In Time is a great sci-fi movie. It has a well thought out concept that is executed wonderfully in the beginning stages, but the ending trails off into more of a Hollywood blockbuster. It's definitely worth checking out.

My rating: 4/5