In Time is Justin Timberlake meets Bonnie & Clyde meets Robin Hood meets cyberpunk. On paper this sounds pretty good but unfortunately the film thinks its way too clever. JT plays a ghetto punk in a distant future where time is currency that is somehow digitally tattooed on your arm to list your funds. An unusual encounter with a rich man with a death wish causes him to realize the system is rigged and that it's wrong, so he sets out on a quest to topple the 1%. Still sounds great on paper. JT's acting is fine. He's not great, but he's naturally charming. His co-star, Amanda Seyfried, on the other hand, is emotionless. Perhaps it was the character, but perhaps it wasn't. Cillian Murphy's timekeeper cop was fun to follow, but still nothing special. What is both the film's strength and weakness is its concept: time as currency. Huh, you think, that could be pretty cool. And the different things they do with their time/money, or the different styles of living associated with those who have all the time in the world vs those who don't
are pretty cool--at first. The film's script becomes so saturated with cutesy and clever time "jokes" that it becomes annoying and loses its appeal. And as much as I'm for sticking it to the Man, I'm not for excessive preaching. Writer and director Andrew Niccol deserves a time out for this one.
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