Timberlake plays a working class factory drone in a reality that is more N'sane than N'sync. The currency is time and nobody in his part of town ever has much on hand ...or on their wrist that is.
When chance throws him a bone and a tragedy strikes soon after, Justin sets off with enough money to pay for his freshly righteous purpose. What his endgame is beyond dropping decades in the swankier part of town, we don't know. But the important thing is that things kick into high gear when he attends a post-casino party and literally gambles with his life. Thus comes the first hint of the "man-of-mystery" spy vibe that will play on and off throughout this film.
Amanda Seyfried's character falls for Justin when he encourages her to swim for the first time. But the love connection really develops after he takes her hostage at gunpoint. They proceed to embark on a Bonnie and Clueless venture. Noble as it might be, it gets pretty tiresome when the robberies are interspersed with frequent make-out breaks. The atmosphere is already one of fake-grime matched with perfect haircuts, so these "sexy" moments have about as much substance as a luxury whiskey commercial. The danger-makes-me-so-hot-for-you posturing is so tedious that when the bad guys close in at the one hour mark, you have to remind yourself to feel sympathetic for the protagonist and his kidnapee.
In Time has a solid basis for an engaging story, but ultimately can't escape what feels like a very generic genre routine. It doesn't help that it's stylistically familiar with an atmosphere that's kind of Matrix-lite meets Armani dystopia. That may sound slightly interesting until you realize that you've already seen it in movies like Inception and Looper. The genre tropes are always around the corner and chief among them is Justin's Bond-like finesse with a gun in a story that provides no explanation for him having such skill. His character is from the ghetto but he doesn't even dabble in petty crime, let alone any triggerific activity on par with Jason Bourne.
The acquisition of time currency is a good allegory for greed and needless wealth. Still, the morality gets pretty redundant. Your interest may also start to fade given that none of the unethical "have-mucho" antagonists develop a change of heart. Similarly, none of the have-nots ever get so persuaded by the life of excess that we ever doubt their intentions or motives. Cillian Murphy's timekeeper cop is intriguing as an ambiguous antagonist who might be an ally. But his character arc is underdeveloped and one of the missed opportunities of the film.
Anyway, it's entertaining enough. Certainly not timeless though. Wink!
When chance throws him a bone and a tragedy strikes soon after, Justin sets off with enough money to pay for his freshly righteous purpose. What his endgame is beyond dropping decades in the swankier part of town, we don't know. But the important thing is that things kick into high gear when he attends a post-casino party and literally gambles with his life. Thus comes the first hint of the "man-of-mystery" spy vibe that will play on and off throughout this film.
Amanda Seyfried's character falls for Justin when he encourages her to swim for the first time. But the love connection really develops after he takes her hostage at gunpoint. They proceed to embark on a Bonnie and Clueless venture. Noble as it might be, it gets pretty tiresome when the robberies are interspersed with frequent make-out breaks. The atmosphere is already one of fake-grime matched with perfect haircuts, so these "sexy" moments have about as much substance as a luxury whiskey commercial. The danger-makes-me-so-hot-for-you posturing is so tedious that when the bad guys close in at the one hour mark, you have to remind yourself to feel sympathetic for the protagonist and his kidnapee.
In Time has a solid basis for an engaging story, but ultimately can't escape what feels like a very generic genre routine. It doesn't help that it's stylistically familiar with an atmosphere that's kind of Matrix-lite meets Armani dystopia. That may sound slightly interesting until you realize that you've already seen it in movies like Inception and Looper. The genre tropes are always around the corner and chief among them is Justin's Bond-like finesse with a gun in a story that provides no explanation for him having such skill. His character is from the ghetto but he doesn't even dabble in petty crime, let alone any triggerific activity on par with Jason Bourne.
The acquisition of time currency is a good allegory for greed and needless wealth. Still, the morality gets pretty redundant. Your interest may also start to fade given that none of the unethical "have-mucho" antagonists develop a change of heart. Similarly, none of the have-nots ever get so persuaded by the life of excess that we ever doubt their intentions or motives. Cillian Murphy's timekeeper cop is intriguing as an ambiguous antagonist who might be an ally. But his character arc is underdeveloped and one of the missed opportunities of the film.
Anyway, it's entertaining enough. Certainly not timeless though. Wink!