On the one hand, the production design and art direction, props, minis, and any practical effects and stunts are welcome, and look decent if not great. On the other hand, any post-production special effects range from "okay" to "um, okay, sure." These, unfortunately, are just about the most substantial praise I can offer for this movie.
Maryam d'Abo can certainly claim some fame, and not undeservedly. She may be best known as "Bond Girl" Kara Milovy in 'The living daylights,' but between that and a couple other films I've seen her in, she's demonstrated finesse and nuanced acting skill that I earnestly admire. She is the star of this sci-fi film about violent prisoners taking over a penal colony in space, and let's be very honest, probably the primary reason anyone might have to watch it. I can't speak for the rest of the cast, but I know what d'Abo is capable of, and I trust her co-stars would similarly prove their worth if given the opportunity. 'Timelock' is not the title to grant such opportunity. Filmmaker Robert Munic forces his actors into astoundingly small corners, drawing from them a panoply of overacting worse than any that I can immediately recall in this moment. Everyone in front of the camera, at all times, is doing nothing but chewing scenery throughout these 96 minutes, and to witness it is simply aggravating.
Sadly, the same ethos applies to everything else about this feature, in every way that it can. Munic's direction and Steve Adcock's cinematography are at best uneven, at worst wildly overzealous; the manner in which some effects are employed is just as overbearing. Though doubtlessly just coloring within the lines provided for her, Amanda I. Kirpaul's editing sometimes chops up a scene in such a way as to diminish the impact it could have. Joseph John Barmettler and J. Reifel's screenplay is unexceptional but serviceable when it comes to the story at large, but is otherwise questionable. The dialogue is kind of awful, too much of the scene writing comes off as self-indulgent, and the characters are mostly just poorly written all around. Too much of the attempted humor or basic levity isn't nearly as clever as it thinks it is, and so is just overdone as a result - which makes the writing of the character Riley all the more regrettable, the smart aleck who always has some witty or sardonic quip to make. Oh, and by the way, star d'Abo has little time on-screen until the picture is already half-over, and even then is only second fiddle, to my chagrin.
It's a shame, really. The crew did good work. The cast try to make the most of what they're given, d'Abo and Arye Gross in particular, with Jeffrey Meek coming in second. There are genuinely some good ideas here, some real cleverness in the dialogue and scene writing that does actually earn a smile or even a laugh at a few points. The narrative is unremarkable and we've absolutely seen this movie before, but that's no inherent mark against it, and there are always fine possibilities for how it could be played out. Yet the screenplay is troubled more than not, sometimes outright dull in its boorishness, and it can't be overstated how flagrantly overcooked Munic's direction is. These two facets especially overwhelm or drain what value 'Timelock' may have to offer, ultimately making it a trying viewing experience more than a fun one. This film had potential, but made too little use of it while going overboard in other ways - including an ending, one final scene, that's just altogether unacceptable. True enough, there are far worse ways to spend one's time, but this is really only recommendable for those who are big fans of someone involved, and even then it's far lesser than what our best optimism could hope for. At its best 'Timelock' can only offer intermittent entertainment, so why bother at all when there are countless other titles to watch instead?
