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When Will Salas is falsely accused of murder, he must figure out a way to bring down a system where time is money – literally – enabling the wealthy to live forever while the poor, like Will, have to beg, borrow, and steal enough minutes to make it through another day. – (C) 20th Century Fox
| Date | Apr 24, 2012 |
| Categories | Movies. |
| Tags | Action, Sci-fi, Thriller. |
| Total views | 897 |
| Daily views | 0 |
About
Written By: Matthew Lenox
While the line “Don’t waste your time on In Time” does not apply to this film, In Time still has many areas that need improving. However, it has an interesting enough concept to make up for everywhere else that the film lacks.
In Time is a science fiction film set in a future where currency has been replaced by time. Everyone gets to live until age 25. At age 25, they are given a year of time and must earn more if they want to live longer. To earn more time, Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) works at a factory and earns a meager amount of time for his work.
This is where the film starts to become a metaphor about class inequality. The wages of workers go down as the cost of services goes up. Frequently throughout the film, Salas mentions how he is used to only having a day’s worth of time. Many from our society can relate to this when they say, “they live paycheck to paycheck.”
There are however a large group of people who have more time than they know what to do with. This movie invokes the feelings of the recent Occupy Wall Street movement and argues against corporate greed and equality for all. The 1% in this movie are those that have so much time that they are immortal; while the 99% are those that live in the ghettos and must go to a mission to get extra time.
From here on, In Time becomes a cheesy movie that preaches its message to you without being clever. The dialogue is typical and the characters are hollow. The main antagonist is Raymond Leon (Cillian Murphy); a Timekeeper who makes sure that time is in the hands of who it belongs to. Still, this character is not original and is simply the same cold and emotionless bad guy who is “just doing his job” that is seen in every movie of this kind.
The majority of this film, Timekeeper Leon is hunting down Salas and his new associate Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried), the daughter of one of the richest men in the world. Their relationship is nothing more than a daughter wanting to date a rebel to upset her daddy, but In Time pretends that it is love.
The two end up going off on their very own Bonnie and Clyde adventure. For those of you who don’t know, Bonnie and Clyde were a bank robbing couple during the Great Depression. Their love and crimes was turned into the 1967 classic, Bonnie and Clyde.
This is not a bad movie, but it is not a great movie either. In Time offers nothing original and at its core and it is just another Bonnie and Clyde remix. But it is not worse than your average action movie so if you like these kinds of movies already, you will enjoy this one. At the end of the day it is entertaining, but if you are looking for an interesting science fiction film with an intricate plot, you should pass on this film.
In Time is a movie worth seeing. Hollywood Apples is recommending this film to anyone looking for another action flick. This film focuses on the inequality between the rich and poor, but it is really just a futuristic Bonnie and Clyde film. Don’t expect too much from In Time, but it is entertaining enough to watch at some point.
2 comments
Chris
Apr 24, 2012
You do realize that this is directed and written by Andrew Niccol; the same man who was behind Gattaca? While I do acknowledge the reference to Bonny and Clyde, as there are deep similarities, you should at least reference the clearly drawn line in Niccol’s body of work (especially when In Time pays direct homage to it). Consult some auteur theory!
gordon
Apr 24, 2012
You made a good point about the connection between Gattaca and In Time. There is a clear focus, in both films, on genetics. In Time is the evolution of the genetic enhancements that were portrayed in Gattaca. Andrew Niccol has been quoted, on more than one occasion, that In Time is the child of Gattaca. In Time is really something that man has been looking for the answers to for as long as mankind as been around (cheating death). Niccol, this time around, decided to turn aging completely off. A big step forward from the genetically superior people from Gattaca. Solid reference between the two and the director.