Movie Review: In Time

When I saw the trailer for In Time, I knew I would have to see it. Not because I am a huge Justin Timberlake fan. I'm not. I mean, the guy can't be too bright if he dumped Jessica Beal, right? No, I wanted to see this because it looked like something original from Hollywood. I know, I know, we have not been able to use the word original in the same sentence with the word Hollywood since the last century. But this actually looked like a clever idea.

And it was. People are born into the world in genetically modified bodies. They age until they are 25 and stop aging. Of course, when they hit 25, they have a built-in clock with a digital display on their arm that begins counting down one year. No one lives past 26 unless they can get more time. And time has become the currency in this futuristic world. You go to work, you get paid in minutes. You buy a coffee, you pay in minutes.

Naturally, there are still rich and poor people. It's just that the rich have, quite literally, all the time in the world. The poor live in ghettos and are often their last day and only get small additions at a time. There are dead bodies laying all over the place from people who have “timed out.” The rich live in opulence and are essentially immortal. It is here we learn that for some to be immortal, others have to die. After all, the time has to come from somewhere.

Will Salas (Timberlake) saves a guy with over a century on his clock. We don't know where he got it but we know he wants to die. It's time. He gives his time to Salas leaving himself with only five minutes. He times out as he is sitting on a bridge. Salas sets out to fix the system. On the way he picks up a girl. You gotta have a love interest in a Justin Timberlake movie.

There are run-ins with bad guys, rich guys, and time-keepers (the cops of the day). There is some action but it is mostly a drama and—I can't believe I am saying this about a movie with Justin Timberlake—a pretty good one.

Grade: B+. Well worth seeing.