Movie review: "In Time" - Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried

IN THE FUTURE, EVERY SECOND COUNTS

IN TIME

Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy

Star in The Pulse-Pounding Sci-Fi Thriller

Debuting on Blu-ray and DVD January 31

Summary: Let the countdown begin. Leave the existing world behind and enter into a futuristic world where the aging gene is switched off after 25 and time is money, literally, that many can’t afford in the cutting-edge thriller IN TIME, arriving on Blu-ray and DVD January 31 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Featuring an all-star cast including Justin Timberlake (The Social Network), Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!) and Cillian Murphy (Inception), the film puts an innovative spin on class warfare and explores the corruptness that lies within.

In the future, time has become the ultimate currency and genetic alteration has allowed people to stop aging at 25 years old. Upon reaching 25, the countdown begins and in order to stay alive everyone must work to buy themselves more time or die within a year. The rich can buy their way out of the situation, while the rest are left to negotiate for immortality. When a struggling young man, Will Salas (Timberlake), comes in contact with a “millionaire,” he is gifted more time than he can imagine. Falsely accused of murder, Will is a fugitive on the run and becomes determined to bring down the entire system by any means possible.

Showcasing stunning visual effects and gravity defying stunts, the IN TIME Blu-ray is loaded with bonus materials including an exclusive featurette “THE MINUTES” to discover the origins of the film’s time based society, deleted and extended scenes, and access to the enhanced IN TIME THE GAME APP. DVD special features include deleted and extended scenes. IN TIME will be available on Blu-ray for an average retail price of $24.99 and on DVD for $19.99, respectively. Prebook is January 4
 
Since I'm an avid reader and a big movie buff, I thought I had read or seen it all.

But I was wrong.

IN TIME is a stunningly original futuristic film that really makes you think about what is important in your life. It reminds me a bit of LOGAN'S RUN, wherein the inhabitants reach a certain age and then their lives are extinguished.

Only this planned extinction isn't about survival or population control -- it's about greed. By making time itself the most valuable commodity on earth, the rich get richer by becoming, well, basically immortal (how can someone possibly live to "spend" one million years?!) while the poor struggle day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second.

When the clock reaches zero, you die. No exceptions. But "recharging" your clock is as simple as replacing time, whether by working for it, borrowing against it, or stealing it. Going around in public with more than a year or two is likely to get you killed. Oh, they'd take your time first, leaving you with 0000:00:0:00:00:00 -- at which point you die anyway. But it's considered murder to take away someone's time, because you're taking away their remaining life.

So when an aging millionaire is ready to die after living over one hundred years, he selects Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) to be the "beneficiary" of some of his remaining time -- one hundred years, a small fortune to someone like Will who usually has only about a day at a time and must constantly hustle to survive. He kills himself in effect by draining his own time clock and depositing it into Will's.

Will is wrongly accused of causing this death and stealing the man's time, thus setting into motion a chain of events that make the viewer question his or her own sense of what's right and wrong, what's worth saving and preserving, and what's worth living and dying for.

I must admit I've never been much of a Timberlake fan as far as his music is concerned, but since he's started making movies, he's really enjoyable to watch. He was quite good in BLACK SNAKE MOAN and convincingly slimy in THE SOCIAL NETWORK. More recently FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS showcased his acting talents, but IN TIME really works his acting chops. And he delivers.

If you're looking for a movie to spend an evening at home with, I can highly recommend IN TIME. It's original, suspenseful, fast-paced, and will likely leave you with more questions than answers. It's a movie you'll discuss around the water cooler at work. It's thought-provoking, and isn't that what the best movies are?

IN TIME from 20th Century Fox is scheduled for release on DVD and Blu-ray on January 31st, but you can pre-book now. This is one to add to your movie collection, especially if you're a fan of speculative fiction and action movies.