In the future people stop aging at 25 and must work to buy themselves more time, but when a young man finds himself with more time than he can imagine he must run from the corrupt police force to save his life.
A grown-up sci-fi idea suffering from a severe case of arrested (script) development, In Time plays like Equilibrium without the fights, or Total Recall without the fun.
Interesting ideas and howling anger at the 1 percent drive the first half, but the Bonnie and Clyde stylings of the second feel a little rushed and strangely out of sync.
Attempts to be both thriller and political allegory but ultimately falls someway short of being either.
Niccol’s script ties itself in conceptual knots and is largely comprised of time puns, which quickly start to grate.
That it only partly succeeds is nothing to do with the cleverness of the original concept and everything to do with the fact it runs out of places to go.
A waste of time.
Nothing more than blunt satire and an awful lot of running.
Loses its way.
When the characters check their wrists to see how long they have left, it’s hard to resist the temptation to do the same.
Timberlake does a perfectly respectable job as the lead, without ever convincing you that the movie hasn't been a waste of the commodity it foregrounds.
In terms of its sci-fi plot and general unevenness, it’s similar to The Adjustment Bureau, released in March. If that film floated your boat, In Time is sure to please. If not, you’ll be counting the minutes.
Niccol's anti-capitalist allegory is clunky, his premise dense, but this is still a playful caper that ticks along on the strength of its cast. As such, it's just about worth spending time on.
The endless chases on foot and by car are unsuccessful attempts to prevent the audience thinking about the plot.
Timberlake is as wooden here as his surname, but better actors than he would be defeated by Niccol's leaden dialogue.
General release. Check local listings for show times.