Justin Timberlake as a leading man, set in the future where no one can age. What could go wrong? Well it leaves the question, is it any good?
Set in the not too distant future, no longer do we age physically past the age of 25 but the currency has become your time on this planet, meaning if you’re Will Salas (Timberlake) you’re living day to day searching for a way of making it to the next hour without dying. Sounds cool right? If you have seen the trailer you would think you’re in for an action packed movie with an incredible sci-fi idea…
We are introduced to a world where money in the physical form is a thing of the past and the human race has been given time placed on their arm, everyone is split into different sectors determined by their class. The rich live life with ease, not a care in the world in their high rise cities and the poor live every second working to stay alive in the slums. Will Salas is one of those unlucky ones he struggles with rising costs of just living until he meets Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer) who has decided that he is done with living having had lived for over 120 years, Henry passes his time (over a century) on to Will and informs him that the population is being reduced on purpose to keep those with all the time in the world alive and those with little to none literally dropping like flies.
As the film progresses we meet Sylvia Weiss (Amanda Seyfried) the daughter of Philippe Weis (Vincent Kartheiser) one of the richest men in the world. We learn that the rich don’t take risks as bodily harm is the only way they can die, and Sylvia is introduced to Will and instantly Sylvia is intrigued in caution free persona. Will kidnaps a not so reluctant Sylvia and attempts to hold her for ransom.
In Time doesn’t try to explain its premise it just hopes that you accept it. Without this explanation I felt like a lot of my questions were left unanswered. Am I supposed to believe that Justin Timberlake’s mother is Olivia Wilde? Everyone in this movie is supposed to be 25 yet the actors they have playing them are all in their 30’s. Another thing is if you have no time to waste why are most of the people in the slums either walking or paying for buses to get places. What happened to the simple Bicycle? Or skateboard or roller skates? Am I to believe that these were destroyed and the law prohibits any form of these transports? No? None of that is explained and that’s just a few of the many plot holes that arise in this movie.
I was excited to watch this movie, in fact I had been waiting for its release for quite some time due to its incredible premise and trailers however the film itself just seems to miss the fundamentals of a good story. Why do I care about these characters I really don’t know anything about them. With more than half of the movies characters not wanting to risk their lives I felt as the antagonists of the movie they just didn’t hold up, I felt no suspense. In a movie where the premise of “Don’t waste your time, life is short.” I found myself constantly looking at my watch thinking that this movie is a waste of my time.