In Time review by Captain Video

When is a coincidence just a coincidence, and when it is a sign of synchronicity? On the same day I watched both The Time Machine . The time machine made me think about the episode of The Big Bang Theory where they win the time machine prop from ebay. Leanard Hoofstadter (Johnny Galecki) is also in In Time. So there must be something going on here. Or not.

In Time is set in the future, in a time when everyone has been genetically engineered to stop aging at 25 years. Not only does aging stop, but your life will stop if you don't keep the counter in your forearm topped off with time. Time (minutes, hours, days, weeks) is the new currency. A cup of coffee will cost you 4 minutes. You can transfer time from person to person or download it from a point of sales device. On the plus side, it looks like they have solved the credit card ID theft problem, on the other hand, stealing time from a person can still happen at gunpoint. Anyone looking at your forearm can see how much time you are worth. The currency has changed, but society hasn't. The rich get richer, with years, decades or centuries of life. The poor get poorer, stuck in the cycle of working and only getting paid enough to continue working. If this reminds you of the 99%, bingo you got the gist of the story.

Justin Timberlake plays Will Salas, a factory worker in the ghetto that is living day to day on the time that he earns. In a twist of fate Will is given over a century of time after he saves a suicidal man, with the caveat that he doesn't waste the time given to him. The suicidal man succeeds in his death wish after giving all that time to Will, and now Will is suspected of causing the mans death. Ironically, Will's mother runs out of time unable to afford the bus ride home to meet her son, who has more time than he know what to do with. Spurred on by this tragedy Will is determined to head to New Greenwich and some how avenge his loss, while running from the law.

There are a few annoyances that detract from the story. The excessive references to stolen time, and the heavy handed lesson of making the most of the time that you have are a bit annoying. Will is told that he mustn't make the same mistakes that his father did, and that there is some sort of legacy in his good deeds, but that is never really flushed out. And then there is the creep factor of everyone being 25 or younger. Will's mother is in her fifties or more, yet has the body and attractiveness of a 25 year old. When Will later meets a girl at a casino he doesn't know if she is the wife, daughter or mother of the fellow card players. In this distant future somehow cell phones don't exist despite all the other high tech. Cars in the future haven't advanced much other than having a sound effect of both a combustion engine and an electric engine.

Will travels to New Greenwich in a very expensive limo ride with plenty of toll booths along the way. He tries to pass himself off as though he belongs in the world of old time as opposed to someone that has just come into his wealth. He joins a card game in a casino and wins big by taking a huge risk reminiscent of Bond but far less stylishly. He meets the beautiful idealistic Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried) who is the daughter of a banking magnate. The law eventually catches up with Will and he takes Sylvia hostage to escape back to the ghetto. The Once Sylvia sees first hand how the 99% live, she has a change of heart and is determined to help Will bring justice and time back to the working people. This futuristic Bonnie and Clyde become the Robin Hood of time.

After figuring out that helping a handful of people isn't enough to make real change Will and Sylvia are determined to cause a complete disruption of the entire economy. So there is plenty of action with car chases, bank heists and running from the law.

This film is based on an interesting concept. The precious nature of time. We should all live like today was the last day of our lives. We should all learn the lessons of the last lecture. We should all make the most of the time we have, especially when choosing which movies to watch.

5 Jackasses


5 out of 10 Jackasses
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