Writer: Elaine Ewe

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Watch this if you liked: “Gattaca” and “V for Vendetta”

The first thing you will notice about "In Time" is the cast. Seriously, how did they even manage to pay such an impressive cast in time? Sorry, but that pun just had to be made, seeing as how the whole movie consists of bad puns like this and cheesy metaphors.

The story of "In Time" takes place in the retro-future, where time is the new currency. Everything and anything the citizens want or do requires time, and only the rich can live forever. Slumdog Will Salas (Timberlake) is merely trying to get by one day at a time, when a chance encounter turns him into a millionaire overnight. It's a bad reference to the movie "Slumdog Millionaire", but "In Time" is like a YouTube parody. Andrew Niccol has taken bits and pieces from various movies and mashes them all together, creating an exciting yet aimless piece of entertainment.

The use of 'time' as a central theme is one that has relevance to us in this technological era. Although humans have the opportunity to live forever, what does it mean to really live? Timberlake does a good job with his Aladdin-slash-Robin Hood character, and it is also refreshing to see him take on a more action-oriented role after his stints as douche bag Sean Parker in "The Social Network" and lesser douche bag Dylan in "Friends with Benefits". Seyfried, however, is not given a bigger role other than being the strong-minded love interest. At least she has it better than the rest of the cast though, whose roles are relegated to being props for the movie, which explains the high cast rating. I knew that it was too good to be true!

Do note that Olivia Wilde is an exception. She does not get a whole lot of screen time, but boy, does she know how to use it well. Meanwhile, Matt Bomer is like a vampire. His facial features are seriously too flawless to be true.

There is nothing unique about the cinematography, except for the stereotypical dark lighting used for the ghetto areas and bright lighting for New Greenwich, where the rich are living it up. One could say that it works, but for a movie of the retro-future, it would have been better if more props and effects had been used. Further, Niccol needs to learn that that is no way to make a car crash scene. On the other hand, the way time is tracked and transferred is a kind of a nice touch.

To summarize, "In Time" is like eating a pizza; all that cheese is, in actuality, bad for your health, but you would still enjoy eating it. Moreover, the way cheese dangles from pizza is definitely similar to all those plot threads still left hanging by the end of the movie.

Cinema Online, 27 October 2011