Writer/Director Andrew Niccol, the man who brought us the highly acclaimed sci-fi feature Gattaca, has returned to the genre that brought him fame with In Time, a movie starring Justin Timberlake (The Social Network), Amanda Seyfried (Red Riding Hood), John Galecki (The Big Bang Theory), Olivia Wilde (Cowboys & Aliens) and the always great Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins). His new film hits the Blu-ray/DVD shelves on January 31st but I was lucky enough to get a look at the disc a little earlier to tell you all about it.
In Time takes place in the future where time has officially become the currency of the world. People have been genetically altered to stop aging at 25 and once they hit that age they are given one year’s worth of time and either have to work to earn more time or face their death within said year. One humane but poor resident of the ghetto named Will Sallis (Timberlake) has a chance run-in with a millionaire and is given his time. When the Time Keeper, Raymond Leon, (Murphy) accuses Timberlake of killing the wealthy man, Will becomes one of the State’s most wanted and decides that he will go to any means to bring down the system that has taken so much from him, including kidnapping a businessman’s daughter (Seyfried).
For some movies, all you need is an interesting concept to sell me on watching it and that’s exactly what Niccol’s has been able to do with In Time, a movie where greed and corruption is easily hidden under the youthful look of the world’s beautiful inhabitants. With the unknown country being divided into districts based on wealth, semi-similar to the districts in The Hunger Games, Niccol’s is able to show how risk adverse or prone people are depending on what social class they come from. When Will moves from the Ghetto to rich area, we are able to understand the differences in behavior and how, when people don’t have much they make the most of every moment but when people are given everything they don’t take advantage of their life. It’s the entire social context of the film that fascinated me even if I’ve seen it played out before.
The acting in the film was actually not that bad. While Timberlake can be hit or miss, his performance in In Time was reminiscent of Alpha Dog, a little over the top but definitely watchable. Cilian Murphy, who was spot on and confident as always, didn’t fail my performance expectations at all. As for Amanda Seyfried, I didn’t expect much out of her since her 
films typically aren’t well received but her performance was average and didn’t derail the pace of the film. Plus, this was the first time I was actually really attracted to her, seeing her in lingerie and short dark red hair was enough to make it all worth my time.
Like most films, this DVD comes with some extras, although not as many as you’d hope for. The disc only contains deleted and extended scenes, the theatrical trailer and previews of some of Fox’s other titles. Some of the deleted/extended scenes are actually pretty entertaining and could have been in the film to give a bit more clarity to a situation while other pieces were rightfully left on the cutting room floor. There’s an extended sexual poker scene encounter, a fun little chase that involves some salsa dancing and Timberlake’s first time heist which I really enjoyed.
While Niccol’s new sci-fi feature didn’t live up to all my expectations, especially with the way people talk about Gattaca, I did find myself enjoying the concept immensely and somehow got very caught up in Sallis’ game of cat and mouse with Leon. In Time may not be the bread and butter of hardcore sci-fi fans but the concept isn’t complicated and the movie is full of beautiful and well-known people making it the perfect mainstream sci-fi feature that’s that anyone can enjoy.
Movie Rating: A perfect mainstream Sci-Fi feature but not impressive enough for true sci-fi fans (6/10)
DVD Rating: 4/10
You can buy or rent your copy of In Time on Blu-ray or DVD on January 31st from Fox Home Entertainment
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