In Time

I’m sure you, dear reader, have heard the saying “time is money” at some point or another; it’s typically spoken by those who are in a rush or are on a tight schedule. Well, writer-director Andrew Niccol has certainly heard of this three-word phrase, given the fact that he decided to base an entire movie on it; now, this decision may seem ill-advised, and I suppose it is, but the end result is nonetheless a perfectly entertaining, mildly satisfying sci-fi thriller that works rather splendidly as Friday night fluff.

“In Time” imagines a world in which time literally is money, with time having replaced actual currency. You see, the humans that inhabit the globe have been genetically engineered to contain literal body clocks that cause people to drop dead when the ticker strikes zero. Once a human reaches the age of 25, they stop aging and are given a year to live, their tickers starting to tick all the way down to naught. So, if they want to live past their 26th year, they must work to earn more time.

The time that people have left until they drop dead is displayed on a ticking digital clock that glows green on their left arm. Various amounts of this time can be transferred from one person to another via physical contact. It can be used to pay for everyday necessities -- for example, a cup of coffee costs four minutes and a bus journey can cost an hour.

The world is split up into different class systems, called Time Zones. In an upper-class Time Zone, individuals have hundreds of years to spend, sometimes thousands of years. In the ghettos, however, individuals are frequently running on no more than a few hours or even a few minutes, having to work hard to live through another day with time to spend.

Our protagonist, Will Salas (Justin Timberlake, “Friends with Benefits”), is one of those who resides in the ghetto. Will is 28 years old and lives with his 50-year-old mother (Olivia Wilde, “TRON: Legacy”), who genuinely does not look a day over 25. He works in a factory and lives every single day of his life with the worry that his or his mother’s tick-tocking ticker will run out.

So, that’s the set-up. And now onto the plot. One night, Will encounters a 105-year-old bachelor named Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer, “Flightplan”). Henry is sick of living and decides to give Will his remaining century, thus committing suicide. All of a sudden, Will is a rich man with a hundred years to spend. Soon enough, the time-keeping Timekeepers (led by Cillian Murphy, “Inception”) are after Will, who is now considered a wanted fugitive.

Will travels to a much richer, much more luxurious Time Zone called New Greenwich. There, he meets 27-year-old Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried, “Red Riding Hood”), daughter of snobby millionaire Phillipe Weis (Vincent Kartheiser, “Mad Men”). Will and Sylvia end up on the run together, most of their time now stolen from them as they flee from the law and try to get their own back at the unjust system they’re living in.

“In Time” undoubtedly has an intriguing premise that, for the most part, is rather original. While, yes, there are elements notably taken from another sci-fi thriller, “Logan’s Run,” the film still feels fresh and inventive as it explores its promising concept and takes us through the futuristic world Niccol has conceived. The concept may seem a bit silly and far-fetched to begin with but, once the plot gets going, we find ourselves rather immersed in this high-tech world and its dystopian ways.

Issues such as mortality and social class inevitably rise up out of this concept as we watch the rich 1% blissfully sailing through life with thousands of years left for them to spend while the poor 99% die on the street because they can't afford a bus fare. With this, "In Time" is, on occasion, a little thought-provoking, which is pretty good going for an unashamed popcorn flick starring Justin "Sexy Back" Timberlake. But that's the thing: "In Time" really is little more than a high-concept popcorn flick intended to supply 90 minutes of escapist entertainment; it's blockbuster fluff and, in the end, its attempts at depth and social commentary are never strong enough to lift it above this status.

As an action film, it has plenty of thrilling sequences, from vehicle-flattening car chases to Bonnie and Clyde-esque bank robberies. There's a rather stirring techno score by Craig Armstrong that I enjoyed listening to. Timberlake makes for a fine action man, confidently striding through the film with a bald scalp and sexy facial stubble on display. Seyfried is equally fine as the love interest, a woman who’s never been broke a day in her life and is suddenly thrust into the world of the poor and the dying. And Murphy makes for a lovely villain, though he’s the sort that has a sense of humanity about him; he's one of those badguys just doing his job.

I admire "In Time" for giving an original premise a go; originality in Hollywood, as we all know, is a rarity nowadays, so some originality is always appreciated. No, the execution of the concept is not perfect, and the world it creates is not quite as convincing as it should be, but Niccol succeeds in making the concept interesting enough for us to remain attentive up until the end credits. "In Time" is certainly no "Inception," but I'd say it's worth spending 90 or so minutes on; that is, if you have 90 or so minutes left to spend.

6/10