Maybe Watch This: In Time

Movie Poster for In Time

I seem to be moving forward on the clock as to when I am awake and when I want to go to sleep, which is why I watched this movie at noon instead of my usual time of midnight. As such, I ended my day (or at least what is the end of my day) watching a movie that I had never heard of before but looked interesting based on what was written about it on the on demand menu.

For this movie, I saw the name Justin Timberlake and that alone caught my interest and made me want to see what this was about. I think he is an interesting character, so I thought why not watch a movie with him in it if it sounds interesting enough. Then I read the description that came after his name, a science fiction movie about the near future where we do not have a currency anymore because our new currency is how long we live. Basically it takes the concept that you sell your time for money and just skips that transaction to make it simply you sell your time. Interesting to say the least. So I decided to give it a go and this is what I thought after watching the film.

In Time [2011]

As I have already stated, the premise behind this film is that in the future the human race has decided to get rid of currency. Instead, the process of spending your time to make money becomes spending your time to make time. You can then spend the rest of your life on items you may need to live or you can spend it working to survive another day. Either way, you need time to continue on and once your clock runs down to zero you die. Interesting concept to say the least.

There is a catch though and a reason as to why anyone would even fathom doing this. No one can start spending their time until the age of twenty-five, where up until then they are still getting older. At the age of twenty-five they stop aging and they have exactly one year of life before they die. They can then go about either trading that year away or trying to make the most of it to continue living after that year, but no matter what they will remain twenty-five forever. Now, obviously there will be people that spend their year quickly, paying off debts and working through the toils of this life, while others spend it slowly. There will also be people who get rich off of the others and end up with more than a year left on their lives. So basically it comes down to this, you either get rich and live forever or die trying. And yes, there are a bunch more cliches built into this film.

So where does the major twist come that starts this story off? Well one day Justin Timberlake gets off from work and he goes into a bar to find his best friend. While in there he meets a person that is flashing his time because he has over a century left on his clock. Meanwhile Justin Timberlake has a whole few hours left on his own life. So, after a bunch of men try and come to steal the time away from the so-called rich man, the wealthy person decides to give his time away to Justin Timberlake. He tells Justin Timberlake that he has lived over a century and he was ready to die, then gives his second century away with only five minutes left on his clock. Then walks off and dies. Justin Timberlake, now with a fortune, can go places he never imagined. Of course, having that much money fall into his pocket meant that he would also run into some trouble.

Theatrical Trailer for In Time

I have to say that the best part about this movie is the general concept. I really do like the idea that currency is abolished in favor of time. You can spend it as you please, but in general you want to keep your clock above zero to stay alive. And I know that this would never happen, because the basic idea behind the movie then becomes that the only resource that matters on this planet is how long you can live, which of course is not exactly completely true.

But similarly, this same factor of what I like about the movie also becomes a part that I disliked. They state that everyone gets twenty-five years for free to grow and learn, and then on their twenty-fifth birthday their timer starts. but why only a year for their timer? The best part of the human life is probably twenty-five to thirty so why does it only give one year away? I understand the reason for why the film maker's chose this too; because you will only be twenty-five for one year and then you will have to turn twenty-six, but since that is not possible you die. But to claim a large amount of wealth, or time as it so happens to be, off of one year from every person is unmanageable and insufferable. So why not let it that people can either stay the age they are by increasing their time, or be forced up into the next year when their time runs out. In other words, if you run out of time while you are twenty-five, you suddenly become twenty-six and get another year. By that logic, people could live much more fulfilling and "rich" lives but with this interesting idea of what it really means to age.

Beyond that, the plot was rather scattered and confusing. First he is being chased by this group of thugs that steal time off of people's clocks, then another group that plays cops with time, and then a third group of the insufferable rich. It just seemed a little bit strange that everything would clash together like so. In fact, it was so muddled that I thought this was where the movie lacked the most, a good plot. Now, I am not asking for something like Gattaca where by the end of the movie you have learned something and you think about things a bit differently, but I am asking to at least be a bit more entertained. Seriously, it felt like a mash-up of random moments following more random moments instead of a twisted, humorous, and interesting plot.

I will be recommending this film though, because I think that the key points it hits on are very interesting and I think everyone should see their viewpoint. So if you are into science fiction and futuristic films, take some time to watch this one.

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