Masand: 'In Time' a smart action movie

Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Justin Timberlake, Olivia Wilde, Johnny Galecki, Matt Bomer, Alex Pettyfer

Director: Andrew Niccol

Time is money.

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  Hollywood has a packed weekend with 'The Rum Diary', 'Tower Heist', 'In Time' and 'Dolphin Tale'.

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  The book and film 'Dolphin Tale' are based on the story of Winter, a bottlenose dolphin that was rescued in December 2005 off the Florida coast and taken in by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

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  It lost its tail after becoming tangled in crab trap fishing gear and had to be fitted with a prosthetic one.

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  The movie stars Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Harry Connick Jr.

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  'The Rum Diary' is about an American journalist Paul Kemp takes on a freelance job in Puerto Rico for a local newspaper during the 1950s.

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  The story revolves around his struggles to find a balance between island culture and the expatriates who live there.

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  The movie stars - Johnny Depp, Giovanni Ribisi and Aaron Eckhart.

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  'Tower Heist' stars Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller and Casey Affleck.

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  The movie also has Tea Leoni and Matthew Broderick.

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  The movie revolves around what happens when a group of hard working guys find out they've fallen victim to a wealthy business man's Ponzi scheme, they conspire to rob his high-rise residence.

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  'In Time' stars Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Olivia Wilde and Cillian Murphy.

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  The movie is about the future where people stop aging at 25, but are engineered to live only one more year, having the means to buy your way out of the situation is a shot at immortal youth.

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  Here, Will Salas finds himself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage - a connection that becomes an important part of the way against the system.

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Despite some gaping plot holes, \'In Time\' works as an engaging action thriller.

No it really is, in Gattaca director Andrew Niccol's new sci-fi thriller 'In Time', that's set somewhere in the unspecified future where time has replaced money as currency. This is a world where a cup of coffee will cost you four minutes, and a bus ride makes you poorer by an hour. This is a world that's divided into zones; the wealthy ones with more time on their hands live in the fancy parts, while those living hand-to-mouth, one day at a time, are relegated to the ghetto.

Before I forget, this is a world where people stop ageing at 25. After that, you only live another year, unless somehow you can access more time. There are time lenders for that, which operate just like banks – you can borrow time at a ridiculously high rate of interest. Or you could just steal from another person, which explains why the crime rate in the ghetto is so high.

Every person in this world is born with a glowing digital clock on his forearm that displays how much time he has on him. When time is exchanged, borrowed, or stolen, the digits change accordingly. When your time runs out, you drop dead on the spot. The way I see it, the best thing about living in this world is that you could be as old as 80, and you'd still look 25. No fear of greying or wrinkles!

The film's plot is centered on Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), a blue-collar worker who is given a hundred years as a gift from a suicidal man. On the run from the corrupt police force, or Timekeepers, Will enters the posh time zone and kidnaps a rich time-hoarder's daughter (Amanda Seyfried). It's not long before she understands his drive to fix this inequitable system, and helps him in robbing her father's time banks and distributing the wealth among the have-nots.

Despite some gaping plot holes, 'In Time' works as an engaging action thriller, and benefits from a convincing performance from Justin Timberlake as a boy from the ghetto. The film skillfully makes references to inequalities of class, and Man playing God, and it also contains many metaphors about the way we live today.

I'm going with three out of five for 'In Time'. It's a smart action movie that's well worth your time.

Rating: 3 / 5

Write your review: 'In Time'

Winners:

Ankit Sharma, New Delhi

Varun Agarwal, Mumbai

Also See

• Justin Timberlake talks about his latest 'In Time'
• Justin Timberlake goes rogue for 'In Time'

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