Film Review: IN TIME (2011)

Writer/Director: Andrew Niccol
Running time: 109 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure
UK Release date: 1^st November 2011

Watched on Sky+ Tuesday 20^th November 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is another film I have wanted to see for some time. I loved the ideas behind it and hoped it could deliver on the great promise it held. Sadly (for me at least) it only just made the mark but there were some great ideas and some interesting moments along the way (more of that later). The Writer/Director Andrew Niccol, who has worked on such films as; Gattaca, Lord of War and the rather excellent The Truman Show (amongst others), delivers here a ‘by the book’ action thriller with some elements of Robin Hood and Bonnie and Clyde thrown in. The interesting element is the fact that the currency everyone is trading in is the amount of time they have left to live. Here’s a very brief summary.

Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) lives in a poorer part of town with his mother, Rachel (Olivia Wilde). They find life hard, scraping enough time to last each day. A chance meeting with a rich man, Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer), who has a death wish leaves Will with over a hundred years to play with. His mother having ‘timed out’ he decides its time to get a little revenge on the rich who live in luxury in another zone of the city, New Greenwich. The police in the form of Raymond Leon (Cillian Murphy) are interested in talking to Will about the death of Hamilton. He makes it to New Greenwich and there he makes a large amount of time playing poker with the exceedingly wealthy Philippe Weis (Vincent Kartheiser). With the police closing in Will kidnaps Weis’s daughter, Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried) and heads back home. And this is where I’ll leave it.

On the performance front, I thought Cillian Murphy and Amanda Seyfried stood out with Justin Timberlake lacking the required screen presence to carry it off (IMO). I thought Michael William Freeman who had a small role as bad guy Nardin did a good job of playing a very believable loathsome thug. With virtually everyone on screen being around the same age (25), barring the occasional kid, I found this one quite odd to look at (even a bit ageist! – just a joke, honest). It’s pretty well made with some great ideas behind the plot and even some great dialogue thrown in here and there but at the end of the day it just failed to get over that mark. It’s not that it’s a bad film, the problem is, it’s just not the great film it deserved to be.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED… just.

My score: 6.4/10

IMDb Score: 6.6/10 (based on 127,563 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1637688/

MetaScore: 53/100: (Based on 36 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 36/100 (based on 154 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 51/100 ‘Liked It’ (based on 59,584 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_time/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Will Salas: I don't have time. I don't have time to worry about how it happened. It is what it is. We're genetically engineered to stop aging at 25. The trouble is, we live only one more year, unless we can get more time. Time is now the currency. We earn it and spend it. The rich can live forever. And the rest of us? I just want to wake up with more time on my hand than hours in the day.

Henry Hamilton: How old are you? In real time?
Will Salas: 28.
Henry Hamilton: I'm 105.
Will Salas: Good for you. You won't see 106, you have too many more nights like tonight.
Henry Hamilton: You are right. But the day comes when you've had enough. Your mind can be spent, even if your body's not. We want to die. We need to.
Will Salas: That's your problem? You've been alive too long? You ever known anyone who's died?
Henry Hamilton: For a few to be immortal, many must die.
Will Salas: What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Henry Hamilton: You really don't know, do you? Everyone can't live forever. Where would we put them? Why do you think there are time zones? Why do you think taxes and prices go up the same day in the ghetto? The cost of living keeps rising to make sure people keep dying. How else could there be men with a million years while most live day to day? But the truth is... there's more than enough. No one has to die before their time. If you had as much time as I have on that clock, what would you do with it?
Will Salas: I'd stop watching it. I can tell you one thing. If I had all that time, I sure as hell wouldn't waste it.

Sylvia Weis: How does anyone live like this?
Will Salas: You don't generally sleep in.

Ulysse: You'd steal from your own father?
Sylvia Weis: Is it stealing if it's already stolen?

Will Salas: No one should be immortal if even one person has to die.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Facebook: In Time Movie Facebook Page
Official Twitter: http://twitter.com/InTimeMovie
Official Site: http://www.intimecasino.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: TRON LEGACY (2010)

Director: Joseph Kosinski
Running time: 125 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 17^th December 2010

Watched on Sky+ Monday 22^nd August 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I admit I was a fan of the original 1982 film TRON and, despite many poor reviews I was still intrigued to see the updated version. Well, visually, it’s quite stunning, but to be honest, the writers of those many poor reviews did have a point. I did like the music though, even a reprise of the song from the original film; “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” by Journey. Most of the original music was produced by Daft Punk, which seemed to fit the technological mood pretty well. But more of my thoughts later, here’s a brief summary first.

Kevin Flynn became a successful businessman at the end of the first film. He later got married and had a son, Sam. Several years later he mysteriously disappeared without a trace. His son, now grown up is disillusioned and refuses to take control of the company that is rightfully his. One of the directors, and friend of his father, Alan Bradley, comes to him one day saying he’s been paged by Kevin. Strangely though, it has come from Kevin’s old games arcade that hasn’t been running for years. Sam goes there and finds Kevin’s old workshop. Turning devices on, he is digitised and downloaded to ‘The Grid’. Now, ‘The Grid’ is run by a program written by Kevin called Clu, who looks like Kevin did 30 years ago. Clu’s mission is to remove any imperfections on ‘The Grid’. Sam is made to play games or risk being killed. He reluctantly plays, but is rescued by the mysterious Quorra. She takes him off ‘The Grid’ to meet his real father. Sam desperately wants to get his father out of there and it’s a race against time to escape the world of TRON. I won’t say any more as I don’t want the Spoiler Police to de-res me.

As I’ve already said, the visuals are quite stunning in this one, I cannot fault most of the CGI. I saw it in 2D so I cannot comment on the 3D-ness of the picture. Decent performances all round; Jeff Bridges did a good job as both Kevin Flynn and Clu, although he was CGI’d as Clu and that didn’t quite work as well as it might. Garrett Hedlund was ok as Sam Flynn, as was Olivia Wilde as Quorra. It was also nice to see Bruce Boxleitner as Alan Bradley and reprising his original role as TRON.

I think the main problem with this film was that it was too much like the original, as far as the story goes. It’s all about getting from one place to another to escape something bad and get home. Very ‘Wizard of Oz’ if you like. Unfortunately, we’re all too familiar with that story and after a while it becomes boring. Yes, the visuals are quite stunning, but that doesn’t make up for a rather predictable an, sadly, dull plot. The dialogue didn’t help matters much either, it was all far too pedestrian I’m afraid… Sadly, the critics were right in this case… Not recommended.

My Score: 5.3/10.

IMDb Score: 7.0/10 (based on 83,476 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1104001/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 50/100 (based on 221 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10011582-TRON_legacy/

FAVOURITE QUOTE:
Quorra: [Quorra is showing Sam the book collection] Just between you and me, Jules Verne is my favourite. Do you know Jules Verne?
Sam Flynn: Sure.
Quorra: What’s he like?

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.disney.co.uk/tron/index.jsp
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Tron
Official Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/TronLegacy
Trailer:

Film Review: COWBOYS & ALIENS (2011)

Director: Jon Favreau
Running time: 118 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller
UK Release date: 17^th August 2011

Watched at the cinema Saturday 20^th August 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I must admit I was intrigued by this one when I first heard about it almost a year ago. In recent weeks I have seen the trailer several times and this has only intensified my interest. Despite a few poor reviews from across the pond I was still determined to make my own mind up (as I do with most things) and so when it came up at my local cinema I was there. While it’s neither the greatest Western ever made, nor the greatest Sci-Fi film ever made, I still found it very entertaining, exciting and just about everything you’d want to fill a damp Saturday afternoon. I will give you my thoughts after this brief summary.

When a man is found in the wilderness with no knowledge of who he is or how he came to be there, it intrigued me. When this man finds a strange metal bracelet on his wrist and defends himself with great skill against a group of drifters, I was hooked. The man, who we later find out, is Jake Lonergan, rides into the local town only to find he is a wanted man. A mysterious woman, Ella Swenson, keeps asking him questions that he can’t answer. A local rancher, a powerful man, Woodrow Dolarhyde, comes into town because Lonergan had had a run in with his son, Percy. Just as Lonergan is to be taken away by Marshals, there is an attack by a group of aliens in strange flying craft. Lonergan manages to bring one down using the bracelet, which appears to be some kind of weapon. Its occupant, however, escapes into the dark. During the attack several of the townsfolk are kidnapped, including Percy, and it’s now up to a small band, put together by Dolarhyde, to track the alien and bring back those victims. Many secrets are revealed on the way about Lonergan’s past and Ella Swenson’s secret, but I cannot say more or the alien branch of the Spoiler Police will have me abducted (again).

A very well made film with some excellent CGI. All of the battle scenes were outstandingly choreographed with some great stunts, hats off to those guys. Performance-wise, everyone was very good; Daniel Craig did a decent job as Jake Lonergan, although I felt the role didn’t come all the naturally to him. Harrison Ford was excellent, as ever, as the crotchety Woodrow Dolarhyde. Olivia Wilde was great as the mysterious Ella Swenson and Sam Rockwell played the barkeeper Doc with his usual skill.

If I have one criticism of the production, it’s that a lot of the action took place in the dark, which made it difficult to see just who was fighting who (or what) half the time. It’s lucky this one wasn’t made in 3D or the 3D fans (who don’t include me) would have had a hell of a time! The aliens were suitable scary, well designed, if I was younger they might have given me nightmares. Over all though, I found it a much more entertaining film than the title might suggest… Recommended.

My score: 6.8/10

IMDb Score: 6.6/10 (based on 14,756 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0409847/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 45/100 (based on 209 reviews counted when this review was written).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cowboys_and_aliens/

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.cowboysandaliensmovie.com/
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cowboysandaliens
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/cowboysaliens
Trailer: