'In Time' presents fantastical dystopia

When I first saw the trailer for "In Time," I had two reactions. The first was astonishment at the pure brilliance of the story line. The second was skepticism at whether or not rom-com actor and former N'Sync-er Justin Timberlake could pull off a role as the protagonist in a very action-based movie.  After leaving the theater, I must say that Justin really exceeded my expectations.

The premise of the film is that, in the near future where time is the currency, people stop aging at 25 years old, leaving them with one year left to live and, ideally, earn themselves more time on their biological clocks. The story starts with a 28-year-old Will Salas who is living with his mother and working hard just to wake up with more than 24 hours on his clock. Then, one night, through a small act of heroism, Will saves a man who turns out to be over 100 years old with over a century of time left on his clock. After a brief, admittedly self-righteous conversation with the man he just saved (Henry Hamilton), Will learns that the rich have been frequently increasing the price of living for the poor in order to stay wealthy and basically become immortal. It's after this that we get one of the signature lines from the trailer where Will says, "If I had that much time, I sure as hell wouldn't waste it." Of course, anyone who saw the trailer knows what happens next: Hamilton gives all of his time to Will and makes him put his time where his mouth its

Naturally, Will sets out on a rampage to seek justice, but only after the issue hits home when the cost of a bus ride goes up causing his mother to have to run to meet Will before her time runs out and she dies. What ensues is an hour-and-a-half of  Will seeking to fulfill a vendetta against a man named Philippe Weis by kidnapping his daughter, coercing her and going on a Bonnie and Clyde-style crime spree where they knock off several time banks and redistribute time to the poor.

As I said previously, the story of "In Time" is a pretty brilliant one. It really made me think about what I would do if there were no credit cards and being down to my last penny meant that I only had a second to live. Can you imagine how frugal everybody would be with his or her "money"?

The acting in the film was acceptable and nothing more, save for a few of the characters that die in the first half hour. The death scene with Olivia Wilde as Will's mom was absolutely heart wrenching and very moving. They are heading toward one another as Will runs desperately to give his mother some of the time that Hamilton gave him, only to have his mother's time run out a split second before he can reach her. I almost started crying.

Overall, I would definitely recommend seeing this film, if for no other reason than the eye candy of Justin Timberlake and the scenes that involve a naked and lingerie-clad Amanda Seyfried.