Originality and uniqueness are hard found in Hollywood these days, as lazy producers, directors, and writers make sequel after sequel in search of the guaranteed payday (see the Saw series). In Time however, bucks the trend with an interesting and thought-provoking idea compared to your usual brain-dead, 3D, CGI-packed extravaganza.

It stars Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and our very own Cillian Murphy, in a very different world where there is no money. They instead barter Time itself.  Each person has a clock on the side of their arm which is counting down to their death, which would actually be really handy in real life. ("Kiss me, I'm about to die... Look!")

This Time is used to pay for simple, everyday things like coffee and local amenities, which gets deducted from your arm clock/wallet. The interesting aspect of the film, besides this new intangible commodity, is the fact that when you reach the age of 25, you cease to age, therefore being granted eternal youth, although the catch is you are only given one more year on your clock. 

People with not much time on their hands (there was bound to be a pun eventually) have to fight, steal and do what is necessary to make sure their time doesn’t run out.

The film's protagonist is Justin Timberlake, who has blagged himself into another lead role, while Cillian Murphy plays the villain. Timberlake’s character lives in an urban city filled with poverty and crime where he fights everyday to survive. His urban wasteland is a suburb to the rich areas which is the paradise for the people with centuries on their clocks.

These areas are forbidden to the urban minions, as access is only granted when you have a certain amount of time left. The plot thickens when Timberlake’s mother runs out of time and he vows revenge on the corrupt system that keeps the poor devoid of time and the rich swimming in excess minutes, hours, and years. 

The scene where Timberlake’s character Will Salas holds his expired mother in his arms unfortunately summarises his acting ability and this film in general, unemotive, boring, and unconvincing.

Timberlake’s laborious path to revenge is helped when he befriends a centurion or the equivalent of a millionaire who donates all his time to Justin because he is sick of immortality and wants to die.

Timberlake uses this new found Time to travel to the rich zone and see what he and so many are missing. The drawn-out plot continues when he kidnaps a time millionaire’s daughter (Amanda Seyfried) who he promptly falls in love with.

He takes her back to his homeland in a desperate response to being chased by the Timekeepers, the police force lead by Cillian Murphy, that makes sure the poor stay in their zone and that the rich can live their life without interference from the timeless minions.

The metaphors are endless as the film tries hard to be a futuristic social critique, "subtly" discrediting the concept of capitalism while fitting in as many puns involving the word time as humanly possible.

The end result is a film that had great potential to be a cult classic, with a good original idea at its core but it is let down by a poor script, uninspiring actors, besides the ever excellent Cillian Murphy (no bias, I swear). In Time ultimately leaves the viewer underwhelmed and bored throughout, constantly glancing at their watch waiting for this film to end. Verdict: 5 minutes out of 10

Seamus Dunne