I once spent nearly 800 words comparing Justin Timberlake to Mariano Rivera. As it turns out, I could have spent those words comparing him to John Smoltz.

You see, Smoltz is one of only two pitchers in baseball history to have both 20 wins in a season and 50 saves in a season. He was capable of many different roles and while he was never perfect in either of them, he definitely fit the bill for both. Timberlake was a fantastic closer in The Social Network, he struggled at times but was able to get into at least the 6th inning as a starter in Friends With Benefits.

He might not have had his best stuff, but he kept everyone off balanced and I thought he was surprisingly good in his role as Will Salas in In Time.

I am not typically a fan of sci-fi movies, as I have no imagination and they usually don't make sense to me. The storyline for In Time revolves around a time in the not so distant future where people stop aging at 25 years old. Their time on earth after hitting the quarter century mark is determined by a countdown clock that can be found on their arm. In order to avoid over populating the earth, time has become the currency for existence, thus allowing the wealthy to live forever while the poor are literally living day to day.

Will Salas is falsely accused of murder and in an effort to avoid the "timekeepers" he acts out of desperation and kidnaps Sylvia Weis, the daughter of a wealthy business man, played by the beautiful Amanda Seyfried.

In Time is a movie in the truest sense of the word. It requires you to suspend your disbelief, and will take your mind off of life for a couple of hours. It is not a film, it doesn't make you think, it doesn't move your emotions, and it isn't going to win any awards.

But, it is well worth your time.


In Time
Directed by: Andrew Niccol
Written by: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, and Cillian Murphy
My Rating: 3.75 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: Yes