In Time
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: October 28, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
17
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 27, 2011
Coming now, today, In Time is not just satisfying. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's important, because that would overstate it, but it certainly feels like part of the national conversation. It arrives in theaters at a time when people are camped out in New York saying the same things as the people in the movie. It's weird the way films often anticipate the near future. Read full review
90
MovielineStephanie ZacharekOct 26, 2011
In Time has so much style and energy that it comes across as an act of boldness rather than just a liberal-minded tract, though of course, it's that too. If there were ever a movie made for the 99 percent, this is it. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. RussellOct 27, 2011
To my thinking, the grand simplicity of the metaphor is a big part of In Time's oddly retro sci-fi charm. Niccol is practicing the old-school craft of making a barn-broad alternate-reality that forces you to think about the way we all consensually agree to participate in systems -- even when those systems are hopelessly screwed up. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOct 26, 2011
Justin Timberlake continues to demonstrate that he is a real actor, with screen presence. But after the precise timing and intelligence he brought to "The Social Network," it's a little disappointing to find him in a role that requires less. He has a future in the movies. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonOct 29, 2011
A pleasing, often rousing movie for the 99 percent, In Time is not without flaws. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea GronvallOct 29, 2011
Clever and unsettling. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 26, 2011
It's a fascinating philosophical conceit delivered as a slick, hyper-stylized conspiracy yarn, juicy enough to deliver on both fronts, provided you don't ask too many questions. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirOct 26, 2011
So, yeah - even if In Time descends from its gripping and thought-provoking premise into a mediocre chase thriller before it's over, it's still pretty damn satisfying to watch in the current climate. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliOct 28, 2011
The problem with In Time, to the extent that it is a problem, is that an intriguing premise turns into window dressing for a somewhat routine "Bonnie & Clyde"-meets-"Robin Hood" action thriller with car chases, heists, and gunplay. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenOct 28, 2011
Along the way there are definitely some pleasing distractions, just not enough to obscure the growing realization that a much better picture could have been made, and wasn't. Many films never have a chance, but this one did – it's an opportunity wasted. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 27, 2011
All in all, In Time is not just stylish but surprisingly substantial. From now on, you'll think twice every time you hear the phrase "rollover minutes." Read full review
63
USA TodayScott BowlesOct 27, 2011
In Time has about 50 minutes of good movie in it. Alas, the sci-fi thriller runs nearly twice that length, and despite a terrific concept that could make for an "Inception" for 2011, we get "Logan's Run" meets "Robin Hood." And not the good parts. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 27, 2011
I like a lot of the film despite its drawbacks; its violence isn't rote or numbing, and there's a simplicity and elegance to the digital-countdown effect. Read full review
63
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreOct 26, 2011
"Gattaca" director Andrew Niccol's sense of the zeitgeist is as on the money as ever with In Time, a sci-fi parable that plays like "Occupy Wall Street: The Movie." Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezOct 26, 2011
If you can overlook the lack of logic inherent in its central conceit, In Time makes for a fun, stylish piece of speculative sci-fi. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineSara Maria VizcarrondoOct 28, 2011
The pace is solid and engaging without putting you on the edge of your seat-you won't be looking at your watch, which means it's at least worth the time spent. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 27, 2011
The tick tick tock of the mortal clock gives the science-fiction thriller In Time its slick, sweet premise. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanOct 27, 2011
The movie, I'm sad to report, has a majorly disappointing follow-through. It turns into a noisy, squalling chase movie. Read full review
50
TimeRichard CorlissOct 31, 2011
It's a great idea that Niccol can't translate into a great movie. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 28, 2011
The writer-director Andrew Niccol is best known for writing "The Truman Show," another movie that got carried away by doomsday deep-think. The deep-think here is even sillier. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchKevin C. JohnsonOct 28, 2011
After a nifty setup, In Time mostly fails to deliver as it gets lamer by the minute. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternOct 27, 2011
Andrew Niccol's In Time looks great, sounds stilted and plays like a clever videogame with too many rules. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyOct 27, 2011
What's missing are the kind of moments that actually matter, the ones that are so gripping that you want desperately for time to stop - to savor them, to feel the fear, the passion, the regret. Ah, well … maybe next time. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 27, 2011
Pretty cast. Potent premise. Piss-poor execution. And so dies In Time. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisOct 27, 2011
The movie tries to do for forearms what the loosely similar science-fiction romance "The Adjustment Bureau'' attempted for men's hats: make them chic. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaOct 27, 2011
In Time is that kind of movie: Philip K. Dick for knuckleheads. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonOct 26, 2011
Much like Niccol's "Gattaca," in which genetic perfection rather than time was the weapon a small group of snobby, unworthy elites used to hold down the meek masses, In Time is a chilly, stiff movie where clever ideas are delivered as self-righteous sermons. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyOct 26, 2011
As novel and absorbing as In Time is in several respects, however, Andrew Niccol's latest conception of an altered but still recognizable future feels undernourished in other ways that are not as salutary, preventing the film from fulfilling its strong inherent promise. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineNick SchagerOct 26, 2011
Justin Timberlake can't elevate what amounts to relatively simplistic, formulaic material, but his headlining turn exhibits sufficient charisma and wit to make In Time a passably diverting action-packed waste of time. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith UhlichOct 29, 2011
Niccol's attempts at satire are toothless. Read full review
40
SlateDana StevensOct 29, 2011
Niccol's bizarrely stilted sci-fi thriller In Time, a movie so consistently flat-footed, with pauses between lines of dialogue so vast, that you begin to wonder if the whole thing might be a psychological experiment of some kind...Or has he just made a really dull movie? Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelOct 27, 2011
Kartheiser brings some zip and smarm to the proceedings as the villain with a million years in his vault, but it's not nearly enough to make In Time worth your time. Or your money. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithOct 28, 2011
This future looks awfully passé: The stimulus didn't work out. Neither did 1917 Russia. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesNov 2, 2011
They have some fun playacting at class warriors on the lam – and Seyfriend, it must be said, rocks a killer bob – but it's all just big-budget dress-up in a futurescape that reeks of phoniness. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierOct 28, 2011
Sadly, for 99% of its running time, this muddled sci-fi drama is filled with enough overplotting, bad acting and riddle-speak dialogue to stop a clock. Read full review
16
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallOct 26, 2011
Niccol fashioned an uninspired and downright dull sci-fi gimmick and doesn't even explain how it happened. Read full review
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