An A-grade idea is lost within a B-grade movie with In Time a somewhat entertaining and slightly hypocritical retelling of Robin Hood with a sci-fi makeover.

Writer/producer/director Andrew Niccol has thus far created a filmmaking career centred upon ethically rich stories, with In Time no exception. The central idea here revolves around the battle between rich and poor, prophetic considering our economic troubling times.

Taking the notion of “time is money” one step further, Nichol has created a future where wealth is determined by how much time you have on your biological watch. A genetically modified human race has stopped people aging at the age of 25 with an additional year in change, unless you are filthy rich and can buy immortality.

Enter Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), a working man from the poor end of town who is given a century of time from a suicidal, rich “old” man (Matt Bomer). Yet he is also told how the system is geared to let the rich live and the poor die. “Darwinian Capitalism” is how one character describes it.

Yet rather than “occupy” against the man Salas takes to fight to them, bringing along rich kid girlfriend Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried) whose daddy is the main capitalist villain of the film (Vincent Kartheiser).

It is at this point that In Time loses steam, with Niccol’s central premise not enough to sustain the whole picture which turns into a quasi-Bonnie & Clyde meets Robin Hood B-movie.

For that to work a hero is needed that the audience can latch onto and root for, and while Timnerlake is solid as Salas and can entertain given the right material he just doesn’t have that extra something to make his role of rebellious action hero work.   

Also lacking is chemistry between Timberlake and Seyfried, with the passion needed to fuel their “lovers on the run criminal exploits” non-existent. Yet the more said about Cillian Murphy the better, with his role of dogged cop (aka Minute Man) the highlight of In Time.

Other pretty young things also appear. Olivia Wilde plays Timberlake’s mum (insert yummy mummy comment here), and Alex Petyfer portrays a gangster who has clearly watched to many 1950s gangster pictures.

But in the end In Time is only as good as its central premise takes it. Plus considering that the film is funded and released by a huge corporate entity in 20th Century Fox, perhaps Niccol’s was a tad hypocritical in his “rich is evil” spiel.

Then again, that’s Hollywood for you.