terrible... so disappointed.

Masterful Movie

just watch it!

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Gene Watson arrives home in Los Angeles, after attending his ex-wife's funeral, with his daughter. Soon, his daughter is kidnapped. He is given a gun, and the picture and itinerary of a person, and told that if he hasn't killed that person in one hour and fifteen minutes, his daughter will be killed. The following takes place between 12:00 and 1:30.......In the eighties and the early Nineties, John Badham was the king of really cheesy action movies that featured quite big name actors. The majority of them are not very good, but all of them are ridiculously funny, and, for reasons always unbeknown to myself, they are always worth going back to, for some strange sadistic reason.The gimmick in this particular movie is the fact that it's set in real time, and this just makes the film even more stupidly entertaining than it should be. The narrative is simple, as is the plot. Depp has to kill someone, or his daughter gets killed, and everyone he seeks help from is either in on it, or buys the big one.It shouldn't be as good as it is, it's all over the place, but it's really worth watching for three reasons.1) The film shows that Depp can do normal if he wants. His Watson is a thousand miles away from Jack Sparrow, and him not having to mug his way through a film is quite refreshing.2) The real time. It is a neat gimmick, and this was before the advent of 24. It makes the film that little bit more urgent. But then you have to consider the fact that Badham uses slow motion........and a dream sequence in real time. And Johnny Depp goes to the toilet more times in ninety minutes than Jack Bauer has done in his whole career.3) Christopher Walken. If you appreciate the actors career from 1990 to around 2003, you will understand what I mean when I say the this is him at his most 'Walken'. The little wink when he's angry, the little hunch head and smile when someone disagrees with him. And of course, the high pitch and sudden gravelly voice change he's best known for.It's all here.If these three elements were not included in the film, it wouldn't be anything more than a lethargic, below par, race against time thriller starring a career struggling Stallone or Willis, which is quite surprising as around this movies release, both said actors were struggling with their careers.Worth watching for all the wrong reasons.

Just like many of the old B-movies, this fast, exciting and often tense thriller makes a big impact by delivering its story with great economy and style. The circumstances under which an ordinary man finds himself embroiled in a political assassination plot, unfold very quickly and from that point on, his desperation, fear and confusion are both obvious and understandable. Audiences naturally warm to characters who are extremely average and through no fault of their own, find themselves thrust into dangerous circumstances where they're completely out of their depth. In "Nick Of Time", the combination of just such a character, circumstances that seem to offer him no way out and the need to conform to an extremely tight deadline, all create plenty of intrigue and suspense which is ratcheted up even further by the action being presented in real-time.Gene Watson (Johnny Depp) is a recently-widowed accountant who arrives at Union Station in L.A. with his 6-year-old daughter Lynn (Courtney Chase) and is spotted by a man and a woman who approach him claiming to be police officers. After ushering him to their nearby van, the very threatening Mr Smith (Christopher Walken) instructs Gene to kill the Governor of California, Eleanor Grant (Marsha Mason) by 1.30pm that afternoon or he will kill Lynn who is held in the back of the van by the sinister-looking Ms Jones (Roma Maffia). Smith gives Gene a gun, a photograph of the Governor and a copy of her schedule for the day and Gene, unable to think of any way out of this nightmare, makes his way to the Bonaventure Hotel where the Governor's due to give a speech as part of her re-election campaign.On numerous occasions , Gene attempts to tell people such as a taxi driver, a cop and anyone he thinks might be able to help, about the plot but Mr Smith always suddenly appears at the critical moment to prevent him from doing so and to reiterate his threat to kill Lynn. Despite this, Gene eventually manages to convince a young campaign worker called Krista Brooks (Gloria Reuben) of his sincerity but when she's killed in shocking circumstances, he realises that an awful lot of people are involved in the conspiracy including many of those who are close to the Governor and those who are responsible for her protection.With time running out and his anxiety increasing by the minute, Gene makes his most meaningful breakthrough when he conscripts the help of Huey (Charles S Dutton) who's the hotel shoeshine man. This one-legged Vietnam veteran enlists the co-operation of the other staff in the hotel to enable Gene to alert the Governor to the danger she's in before she's due to make her speech. A shootout follows in the ballroom where Governor Grant is due to speak and Huey uses his initiative to good effect to delay Ms Jones from harming Lynn before the story reaches its surprising conclusion.It's really interesting to see Johnny Depp in a role where his character doesn't have numerous eccentricities and his understated portrayal of Gene Watson is both skillful and effective. Christopher Walken is always superb in menacing roles and his work in this movie is no exception.Gene Watson's predicament creates great natural anxiety and this is intensified further by Mr Smith's ubiquity and the numerous shots of clocks and watches which are a constant reminder of how little time is left. The fact that so many people are involved in the assassination plot introduces an element of paranoia into the action and the fact that Gene is being watched all the time and is unable to leave the hotel makes the whole atmosphere incredibly claustrophobic. "Nick Of Time" is essentially a very modest undertaking but one which creditably achieves what it set out to do.

Really enjoyed watching this thriller of the 90's. The film is a short run, describing the high paced story of an executive who visits the USA with his daughter, and who is then blackmailed by conspirators into assassinating the to be governor, else his daughter will be killed.It may look old fashioned now, but it definitely will keep one at the edge of his seat from start to end, like "Vantage point". Johnny Depp has played his part well. Everything in the film is commendable. It has good thrills and action sequences, and sudden twists that you probably would not even expect.Should be watchable

Johnny Depp plays Gene Watson, who disembarks off a train at Union station in Los Angeles with his daughter Lynn. He is approached by two people named Smith(Christopher Walken) & Jones(Roma Maffia) who claim to be cops who need his help. Unfortunately they lie, and instead Lynn is taken by Jones and held captive in a van. Smith informs Gene that he must assassinate the California governor(played by Marsha Mason) in the next ninety minutes, or his daughter will be killed. He is given a gun with six bullets, and sent to the hotel where the governor will be giving a speech, and that he better not tell the police, since Smith will be watching him closely the whole time. How can Gene get out of this situation alive? Interesting idea for a thriller to be told in "real time", and though it has good performances, it never really gels because the premise is so far-fetched. (Enlisting a random person to do a killing seems far too risky. Why not get a professional to do it?)Watchable enough if you have 90 minutes to kill, but that's all.