A Major Disappointment

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Out of Time is an intelligent and very entertaining con movie. Denzel Washington plays a chief of police who gets framed for a murder he didnt commit. All the clues lead to him. Will he get busted for a crime he didnt commit or will he find the culprit who is framing him?Great acting. Great jokes. Great body and great acting by the gorgeous Eva Mendes. Just a thrilling entertaining con flick. Seen it many times now and at first viewing the story is rather confusing. But that doesnt matter much, because the suspense is the best ingredient of this con movie which is very entertaining and suspenseful.

This is wholly typical to look at as "wrong man" thriller but makes more interesting sense when you take stock of it as modern noir. It begins with a man who is going around with someone's wife. He may be well meaning and the husband an abusive dolt, but there's something not quite right here and will need to be settled.So his tiptoeing in the dark takes noir shape in a narrative where he finds himself at the mercy of a plot where he was only being used, a character in a story prepared by cunning authors to exploit what he thought was love. The main tool for giving shape to turmoil is that the anxiety is so overwhelming, he splinters in two; one where he is pretending to work the case where he has been framed as culprit, the other where he must rush to prevent himself from being outed, tinkering with the story, changing clues.I like how it is all laid out in the very first scene, the scene of the narrator's emergence into the noir world; he has answered a call for a break-in to someone's house, she says it was someone exactly like him, he tries to seduce, then she does. Then we pull back to have it revealed that they know each other and were only playing, the call an excuse for the affair. But of course in due time we get to note that she was seducing outside the seduction, the affair an excuse.Along the way we have Florida as the evocative backdrop, some ordinary mechanics of tension as he fights to reclaim control.It's brought back full circle in the end where he emerges from the nightmare of this illicit affair and, having realized the hazard to his soul, is relieved to be taken back by his estranged wife (she was mightily impressed that he didn't kill and steal, okay). So with Denzel on the cover this might seem like any thriller, but it's from a noir genealogy. Denzel and this filmmaker had made a more alluring noir prior in Devil in a Blue Dress, this is more mechanical.Noir Meter: 3/4 | Neo-noir or post noir? Neo

Are you a fan of Denzel Washington? Yes? Then this is your movie! You've got Denzel at one of his best performances playing the role of the Chief of a Police Department.The plot of this movie is quite simple. But the events that occur within are what makes this movie outstanding. The movie has been presented so meticulously- it just keeps you waiting for 'what next?'Denzel Washington is probably the best character to have done justice to the role. Eva Mendes is as stunning as usual. The character 'Chae' is quite cool too. All in all, this movie is awesome! I just can't imagine any other character than Denzel!!

I believe in short reviews.Its a treat. If you survive first 35 minutes then you are on joy ride in front row of roller coaster. Its written very well. Director has done great job but after first 35 minutes. But in first 35 minutes, I think they have wasted much time in trying to build story and if you are watching this movie like me on DVD, you will be cursing yourself and thinking about ejecting DVD at any minute. Thats one weak point of-course in my point of view.Denzel is great actor and he acted very well. Eva was good but Sanaa Lathan was OK. Last but not the least "John Billingsley", he justified his role.Last words, very gripping, heart throbbing and intense thriller and you will not feel like "Out of time" while watching this movie.