Meurtre en suspens

Nick of Time has a rather novel concept of taking place in real time some years before the TV series 24 made this its central conceit.

Johnny Depp plays an everyman accountant whose young daughter is kidnapped by villainous Christopher Walken and ordered to kill the Governor of California or else his daughter will die.

Walken gives him a gun and a time limit of 90 minutes and it has to be done when the Governor is giving a speech in a hotel.

Depp in an unusual role playing a normal guy has to keep his wits about him and try to find help but Walken and his cronies are watching his every move. Depp still manages to unravel a conspiracy.

The film may have a preposterous plot, surely there are easier ways to kill the Governor but the film kicks in quickly and director John Badham clearly brings a Hitchcockian sheen to the film. You seem the time motif regularly in the film and an increasingly frantic Depp as time goes on.

I am a huge Christopher Walken fan so that was my motivation for seeing this film. I must first say that it is similar to "Speed" but I thought this was much more entertaining. The movie is entertaining and it has a few great little speeches by Mr. Walken. Johnny Depp is cool as a normal guy trying to be the hero. Watch this movie if you love these two actors. If you do not like Walken then you will probably not like the film (but who doesn't like Christopher Walken?!)

When you see the name Wes Craven, John Carpenter or Brian de Palma, we know that we can trust that we're in for a couple of hours of fine entertainment.

Although not as much a household name as the directors above, John Badham knows how to tell a suspenseful story as well as any of the other "kids on the block." Please look up his filmography and see all the countless house of excellent entertainment he has brought us; not only on the big screen but on television as well.

In "Nick of Time" John carefully guides us through one disaster after another. Johnny Depp conveys his frustration and fear that he might not be able to prevent any of the bad things that will happen.

Christopher Walken again proves that he is as comfortable being the "heavy" as he has been the "hero."

At a time when sometimes the good guys don't always win and the bad guys sometimes "get away with it," this is one cinematic thriller that should keep you on the edge of your seat the whole 90 minutes.

Johnny Depp takes a break from his usual roles as outcasts, in this playing a clean-cut accountant who travels by train back to LA with his daughter after the wake of his deceased ex-wife. Upon entering the station, 2 people show him a police badge, take him into a van, and blackmail him into assassinating the governor in one hour or else they'll kill his daughter.

The remainder of the entire movie takes place in a hotel where the paranoid atmosphere gives clues about how big the conspiracy is and the political motives behind it; with nearly everyone keeping their eye on him and very little time, he's faced with the difficult task of getting out of this situation.

A must-see if you like edge of your seat excitement and an excellent cast, with Depp (great as Gene Watson), Marsha Mason, Charles S. Dutton, and Christopher Walken, playing the most despicable bad guy since Laurence Olivier in "Marathon Man".

This Hichcockian movie deals with an accountant named Watson (Johnny Depp) arriving in L.A. Union Station accompanied by his little daughter named Lynn (Courtney Chase). He's approached by a pair of rare people (Christopher Walken, Roma Maffia). The daughter is taken hostage into a van and Watson suffers a blackmail , he's given a gun with six bullets and he must go to the Bonaventure Hotel and commit a murder on a known people (Marsha Mason) . Watson is only helped by a shoeshine worker (Charles S Dutton).

Gripping, original action movie with Depp desperately trying to find the means to avoid his daughter to be murdered. Excellent thriller full of intrigue and tense , this is a fast-paced, stylized action-suspense film . The tension of this picture keeps snowballing as the clock ticks ever close for killing the starring's daughter . The tale appears to be unfolded in real time as the many on screen clocks will verify. Most unusual is the device of having the victim play desperado and hunt the killers, and saving his daughter , as time runs out. Casting is frankly magnificent, Johnny Deep as a tormented businessman who becomes involved into a twisted plot , Christopher Walken takes honors as a psychopath who attempts to turn the tables on the victim before he can inform the police . Plus, a good secondary cast , such as Peter Strauss, Roma Maffia, Gloria Reuben, Marsha Mason, G D Spradlin, among them . Adequate musical score accompanying the action by Arthur B. Rubinstein and inventively photographed by Roy Wagner. The motion picture was well directed by John Badham. He's a nice director who achieved his greatest success in the 80s . He directed several hits (Saturday night fever, Short circuit, Blue thunder, Drop zone, War games, Skateout), though today making TV movies (Jack Bull, Floating away) and television episodes (Crossing Jordan ,Psych, Las Vegas , Standoff, Heroes).