hsmith2007

I've just been to see this film and whilst I consider it to be good and I enjoyed it, I am absolutely amazed at the fantastic write-ups that it has had. It was exciting, well made with a great performance by Heath Ledger, it also had many flaws. The main one, for me, was that, after several serious Batman films, this one, more than any other, ignores the fact that it is supposed to be fun.

There were so many sub-plots and complications, including an intensely boring analysis of the meaning of heroism. Cynical violence was also taken to new levels (how did it get a 12A rating in the UK?) and, except for Heath, the acting performances were very average. Was Christian Bale supposed to be the star? The action sequences were good, but of the type that have been seen many times before (car and bike chases, flying between tall buildings etc) and there was nothing really special.

I am very suspicious about the 70% plus of people that seem to have given this 10 out of 10 and cannot see how this has happened.

A very simple story of a young boy accidentally locked in a bank vault with no way of getting out until the time lock is released some 60 hours later, well after the air will have run out. No way except, of course, breaking in. And that's it. Together with an average cast and fairly wooden performances from some of them this should, by rights, have been no more than an average fifties film. Its strength, however, is its script. This kept the story very tight with very little embellishment and a great deal of intelligence. Usually with this type of story there are many gaps where one cannot help but feel that a truck could be driven through the errors made or the ridiculous twists. With Time Lock, however, the script covers virtually everything that the viewer would consider. Details such as the thinking and methodology of how to get into the vault, organising the people required and even such items as the possible medical effects on the boy and how to calculate the amount of air left to breathe. All this had a great effect on building the tension and I had to watch it until the end. One of the most enjoyable films that I have seen in a while.

Saw this film at the NFT in London where it was showing as part of the BFI's John Huston season. I wasn't really sure what to expect and the first few minutes of the film gave very little away. In fact the rest of the film continued to give little away! No real plot, no action, no suspense, very little drama and, except for a short section at the very end, no scenery.

The result of lack of all of these features was, however, a wonderful film. I don't fully understand why, but I think that its understated nature made the film almost completely perfect. The acting, script and, most important of all, the casting were all spot on and I can't remember walking away from a cinema feeling so good, but I still can't work out why. I just know that I will be getting the DVD (this is one of those films that will, I am sure, be just as good on the small screen as the cinema experience, provided that you can find somewhere quiet to watch it!) and I will be watching it again soon. I will be also interested to find out what my family and friends think of it. I'm sure that it will not be everybody's choice but I am convinced that a large number will agree with my view.

9 out of 10.