The Killing Time

Kiefer Sutherland is an unknown killer, who comes to a peaceful coastal town pretending to be the new deputy sheriff. He starts working with Sam Wayburn (the expressionless Beau Bridges) and Carl Cunningham (Joe Don Baker), who is going to retire. Sam is in love with his high school sweetheart Laura Winslow (Camelia Kath), who is married with a powerful and wealth man, Jake Winslow (Wayne Rogers). Sam and Laura decides to kill Jake and put the blame on the new comer, but things will not work as planned. This movie is not totally bad, although full of clichés and very predictable. The situations are easily resolved and the plot is neither moralist nor amoral: it is shallow. Maybe in the hands of the Cohen brothers or other good director, it could be a great movie. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Tempo de Vingança" ("Time of Revenge")

Having just watched another Kiefer Sutherland good movie (Truth or Consequences N.M.), I found "The Killing Time" almost equal. True the end was probably as predictable as ever, but getting there was as twisty as a California coastal road. Michael Madsen kind of disappeared, and that was somewhat disappointing. The character development was very good, the acting was fine also. I found the enjoyment level better than some of Quentin Tarantino's supposed classics. It is no "Fargo" but has that kind of feel to it. You could do much worse for an evenings entertainment. I give "The Killing Time" a solid 6.5 stars. - MERK

Above all, I mean the opening and ending scenes, which could be different: the first killed a lot of thrill for subsequent events, the latter was too abrupt and short. The tensions are also not maintained high throughout the movie and events connected to the past remain vague and uncompleted. Dramatic scenes end as suddenly as they begin and do often not provide additional value to the movie; the plot does not run smoothly, the scenes are rather "minced".

But performances are good (Bridges, Baker, Kath) or great (Sutherland, Rogers); Madsen could have played a bigger part. The Killing Time fits quite well into its title, especially if you like something happening in a quiet American town, without constant chases and bursts.

Killing Time treads familiar ground in the thriller genre, offering a serviceable but unremarkable viewing experience.

Despite the committed performances of its cast, the film struggles to transcend its formulaic plot and lacks the ingenuity needed to captivate audiences.

While there are fleeting moments of suspense, they're often overshadowed by predictable twists and clichéd tropes.

Watching Early Sutherland is the highlight of the movie, even though his performance is a little understated.

Ultimately, Killing Time may provide mild entertainment for those seeking a straightforward thriller, but it fails to leave a lasting impression or offer anything new to the genre :)

The script of this movie never shows why or how a seemingly decent, almost boring small-town cop is transformed into a scheming bad-ass who plans not only murder, but to pin the blame for it on a fellow officer. Love is just not enough, especially when the object of it, Camelia Kath, is so woefully lacking in the femme fatale department. Then there is Keifer, who is excellent, except we don't get to see much of him. A lot could have been done with this character, but instead we get large dollops of the poisonous relationship between two quite unattractive people (Kath and her nasty, clichéd, property tycoon husband). Hitchcock could probably have pulled off a denouement in sand dunes on an overcast day but probably not many others could. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Joe Don Baker's performance as the old sheriff.