88 Minutes (2008) Movie Review

[WillRiker]

Movie Title: 88 Minutes

Director: Jon Avnet

Rated: Finland:K-15 / Netherlands:16 / France:U (with warning) / Brazil:16 / Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) / Germany:16 / USA:R

Genre: Crime / Drama / Thriller

Runtime: 108 min

Viewed: Sitting in my chair in front of the TV

Trailer:

MTW presents yet another YouTube - '88 MINUTES' MOVIE TRAILER video

Synopsis: In Seattle, the successful forensic psychiatrist and college professor Jack Gramm is in evidence since he was responsible for the condemnation of the serial killer Jon Forster, influencing the jury to sentence him to the death row. Jon accuses Jack of manipulation, inducing one witness and sister of one of his victims to testify against him. On the eve of Jon's execution, Jack receives a phone call telling him that he has only eighty-eight minutes of life, while a killer is copycatting Jon, killing women with the same "modus-operandi" and is investigated by Seattle Slayer Task Force. With the support of associate Shelly Barnes, an FBI agent, his friend Frank Parks, and his assistant Kim Cummings, Jack investigates some weird and problematic students, a security guard of the campus and the woman with whom he had one night stand

Opinion: First things first...I first watched this movie about 6 months ago just never got around to reviewing it and didn't realise that it was only actually released in the last week or so. From my memory I thought it was an OK movie but then I began to hear and read nothing but bad about it...and I mean I've seen some vicious stuff written about this movie in the last week or so, and here's just one example....

This slimy, slug-minded mystery thriller starts out dead on arrival and then, like three-day-old fish, gets really bad really fast. And it stays bad, ensnaring its star and every other cast member in its wretched net.

.....so that set me thinking that maybe because it had both Alicia Witt & Leelee Sobieski in it that I was only remembering them and therefore thought the movie was good, so I sat down and watched it again the other night to see if it truly was as bad as everyone was saying it was.

Now while this may not be the greatest movie ever made..it certainly isn't anywhere near as bad as it's being made out to be, and it certainly isn't the worst movie I've ever watched...and believe me I've watched some stinkers in my time.

I believe that where the biggest problem with this movie begins is that Al Pacino basically phones his performance in. When we're pretty much used to him being an amazing actor and starring in some of the truly great movies ever made, to see him more or less sleep walk through this movie is a little disappointing. Then when you back that up with performances that were more than a little stiff by both Alicia Witt & Leelee Sobieski I suppose I can see why some people would be disappointed with it.

Therefore, with the absence of any great acting, you tend to focus on the storyline/plot a lot more than you maybe normally would and when you stack that up against other thrillers that have been released lately, (Vantage Point springs immediately to mind), then it also finds itself somewhat lacking.

Don't get me wrong....I mean the story really does try, and I won't give away any secrets or twists in case any one does wish to watch it, but it does try to get you thinking who could be doing what...but when all is said and done it just seems a little implausable.

I think were we've all been spoiled is that TV shows have raised their game in the past few years with shows such as "24" & the CSI series and such all having high production values and seeming more like mini-movies that when a movie like 88 Minutes comes along it sort of pales by comparison.

So the bottom line is that it's not great...but it's not the turkey that it's being made out to be. Personally I wouldn't pay to go watch it in the cinema otherwise I really would feel ripped off, and there are far better movies to spend you hard earned cash on, but if you want to wait until it's out on DVD and want something to occupy an hour and a half without really expecting too much from it, then give this a look....or wait for it to come on TV might be the better option still.

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