This Day in Theaters: Oct. 3, 2003

Out of Time (2003)

Out of Time is a 2003 crime thriller that went under the radar and that is surely a shame. It tells the story of a small town south Florida police chief, played by Denzel Washington, who gets caught up in a murder and fraud investigation involving his current girlfriend after an explosion at her house. His soon to be ex-wife, played by Eva Mendes, happens to be a homicide detective in Miami who is assigned to the case; she wants to believe he didn't do it and seems to think so but the evidence points otherwise. For the next 90 minutes Denzel must stay one step ahead of the investigators while independently trying to find the truth about what really happened at his girlfriends house that night. Its a great ride that is filled with some action, suspense, and some really good twist and turns that really keeps you engaged. I came across this movie for the first time on TV a few years ago and I couldn't change the channel. But how did others feel?

Mick LaSalle of the San Fransisco  Chronicle seems to agree:

"'Out of Time' is a shrewd thriller that takes the time-honored plot about an innocent man wrongfully accused and gives it a film-noir twist. Here, our hero is not exactly innocent. He's a little bit dirty, guilty not of murder but of another crime anyone might have committed under the same circumstances. He's also not accused of anything right away. He just sees where the damaging evidence is pointing and knows that he has only hours to solve the crime and clear himself." 

USA Today's Claudia Puig doesn't:

"Out of Time is out of interesting new ideas. It's the old story of an innocent man looking guilty of crimes merely because he got mixed up with the wrong gal."

Who let that guy ruin the beautiful people's shot

Aha! The old this has been done before so this movie isn't very good. There are only so many ideas rolling around Hollywood so practically every movie is either a rehash of old ideas or an amalgamation of multiple ones. What I love about "Out of Time" is that it knows this sort of story has been done before but it goes for broke in making sure it gives us an awesome ride. There is not much I can say about this movie but that it is a fun 100 minutes that delivers on expectations fully. Sure there are some scenes that seem a bit clunky and some of the minor players aren't up to Denzel's level when it comes to their thespian skills but it is nowhere near enough to ruin the film. If you like action and crime thrillers check this one out. If you like fast paced films that can keep you guessing check this one out. If you are a fan of having fun watching a flick rent this one today!

IMDb Score: 6.5

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 65%