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Out of Time
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Reviews & Ratings for
Out of Time More at IMDbPro »

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

This movie was OK but I think it had one to many energy drinks.

Author: triple8 from Conn
16 May 2005

*** This review may contain spoilers ***


Out Of Time is an unbelievably tension producing movie starring Denzel Washington as a police Chief in a small Florida Town who is framed for a murder. It's a decent movie, Definitely moderately involving with an atmosphere so highly charged the tension literally leaps off the screen sometimes. And the performances were all really good. But in spite of the positives, I didn't love this. Nor did I ever get as involved with the plot, as I'd have thought I would, with a movie such as this.

Part of the problem for me was, in fact the frantic pace. The movie was a perfect ten in some respects. It was atmospheric and moody at times, at others showcased scenes that took place in the hot sun with a beautiful Floridian backdrop. The atmosphere was spot on and the plot was actually interesting. But the movie's tension, for me, worked against it.

Almost every scene(actually scratch the almost-virtually every scene) was LEAPING with tension-and some of the plot twists were not only unrealistic but tiring as well. After awhile watching Denzel constantly trying to keep his involvement with Anne a secret got a bit much. Rather then the interesting plot being the movie's focus, we had Denzel changing phone records, running a lot etc etc. All the tension overshadowed the movie. "Relax", I wanted to yell at the screen several times. By the end of the movie one feels they just ran a marathon. But the plot should have played out quietly, moodily and realistically, because at the end for me, Out of Time, while being nowhere near dreadful, was just another thriller-instead of a really unforgettable and fascinating Noir which it could have been.

One thing I will mention was the acting which I though was pretty good, particularly Sanaa Lathan as Denzel's lover, who, in my opinion gave the best performance and commanded the most attention. She also had the best scene in the movie, her showdown with Denzel was truly well done and her character truly creepy. The end of Out Of Time was certainly involving but I can't say the rest of the movie was at the same level for the reasons mentioned above. My vote is 6.5 of 10. Lastly, check out the musical score, particularly at the end, man it makes one want to head to the beach with a margarita....

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

Good acting from Washington overcomes predictable story

Author: sjmcollins-1 from New Orleans
27 November 2004

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

(Spoilers) A good, tense performance from Denzel Washington and some nice, tight action sequences from director Carl Franklin help Out Of Time overcome a plot you can see unfolding 10 miles away. Washington is police chief of a very small town in south Florida, and juggles an affair with a married woman (overplayed a bit by Sanaa Lathan) and his about-to-be ex-wife Det. Alex (Eva Mendes). Washington's character makes some lapses in judgment that are ultimately well-intentioned but land him in hot water, and the movie comes alive as he tries to cover his footprints. The bulk of the movie takes place over 1 day, and the stress builds as Washington comes closer and closer to being caught. Most of the fun in the film is in watching Washington escape by the skin of his teeth in scene after scene, and really only one big action sequence is involved. Like I said, you kind of know how things are coming to a head way in advance, but Denzel helps push this into recommendable territory.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

Predictable but fun

Author: Petros Rodakinias from Volos, Greece
19 July 2004

This is a short review since this movie is neither so good nor so bad as to make me want to write many things about it. It's an ok film, nothing special and it's the presence of Denzel Washington that keeps it in an above average level.

The story is mostly predictable, even though it's full of twists. It is also full of inconsistencies and relies heavily on coincidences for the story to keep going. On the plus side, most of the acting is great (Eva Mendes is unconvincing as a detective) and the direction, editing and music are all right.

This movie is nothing special -you wont be running to tell your friends about it- but it makes for a decent watch. It will entertain most people so I recommend it for a relaxing evening. I give it 6 out of 10.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

Fairly entertaining but far fetched

Author: rosscinema ( from Oceanside, Ca.
18 July 2004

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This is one of those innocent man in trouble stories that Alfred Hitchcock use to make but even with all the plot contrivances this is still a pretty entertaining film that benefits from the star power of it's lead actor. Story takes place in Banyon Key, Florida where we see Police Chief Matt Whitlock (Denzel Washington) who is going through a divorce and having an affair with his high school sweetheart Ann Harrison (Sanaa Lathan) who is married. Ann's husband Chris (Dean Cain) suspects that Matt and his wife are seeing each other and they have many volatile confrontations. Ann is diagnosed with terminal cancer so Matt gives her $500,000 of impounded drug money from the stations safe and he plans on replacing it with the money from an insurance policy where Ann has named him as the benefactor.


Suddenly Ann and Chris die in a fire and Matt's wife Alexandra (Eva Mendes) is the homicide detective put in charge and after trailing after her on her investigation he learns that Ann never had cancer and the doctor that handled her case is a phony. Also, the feds show up and want the impounded money so now Matt must play a cat and mouse game with both the feds and his wife. Alexandra doesn't suspect her Chief of Police husband but after a while the clues finally start to point to him.

This film is directed by Carl Franklin who has worked with Washington before on "Devil in a Blue Dress" and he's a good and capable director that always creates good atmosphere in his films and this is no exception. The hot and steamy location in Florida helps establish a tense momentum to the story and it definitely has a modern film noir feel to it. There are many things in the script that are just impossible to believe but it doesn't hamper the tension that is created by both Franklin and Washington. Mendes is unconvincing as both a homicide detective in charge and as the wife. The final scene in the film where she comes back to Washington is preposterous and you would think that after learning about all the wrong things that he has committed would just convince her that he is wrong to be around. But no, Hollywood just has to tack on one of those goofy feel good endings that defy logic! But this is still pretty entertaining and Washington's screen persona can make even the most silly of films watchable and one cannot help but root for him even though he bungles about making obvious bad decisions. Another good performance in the film comes from John Billingsley as the medical examiner Chae and we should all be so lucky as to have someone like him watching our backs. The highlight of the film is watching Washington sneak about trying to hide phone records and running out of back doors to beat his wife to the scene of investigations. Story is full of implausibilities and contrivances but with a good performance by Washington and solid direction by Franklin it's perfectly okay to overlook it's flaws and still be entertained.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

All Denzel. All the Time

Author: P Carr ( from Topeka, KS
28 June 2004

In "Out of Time", Denzel Washington steps into another corrupt cop role, but one several notches mellower than his Oscar-winning turn in "Training Day". Instead of the harsh streets of Los Angeles, Denzel now roams the beaches of the Florida Keys, where he is the big fish in a small law enforcement pond. Unfortunately, one of the other fish is his soon-to-be-divorced wife and detective (Eva Mendes, despite a 20-year age difference)). Throw in his lover (Sanaa Lathan), her quarterback boyfriend (Dean Cain), some drug money, and an arson-murder, and you have all the fixings for a tropical crime thriller.

But this movie is all Denzel. In another good performance, he defines A-list star, because if he were replaced with anyone along the lines of the rest of the cast, it would practically be a B-movie. As it is, his powerhouse performance carries the flick. He could easily have been caught up in all of the insanity that ensues. But like his character, Denzel keeps his cool and lets his natural gravitas and imposing demeanor drive yet another movie.

But even Denzel can be hamstrung by a mediocre script. Faced with complex options galore, his character doesn't seem to make cop-like decisions, even for one with his shady record. I suppose that could be construed as part of his character, but his choices still occasionally seemed weak. That allows the suspension of disbelief to sometimes sag, which in turn detaches the viewer from the movie instead of sucking them into the thickening plot.

That is, if it's possible to really get into this flick. Perhaps influenced by the casual nature of its filming location (Miami, etc.), "Out of Time" proceeds so nonchalantly that you don't have to take it seriously. You can see the various twists and turns coming, and you don't have to think too much about them. It's like a great looking roller coaster that you cruise through at a leisurely speed. You have no complaints about watching the conventional movie, but you're not going to rush out to tell your friends either. In an extra, Denzel described the flick as simply a fun romp, which is a dead-on description.

Graeme Revell ("Daredevil", "Negotiator") provides the music, which adds to the easygoing style of the movie. With the Keys as a backdrop, Revell smartly opts for a tropical, percussive soundtrack that utilizes steel drums and the like, which is quite enjoyable for the ears. Nothing else technical is worth noting, except the look of the film, which is full of bright warm colors, which complements the heat (in different forms) being applied throughout the movie.

Most everything contributes to the straight-forward, relaxed style, and while the complementary nature is good, the subdued tone is bad, leaving the viewer content but emotionally unaffected.

Bottom Line: If you enjoy Denzel, then you'll enjoy this movie. 6/10 max.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

Denzel Carries a Trite Plot

Author: Gary Murphy ( from Olathe, KS, USA
17 February 2004

The plot for this movie sounded a little too "Hollywood" to be plausible, but Denzel Washington's strong cinematic charisma can often carry a movie. That is the case here.

The plot centers around Denzel Washington's character as a police officer who is the prime suspect in a murder. The plot hook is try and figure out who set him up. That was an easy task, so the movie was very anticlimactic. The movie also suffers from what I call "lazy writing". When a plot contains contrivances to create drama, my "Oh, come on!" meter gets pegged. There was more than a little of that here.

In spite of these shortcomings, the screen presence that Denzel brings to the film make it watchable none-the-less. If you don't go in with high expectations, this film should manage to keep you entertained.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

Predictable but adequately suspenseful yarn

Author: clydestuff from United States
15 January 2004

This is one of those films that are better viewed if one has never seen the trailers or advertisements for it. In this day and age of hard sell, those kinds of things are tough to avoid. I can't really understand why studios find it necessary to give away so much of the plot surprises in the advertisements, but they do and we learn to live with it and go on.

If you have seen any of the trailers for Out of Time, you'll know whats going on long before Matt Whitlock (Denzel Washington)does. Whitlock is chief of police of a small and lazy Florida town that most of us wouldn't mind living in. He seems like a nice congenial type of guy, but for a chief of police, not a particularly bright one. Either that or he lets his hormones override his common sense which is a problem most men have encountered at one time or another. Matt is married to Alexandra (Eva Mendes)who has just been promoted to homicide detective but is filing for a divorce from Matt. Matt is having an affair with his high school sweetie Ann (Sanaa Lathan)who happens to be married to security guard Chris who apparently likes to use his wife for a punching bag. I'm sure you can see where some complications might arise from all this and arise they do. It seems that besides having an abusive husband Ann also is dying from cancer and needs treatment that she can't afford. Having recently made a drug bust that included a large sum of money, Matt is more than willing to use the tainted cash to give her a helping hand to save her life. Ann, also being an obliging kind of soul, in returns makes him beneficiary of a million dollar life insurance policy. This is just the setup folks so of course all this is going to lead to one big colossal mess. As films like this go, nothing is what it seems to be.

Chances are, if you are subject to any kind of rational thought process at all, you'll have to swallow hard and empty your head to buy into this crime caper. I know I had, to and it certainly helped me to enjoy the film for other reasons than the rickety plot surrounding it. First of all there's Denzel Washington. He makes us believe he could be a do gooder who could be suckered into some of the things going on here. Later, when (figuratively speaking sort of) he is caught with his pants down, he is absolutely intense as a man who is under the gun and trying to worm his way out of a very sticky situation. You'll be sweating right along with him. Eva Mendes is certainly an attractive alluring detective, which could explain why the costume designer of this film put her in such a tight skirt for about half the film, (distracting and not necessary). Yet, she exudes professionalism when she is on the job, and manages to show her concern and frustration in her relationship with Matt. Sanaa Lathan has a difficult job in her role. She must make us believe she is a certain kind of person in the beginning, and a totally different person at key points in the film. She does it very well. Dean Cain is certainly no Superman in Out of Time and you'll forget he ever wore the red, yellow and blue tights. He is menacing and sinister throughout and my have just made a new career for himself playing villains. John Billingsley plays Chae, Matt's friend and a goofy medical examiner. His main purpose in this film is to be just that, a goofy medical examiner who is required to show up at just the right moments.

It's not a bad film. You'll probably be able to predict most if not all of what is going to happen. It's done well, keeps the suspense going regardless and should serve as a reminder to all men to keep their hormones in check, whether it's an old high school flame or not.

My Grade C+

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

Nice movie but due to 'high action' previews, I was let down!

Author: Victoria from USA
28 October 2003

I just feel that they put all the action in the previews to try to hook us into seeing the movie. I think I would have enjoyed the movie much more if I hadn't been led to believe that it was so action packed. It had a rather good story and this should have been hyped on the previews and let the action be second to the story. All I can say is, I'm glad I have a job that pays my way to go to movies sometimes because I'd have been rather upset had I forked over full price. Maybe not so much had I gone to a matinee. I will probably buy it (mostly for the scenery) but only after I can get it for half price. Bottom line watch if for the story, not for the action.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

Predictable, contrived plot!

Author: lori from new jersey
14 October 2003

I went to the theater expecting to see a somewhat decent movie based on the various reviews that were out. What I saw was a movie that has been made 1,000 times before. Unless you are very dense, the whole movie is given away in the first 15 minutes. It is so obvious as to what is going on and there is no suspense whatsoever!

This movie was just plain bad. Denzel really couldn't save this tired contrived plot!


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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:

Not the worst, but not the best

Author: Arnot from Los Angeles, CA
5 October 2003

This film had excellent potential, but failed to generate any momentum. It could have been a great movie, but ended up being an o.k. movie. There was no real

suspense involved.

If felt as if I had seen the whole movie before - everything was far to familiar & far to clichéd. It is not a bad movie, but it is also not worth spending $30 on either (two tickets + popcorn, coke + parking). My suggestion is not to waste your money on watching this film in the theater, but wait until it comes out on DVD.

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