“88 Minutes,” starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt and Lelee Sobleiski, is about a high profile forensic psychologist, Graham (Pacino), who must track down a serial killer he thought he imprisoned in order to prevent him from claiming his next victim- Graham.
Honestly I was impressed with this movie. Being a fan of the old ’90s action movies such as “Face Off,” “Con Air,” and even newer attempts at the suspense thriller/action genre such as “The Bone Collector” and “Along Came a Spider,” I realized that it has been far too long since a film maker has attempted to make a bona fide ‘Action Film,’ or the last time that a suspense thriller has come along that was actually able to hold my attention for the entire movie. For some reason “88 Minutes” was able to do this, if for no other reason than it tried.
The acting is remarkably good. Pacino, who has had his fair share of attempts to play the bad guy (“Scarface,” “The Recruit”), takes a chance playing the opposite. In Graham, we see a man not innocent by any measure, but tortured by a childhood tragedy and a desire to put serial killers behind bars. His passion is unfolded throughout the movie, and in a scene near the end we see the history of this passion as he confides in a colleague that a psycho killer claimed it took “88 minutes” to extinguish the life of his sister as retribution for testifying against the man.
Likewise, we get to see performances from Lelee Soblieski (“Joan of Arc”), Alicia Witt (“Urban Legend”), and Benjamin McKenzie (TV’s “The O.C.”). Witt claims a lot of screen time, and does a adequate job portraying Graham’s teaching assistant and semi- unspoken love interest. She comes across as a strong character, and seems to have come a long way from her portrayal of the innocent college student she played in “Urban Legend.”
Sobleiski does a decent job, and honestly the only gripe I have with the movie was not so much the acting, but the script at times. McKenize, who seems fairly capable at delivering his lines in this movie, seems stultified. His scenes, when he has them, don’t make a lot of sense, which is unfortunate, for against my preconceived notions I didn’t see Ryan Atwood in his performance, but an actor that has the potential to stick around for a while outside the setting of the pop phenomenon that launched his career.
In addition to the above members, we also see a refreshingly re-instated William Forsythe, whom I haven’t seen since “Virtuosity,” and Neil McDonough “Band of Brothers” who plays the villain, a maniacal man who murders his victims in very strange fashion.
It was not the acting, the budget or the plot which made this movie, but the spirit. It seemed more a throwback to the old ’80s and ’90s action movies than most modern attempts have been thus far. This movie is fun. It causes you to guess at times, yet at others seems mildly predictable. There are standoffs and there are shootouts. There are explosions. There is a puzzle to be figured out, and though some may have it figured out long before the end, it doesn’t take away from the experience. The ending is not spectacular, but rather seems a nice wrap up to an overall enjoyable film.
Amidst of legion of movies today that have the tendency to disappoint, this movie did not. It is escapism in the old school. It is a look back to the days of movie making where the goal of the film was not plot, the actors or target demographics, but rather a throwback to the days where films were something simpler and better: when they were made, and of course viewed, for the simple purpose of having fun.
Overall, an enjoyable 88 minutes.
