Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures [Click to enlarge]

With a veteran actor like Al Pacino, you wouldn't expect to find yourself praying his new film "88 Minutes" was in real time.

The film follows a very tense day in the life of Dr. Jack Gramm (Pacino). Gramm is a professor who also works as a forensic psychiatrist. That means he analyzes serial killers and his professional opinion helps put them away.

This tense day is the day Jon Forster (Neal McDonough), a serial killer on death row Gramm put away, is scheduled to be killed. The trouble starts when people close to Gramm start dying. Then Gramm receives an anonymous phone call from someone who says he has "88 minutes to live."

Gramm is suddenly forced to find out who wants him dead and why. The list of suspects is long; it could be any one of his students (Benjamin Mckenzie, Leelee Sobieski, Alicia Witt), his assistant (Amy Brenneman) or even the dean of the college he teaches at (Deborah Kara Unger).

I went into this movie with pretty low expectations. The trailer did not inspire confidence and it feels as though Pacino is slumming for a paycheck; that is probably true though.

Pacino is one of the major weak links in this movie. He sleepwalks through the whole thing. There are probably two scenes in which he actually gets worked up and yells at someone. The rest of the time he is way too calm, even when bullets start flying. It's as if he thinks that forensic psychiatrists constantly live in a hailstorm of hot lead.

But the worst thing about Pacino in this film is his age. Pacino is almost 68 years old. So in the film when he is sleeping with a woman who is 20-something, it is not only ridiculous but very creepy. I don't care how much money his character makes - it just doesn't fit. He also sort of pets all the other women in his life - students, the assistant, anyone - and they're all less than 30 years old.

Fortunately the film is saved by an intriguing plot. It takes about 30 minutes, but by then you're hooked and it's anybody's guess as to who is behind everything.

Gary Scott Thompson's intricate script and Jon Avnet's direction save the film from being a waste of time. Even though Pacino is barely half-caring what he does in this movie you will still want to know what is really going on and why.

It really makes me excited to see "Righteous Kill" later this year, which is also directed by Avnet and will hopefully feature a more involved Pacino. Robert De Niro also stars in the movie.

Fans of Al Pacino will be disappointed with his performance but those looking for a good thriller will not be let down. "88 Minutes" has some faults but overall it's not a waste of time. Don't feel bad about seeing it. Maybe you can see this in a matinee and then check out "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" later that night. That should work out nicely.

Luke Soin can be reached at lsoin@statehornet.com

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