Review: Al Pacino loses some credibility in '88 Minutes'

Posted Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 4:44 PM Central

by John Couture

Al Pacino is unquestionably an American film legend. HIs list of films include both hits and edgier fare that have elevated him as one of American film's living legends. With credits that include The Godfather, Scarface and Scent of a Woman, he could continue to make Giglis year after year without doing much to damage his reputation.

So, no matter what I say about Al Pacino in this review of 88 Minutes, he will still be regarded highly in the film community. So, as such, know that he is as much at fault for this film's failure as anything else.

The problem in this film rests in that his character must be so smarmy and unlikable that when he gets the notice that he's going to die in 88 minutes, the viewer is left wondering why the tormentor would wait so long. Now, it's true that in order to have a variety of potential tormentor suspects, Al Pacino's character must have a certain level of evilness inside of him to breed enemies.

Unfortunately, they cross a line and it becomes clear pretty quick that Pacino's portrayal has done little but to foster a level of apathy in the viewer that they are unable to shake for the rest of the movie. No wonder this film sat around for a couple of years looking for window for release.

Beyond Pacino, the film itself is poorly paced, despite having a built in plot device that is meant to drive the action of the plot. The secondary characters aren't developed hardly at all. And the big reveal of the tormentor is a let-down because it becomes pretty apparent early on who the tormentor is (here's a hint, you don't cast a name actor or actress and not make their part interesting).

And while we're on the topic of the film's title, why would you name a movie 88 Minutes and then give it a run time of 107 minutes? To me, it would have made more sense (and added some kitsch factor) had the movie been released with the titular number of running minutes.

Heck, it would have been much more interesting had the movie actually taken place in real time, but sadly the movie does not take place in real time and the running time does not match up. After doing some research on IMDb.com (because let's face it, I had not the time or desire to actually research this or sit through te movie again), it seems that the running time from the first time Al Pacino is told of his impending demise until the end of the credits is 88 minutes and that the tormentor is revealed to Al Pacino in the 88th minute of the film.

I'll take their word for it. And if true, that's the two most interesting things about the movie.

Bonus Features
I wish I could sit here and tell you that the film contains a slew of extra goodies to make your purchase or rental of the movie worthwhile, but sadly I cannot. The "alternate ending" isn't even an alternate ending so much as it's an extended ending scene that was clipped from the original cut of the movie for timing reasons.

The tormentor is the same, the outcome is the same. The only difference is that there's more movie to watch. On second thought, that could be construed as torture in several countries.

The only other bonus feature is a featurette called "The Character Within." As a whole, it's not entirely terrible, but I've seen far better features on the sets for TV series.

With the paltry list of bonus features, it is almost not even worth adding this section to the review.

Overall, the movie is a test of the audience member's ability to stay awake and not get up to put something else on. To be honest, the movie can be enjoyed in totality in the first 15 minutes at which point you will know how it will end and who is the tormentor.

Your time would be better served watching another movie at this point. However, you may have noticed that I went out of my way in this review not to spoil the ending of the movie. Heck, I even went so far as to play the pronoun game.

Every person's taste is different and if you're an Al Pacino that must see everything that he's in or you like crossword puzzles that are already half-way finished for you, then this movie might be for you.

And who am I to say that you shouldn't watch it?