ShareThisFor those who are wondering, "88 Minutes" isn't.It misses the mark by about 20 minutes, giving the film a slightly bloated aspect and leaving viewers feeling a bit cheated.Not that Al Pacino fans don't want more of him to love. But with a thriller like this, less definitely is more, and judicious editing could have turned a red-herring-filled whodunit into a shark tale with bite."88 Minutes" is enjoyable to a point, mainly because of Pacino, but it's another one of those films, like "Two for the Money," intended to show that the nearly 68-year-old actor is young and with it and relevant. As long as Pacino is alive, he will be relevant. There's no need to act defensive about him.But in "88 Minutes" Pacino comes off as something of a caregiver god/gallant knight to young women and a wrathful god to young men. His "contemporaries" are 15 to 20-plus years younger. Such hard-sell tactics don't do Pacino justice.Pacino plays Dr. Jack Gramm, a Seattle forensic psychiatrist who has testified in several high-profile cases. One of the most notorious involved an accused killer, Jon Forster (Neal McDonough), who was convicted mainly on the strength of Gramm's theories.On the day Forster is to be executed, Gramm gets a disturbing phone call, with a disguised voice telling him that he will die in 88 minutes. Every so often, he gets another phone update.Meanwhile, he's busy talking to the police about a young woman killed in the wee hours whose slaying matches the pattern used by Forster. And he's trying to teach his college class filled with aspiring forensic psychiatrists, including his teaching assistant, Kim (Alicia Witt). And he's constantly on the phone with his assistant, Shelly (Amy Brenneman). And he's helping a student, Lauren (Leelee Sobieski), who has been attacked in a campus parking garage.Plus, there's a bomb threat, a mysterious motorcyclist (Stephen Moyer) who keeps following him, an icy dean (Deborah Kara Unger) who's mad at him and a cop friend (William Forsythe) who's starting to suspect Gramm of murder.But not to worry; Gramm has a gun, and he knows how to use it. Plus, he never runs out of cell phones, and his TiVo operates not on electricity but on magic."88 Minutes" has a great cast, but everyone else is just there to say that Pacino's Gramm is superhuman. What the film needs is for Gramm to be more vulnerable and for half the plot shenanigans to go away.Pacino holds our interest, but he shouldn't have to do it against a backdrop this convoluted. Director Jon Avnet and screenwriter Gary Scott Thompson really need to learn when to say when.Rated R for disturbing violent content, brief nudity and language.2.5 stars (out of five)(Contact Knoxville News Sentinel film critic Betsy Pickle at pickle(at)knews.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
Pacino makes bloated whodunit at least somewhat enjoyable
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