Rating: 6 / 10

Starring: Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Neal McDonough

Plot: Dr. Jack Gramm (Pacino) receives a mysterious call telling him he has 88 minutes left to live. That situation, exasperated by Gramm’s snoopy grad students and haunting memories of his sister’s death, make up this typical cat-and-mouse chase.

The good: It’s good to see Al Pacino getting out again; his performance is undoubtedly the best part of this film. Pacino carries the entire film with his slightly paranoid and always analytical character. He continually jumps from frying pan to fire, narrowly escaping death several times.
With a slew of small-name actors, you don’t know who will live and who will die, and the movie does a decent job of keeping the audience guessing until the very end.

The bad: For all the effort the audience puts into watching this mystery caper, the conclusion doesn’t live up to the investment. Pacino plays a strong character, but it’s sometimes hard to believe he can seduce grad students, solve the crime and avoid shootings and explosions when he can barely run in most scenes.

When the identity of Dr. Gramm’s wannabe killer is finally revealed (and it takes longer then 88 minutes to get there), you might wonder, “Was all that really necessary?”

The lowdown: “88 Minutes” isn’t a bad movie, but it definitely doesn’t live up to trailer expectations. There isn’t much analysis of the characters, as in other psychological thrillers. The punchline isn’t worth the money or the effort in driving to the theater, but perhaps it’s a good rental option after you’ve seen all three “Scream” movies and your expectations for mystery murderers have sunk to the lowest possible point.

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