Viewed in
2013
Formats
HDTV
Premise
Johnny Depp stars as an accountant forced to assassinate a governor before Christopher Walken kills his daughter. Events occur in real time.
Loved
Walken's speech.
Disliked
Laughably incredulous story.
Thoughts
Oof, what an entertaining mess. Where do I begin?
The premise and execution was preposterous, and it didn't help that 24 made the story-telling gimmick worked way better. Here was a story about how everyone was in on the conspiracy, with Walken able to ninja Depp every step of the way. Yet, with all their resources and string-pulling, they plucked a random stranger to do the evil deed without checking if the fall guy is even capable of shooting a gun or isn't mentally insane. Also, despite the bad guys' abilities and training, they were easily tripped up by Depp, a shoeshiner (Charles Dutton), and the hotel staff.
As if the writing deficiencies weren't laughable enough, the technical deficiencies were equally bad, including obvious editing continuity issues and cameras that didn't dolly smoothly.
The best part was, of course, Walken, sporting a fantastic caterpillar of a mustache. His meandering, bizarre monolog about killing his best friend was almost worth the price of admission. Depp was fine, given the material, playing things straight. Lastly, what's up with then-L.A. mayor Tom Bradley taking time out of his duties to make a cameo? Good thing state governors don't pull that kind of crap. Oh wait.
Nick of Time was almost bad enough to be good, with unintentionally funny writing/execution and Walken's intentionally funny Walkening.
