Denzel Washington.... Matt Lee Whitlock

Sanaa Lathan....         Anne Merai Harrison

Dean Cain....              Chris Harrison

Eva Mendes....           Alex Diaz-Whitlock

Alex Carter....             Dr. Cabbot

Robert Baker....          Tony Dalten

John Billingsley....       Chae

Directed by Carl Franklin.  Written by David Collard.

Out of Time tries to be a Hitchcockian thriller and fails miserably at the attempt. 

Out of Time follows Matt Whitlock (Denzel Washington), chief of police for Banyan Key, and school sweetheart, Anne (Sanaa Lathan).  After learning she has cancer, they try to do everything possible to get her special treatments in Europe.  They try to cash in her life insurance policy, but to no avail.  As a going away present, she changes the recipient of her life insurance funds to Matt.  Matt wont accept this as the end, so he steals almost $500,000 seized in a drug bust and gives it to Anne.  The next day he discovers that her, her house, and her husband Chris (Lois & Clarks Dean Cain) burned to death.  Realizing that all signs point to him as the killer, Matt then does stupid thing after stupid thing to try to clear his name.

The biggest problem with Out of Time is its predictability.  It takes no chances whatsoever.  Who you think is good is good and who you think is bad is bad.  This problem really comes about at the terrible ending, but most of the film is entertaining.  I always criticize those who dislike a film for a bad ending, such as those who disliked Unbreakable for its forcing the twist, but those films had a far superior beginning and middle parts.  As you watch you wonder why is he doing some things because you know thatll it put him deeper into trouble, you sit there almost laughing at his foolishness.  As the chief of police wouldnt you think he would have a little respectability and couldve just said that he was having affair with Anne and not try to hide the relationship from others, but he still gets himself more and more into trouble.

If you would like to see a Hitchcockian thriller, just go to the video store and watch a master at his craft.  Director Carl Franklin (High Crimes, Devil in a Blue Dress) has made thrillers and such before and they all are kind of muddled and boring films.  With this cast you would hope to be taken on a wild ride but we endure these great actors wasting their talent.  Opening the same day is the very entertaining The School of Rock and the following week, Tarantinos Kill Bill and the Coen Brothers Intolerable Cruelty, and those both promise to be very entertaining, intelligent worthwhile films. 

If you would like to see a great Denzel movie, you should check out his Antwone Fisher, 2001s Training Day (his first time working with Eva Mendes) or Fallen.  Out of Time wastes your time.