Movie misbilled as thriller
by Rawly Bransom, Reporter

   Anyone expecting Denzel Washington’s new movie Out of Time to be anything like Training Day will be sadly disappointed.
   Not to say that this is a bad movie, but for a movie billed as a thriller, it had very few thrills.
   In the movie, Washington plays Matt Whitlock, a likeable, down-to-earth police chief of a small town outside Miami with only four other officers.
   Whitlock is having an affair with a very sexy Ann Merai Harrison, played by Sanna Lathan.
   Merai is married to Chris Harrison, a wife-beating, ex-football player, played by Dean Cain.
   Washington is separated from his wife Alex, who just made homicide detective for the county. Alex is played by Eva    Mendes—also currently in Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
   The plot unfolds as Lathan’s character is supposedly diagnosed with cancer and runs out of options. Her lover Washington steals money from the evidence locker to help her get to an alternative clinic in Switzerland.
   Cain, known mostly for his role as Superman on TV’s Lois and Clark, seems the only dark element of the entire movie. One scene, where Chris (Cain) threatens Washington in third person almost gave me chills.
   Still, the plot is rather straightforward and fairly easy to figure out. I guessed most of the plot twists in the first 30 minutes and was never once truly shocked.
   The movie does have a whimsical tone courtesy of Whitlock’s friend Jay, played by John Billingsley. Jay is the county medical examiner and Washington’s only ally.
   Washington and Billingsley play naturally off each other similar to two old friends swapping lies while seamlessly covering the other’s lies to everyone else. Billingsley truly keeps this movie moving with wit and humor although the thrills fail to show themselves.
   I truly found myself laughing much more often than I found myself waiting for the next twist.
   Will people looking for Denzel Washington’s next Oscar winning performance be disappointed?
   Yes.
   Will people looking for the dark twist thrills of Training Day be disappointed?
   Yes.
   Will people looking for a lighthearted movie with a decent plot and actors that do the movie justice be disappointed?
   No.
   Out of Time delivers a well-driven, exciting plot with a good helping of lighthearted comedy to keep the movie alive. I would definitely recommend seeing Out of Time, but please just do not expect another dark thriller like Training Day.