RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / 88 Minutes
88 Minutes

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

88 Minutes (2008)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
5 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 119

Fresh: 6

Rotten:113

Average Rating: 2.6/10

Consensus: 88 Minutes is a shockingly inept psychological thriller that expertly squanders the talent at hand.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for disturbing violent content, brief nudity and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Apr 18, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $16,930,884

Synopsis: In 88 MINUTES, Dr. Jack Gramm (Al Pacino), a Seattle-based college professor and forensic psychiatrist, is informed by an enigmatic caller that he has exactly that amount of time to live. The... In 88 MINUTES, Dr. Jack Gramm (Al Pacino), a Seattle-based college professor and forensic psychiatrist, is informed by an enigmatic caller that he has exactly that amount of time to live. The threat is linked to Gramm's role in putting a convicted serial killer (Neal McDonough) behind bars nearly a decade earlier, and sends the scholar/consultant on a desperate run to avert his imminent demise. Entering into Gramm's dangerous orbit are his dutiful assistant (Amy Brenneman), an FBI agent (William Forsythe), and his admiring young students (most notably Alicia Witt), all of whom add layers to the tense mystery. Shelved for years, 88 MINUTES was finally released in U.S. theaters during 2008, marking director Jon Avnet's first feature-film project since 1997's RED CORNER. (Avnet was brought in as a replacement for original helmer James Foley.) Pacino clearly knows his way around a thriller (see HEAT and INSOMNIA), and approaches his beleaguered character with typical gusto, while his costars, particularly Forsythe and Witt, also offer up energetic turns. Though the high-concept plot is secondary to Pacino's agitated performance, even those who drift from the storyline will appreciate the Hollywood veteran's over-the-top acting, especially if they are diehard fans of the iconic actor. [More]

Starring: Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman

Starring: Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, Deborah Unger, Neal McDonough, William Forsythe, Melinda Clarke

Director: Jon Avnet

Director: Jon Avnet
Screenwriter: Gary Scott Thompson
Producer: Randall Emmett, Gary Scott Thompson, Jon Avnet
Composer: Edward Shearmur
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
    My Job
    >
    88 Minutes Video
    >
1 - 3 of 3

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Sep 16, 2008

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for 88 Minutes

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Don't bother

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
02/12/09
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile

The overwrought production, sieve-like plot and ludicrous characters merge into something genuinely hilarious. But that's clearly not what cast and crew were going for.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/03/08
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Ridiculous and ultimately disappointing thriller that stays just about watchable thanks to an amusing pair of performances by Shouty Al and his hairpiece.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/03/08
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

THE WORST FILM OF THE YEAR.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
10/03/08
Sun Online

Pacino looks half asleep throughout, no doubt concentrating solely on his cheque, while the script is a catalogue of clichés and contrivances.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
10/03/08
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Good Sunday afternoon entertainment but it won’t hang around the multiplex for long.

Full Review Source: Heart 106.2 | comment Comment
10/03/08
Simon Thompson
Heart 106.2

Full of dreadful turns and awful dialogue (“There’s been a breach in my most secure area!” mutters Al at one point), 88 Minutes is 107 too long.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
10/03/08
Neil Smith
Total Film

It's called Eighty Eight minutes. But, in fact, it's one hundred and seven minutes of your life that you lose should you persevere with this witless thriller.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
10/03/08
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

Interestingly, the more overblown and insincere a performance Pacino delivers in a film, the more self-important and bouffant his hair gets. Here, it’s so towering it takes up 90 per cent of the screen.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
10/03/08
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]

There are more thrilling ways to spend 88 minutes, like counting from one to 5,208.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
10/03/08
Stella Papamichael
Channel 4 Film

Now that this stupendously inept serial-killer flick has slithered into theaters, the diminutive legend had better clear room in his closet for another cinematic skeleton.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
10/03/08
David Fear
Time Out

It verges on so-bad-it’s-good territory, but just isn’t entertaining enough. Lacking in tension and pace, poorly edited and starring wholly unsympathetic characters, this is just dull, drab and boring.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/03/08
Helen OHara
Empire Magazine

The kindest thing one can say is that director Jon Avnet and screenwriter Gary Scott Thompson bought a flatpack version of a thriller and then couldn't follow the instructions. Manuals can be confusing.

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment Comment
10/02/08
Victor Olliver
Teletext

The movie runs blandly through its paces without generating an ounce of tension or suspense.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
09/19/08
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

I should have walked out after 8 minutes.

Full Review Source: WaffleMovies.com | comment Comment
09/14/08
Willie Waffle
WaffleMovies.com

While 88 Minutes is no 3:10 To Yuma, this beat-the-clock escape artist fare that's light on logic and heavy on the shoe leather, sustains sufficient breathlessly nerve-jangling lockdown for the duration, despite a couple of weirdly situated plot holes.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment 1 Comment
09/09/08
Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze

The film is a disaster in every way possible. I have rarely seen a big budget, star studded, major studio motion picture flop this hard.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
06/08/08
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

When they were counting down the 88 minutes, I just kept saying to myself, "oh man, this movie still has 72 minutes left?" "Oh man, this movie has 17 minutes left?" I just couldn't wait to get out of the theatre.

Full Review Source: WJFK-FM (CBS Radio) | comment Comment
05/13/08
Kevin McCarthy
WJFK-FM (CBS Radio)

This is an excruciating "88 Minutes."

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
05/10/08
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Lord in Heaven, how does stuff like this happen?

Full Review Source: Tucson Weekly | comment Comment
05/04/08
Bob Grimm
Tucson Weekly
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
all

Latest News for 88 Minutes

January 21, 2009: Razzies Name 2008's Worst Movie Nominees
No awards season would be complete without the Golden Raspberry Awards (AKA The Razzies), awarded each year to the very worst movies to hit Hollywood. This year's winners will... More...

October 03, 2008: UK Critics Consensus: How To Lose Friends & Alienate People Does Just That; Whilst Brideshead Revisited Is Resisted
In the UK cinemas this week we have two literary adaptations with Simon Pegg as an irksome hack in How To Lose Friends & Alienate People, and Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited... More...

September 09, 2008: While 88 Minutes is no 3:10 To Yuma, this beat-the-clock escape artist fare that's light on logic and heavy on the shoe leather, sustains sufficient breathlessly nerve-jangling lockdown for the duration, despite a couple of weirdly situated plot holes. Opens in new window
More...

April 22, 2008: Pacino, De Niro Take Lumps for Recent Choices Opens in new window
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino might be among the greatest living American actors -- but have they forgotten why they started acting in the first place? More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for 88 Minutes

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
79%
79%
Gran Torino
30%
30%
12 Rounds
23%
23%
Confessions of a Shopa…
—
The Code
39%
39%
Inkheart

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
22%
22%
Push
12%
12%
The Unborn

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

5 Favorite Films

5 Favorite Films

Director Kathryn Bigelow on Hurt Locker, more

Revisiting Hogwarts

Revisiting Hogwarts

Day 2: The Chamber of Secrets

Humpday Clip

Humpday Clip

An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

RT on Current TV!

RT on Current TV!

Check out the RT Show this Thursday!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Warners Shortens Green Lantern Wishlist Source: Hollywood Reporter
0
  • Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: MakingOf.com
0
  • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
52
  • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
16
  • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
10
  • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
82
  • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
39
  • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
92
  • Brandon Routh Talks Superman's Future Source: Moviehole
98
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
66
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
59
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
46
  • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
39
  • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
29
  • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
26
  • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
26
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
24
  • Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone
18
  • Watch RT on Current TV
6
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • 88 Minutes at Rotten Tomatoes
  • 88 Minutes at IGN
  • 88 Minutes at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

A Baywatch Comedy?
A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.