Photo from REGAL ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
‘Time & Again’ has onscreen characters that are not perfect; they are flawed and are human as you and me, and everyone else. “Apol” (Winwyn Marquez) and “Ozzi” (Enzo Pineda) are as opposite as they they come. One is driven, accomplished and knows what he wants in life. The other is shy, overly conscious of herself, and living in a “make-believe world” full of “what if’s”…. Their eventual crossing of paths is where their story begins.
The concept that ‘Time & Again’ has a Fantasy element to it because of the time travelling device–an antique timepiece–in the possession of “Apol” got me intrigued and interested in the potential of this movie. For me, it helped make this movie feel “fresh” and unorthodox. So, for me, that is a check mark ! A positive point to ‘Time & Again’.
On another aspect of ‘Time & Again’, and there is no other way to say this… but the script in particular for this movie was so terrible in most scenes that they made me cringe. I honestly could not make sense of it. At one point, I felt like I was watching two people pretending to make sense of an aimless conversation that only went nowhere in the end.
Now, to be clear, I don’t have a mean bone in my body when it comes to reviewing and critiquing. However, when something can make me cringe already, that is a very strong indicator of it being terrible and so tiresome, there is no hiding that.
The running time of the movie dragged on longer than it should ideally have. ‘Time & Again’ felt a bit too long. A few scenes could have been left in the cutting room mainly because of the bad dialogue and lack of direction they had in them. Surely, a few remedies could have been done to make the movie feel more fluid and transition smoothly from one scene to the next. A movie doesn’t have to be so long to make it feel like it is a complete movie. Other than a good director, it just needs a decent and smart script. Not every scene has to be included if it will do nothing in making the movie progress forward in its storytelling and onscreen character development.
Adrienne Vergara’s presence in a supporting role in ‘Time & Again’ is one of the few praiseworthy aspects of this movie. She helped brighten and liven up the dull and stale method of the storytelling in it. Adrienne Vergera not only provided some laughs, she was responsible for saving a few scenes from becoming utterly boring because of the bubbly, naughty, and lively personality she projected in this movie. I look forward to seeing her appear more in Regal movies.
To the credit of the main stars Winwyn Marquez, Enzo Pineda and co-star Adrienne Vergara, they maximized what they could possibly do with the roles they were given; they performed to the best of their acting abilities as far as they were allowed to. In some scenes, I could almost feel that they wanted to do much more… but they were constrained and limited to the material they had to work with. So, that fact is both disappointing and sad because ‘Time & Again’ had a decent, motivated, and capable cast.
‘Time & Again’ could have been saved if the right person or people had written the script so that the dialogue would not have turned out so poorly the way that it did. Hence, the movie’s potential was not fully tapped because of this.
Of course, I am realistic. Rarely is a movie ever perfect in all categories because life is not perfect and movies oftentimes reflect that reality we live in. But for me, to overlook the glaringly obvious, and not say that the script for ‘Time & Again’ was not fitting and congruent for this particular movie would mean I am not doing my movie review fairly, objectively, and correctly.
It is what it is. It is a subpar script with little merit to it. As generic as they come. That is what I find most frustrating. Sadly, there is no reversing or changing that in ‘Time & Again’ because the movie is out already and what has happened has happened.
Let me just end my movie review on a brighter and happier note because not everything about ‘Time & Again’ is bad. I am here to critique and review the movie and not rip it apart because I am fully aware of the time and effort everyone put into making this movie. The valuable life lessons moviegoers will learn from ‘Time & Again’ are that our insecurities, social standings, and having different jobs in couples should not hinder or prevent us from going after the person we believe is meant us.
‘Time & Again’ delivers the message that we should make the most of every opportunity, chance, and opening to get to know that person, get closer, and hope to establish a real friendship that could blossom to something much more meaningful and significant. Golden opportunities present themselves only so often.
I am hoping for a much better script and direction from a romantic-drama or romantic-comedy next time around.
My Score For ‘ Time & Again’ – 6/10