5 Days to Midnight (2004)

Originally a mini-series, made for cable, shown in five parts, with a total running time of 210 minutes approx (*1). Timothy Hutton plays a physics professor who receives a message from the future that he will be shot within four days. Can he save his life without creating a time travel paradox that would rip the universe apart? Who wants to kill him and why? And what’s more: Who sent him this message?

Most critics thought 5 Days to Midnight was well acted (notably by Hutton and 10-year old Gage Golightly - looking like a young Drew Barrymore - who plays his daughter), but also thought it was way overlong and anti-climactic. It was re-edited and released on DVD, in two parts of 90 minutes, reducing the total running time by half an hour. It still looks a little overlong, and it takes a bit too much time to get going, but once it does, there are enough ideas, questions, twists and turns to keep you hooked. The ending is indeed a little anti-climactic, but the answer to the question who actually sent the message is quite intriguing.

I bought the DVD for less than 2 euros (3 DVDs for 5 euros). They were well-spent

⭐⭐⭐

5 Days to Midnight (2004) - Cast: Timothy Hutton (Professor J.T. Neumeyer), Randy Quaid (Irwin Sikorski), Kari Matchett (Claudia Whitney), Hamish Linklater (Carl Axelrod), Angus Macfadyen (Roy Bremmer), Gage Golightly (Jesse Neumeyer)

Note: 

* (1) Some sources mention a running-time of 255 minutes, but this is most probably the running-time of the original showings on Cable TV, including recaps (at the start of every new episode) and commercial breaks.