Were it not for the plot's central gimmick,
Next would be a perfectly standard action film, and a pretty mediocre one at that. Thank goodness screenwriters Gary Goldman, Jonathan Hensleigh, and Paul Bernbaum get to use this gimmick every chance they get to keep things interesting. At its heart,
Next is a perfectly average film that wouldn't stand out at all were it not for the fact that its main character has the ability to see two minutes into his own future. Why two minutes? Heck, even the character himself doesn't know. The movie is wise to throw common sense to the wind, and just let us get wrapped up in this ludicrous yet entertaining plot device. It certainly manages to hold our interest for a while, but a gimmick can only take you so far.
Second rate Las Vegas magician Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) was born with the ability to see into his own future. He's never understood it, and spent most of his childhood being studied by doctors because of it. He is now trying desperately to lead a semi-normal life, which is right about the time no-nonsense government agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) walks into his life. Somehow, she's been able to figure out his ability to see the future by watching his Vegas act, and wants his help in tracking down a stolen nuclear weapon that was recently obtained by a small terrorist army who is planning to detonate it on US soil. Cris, however, is not interested in letting the government exploit his ability. The only thing he's interested in is finding out the identity of a mysterious woman in a diner who he saw in one of his visions. The woman turns out to be a lovely young teacher named Liz (Jessica Biel), and when the two strike a bond, Cris hitches a ride with her in an attempt to outrun his government pursuers. The situation will quickly escalate into something he can no longer ignore, especially when Liz gets involved, and Cris will find himself dragged into a situation where the lives of thousands of innocent people depend on him.
Freely adapted from a short novel by Philip K. Dick,
Next is pure junk food entertainment that is relatively harmless, and manages to go in one ear and out the other. The movie may not explain how Cris possesses this ability, but at least it's smart enough to exploit his talent to the benefit of the screenplay. It is clever in the way that it shows a deadly outcome for Cris if he keeps on continuing on his current path, then literally rewinds, revealing what we just saw was a vision, only to have Cris make a split-second choice that changes his fate. There is a memorable sequence where Cris causes a landslide in order to escape the people pursuing him, and throw off the gunmen who are lying in wait for him. If this all sounds needlessly complex, it probably is, but the movie has a lot of fun toying with us. And, for a little while, we have fun right along with the movie. Cris' ability adds some much needed interest to some action sequences that would be pretty mundane without them. The problem is, the gimmick wears off after a while. We can tell when we are being toyed with, yet the movie still thinks we're not in on it. It's like someone trying to explain something to you, and under the mistaken assumption that you don't know what they're talking about. We see Cris "die" many times throughout the movie, and it obviously loses it's effect after a while. I must admit, the movie's final attempt at toying with us near the end of the film is a pretty big surprise, but it also winds up cheapening everything that came before it. It's hard to talk about without dipping into spoilers, but I admit I was a little ticked to discover that the movie spent so much time making us care about nothing.
Still, as I mentioned, the use of Cris' abilities probably winds up helping the movie in the end. All of the film's action sequences, while well done technically, don't wind up offering a lot of thrills. They're pretty mundane, especially the climax, which is mainly composed of people wandering around in the dark. A lot of this has to do with the fact that a lot of the characters are not developed very well, and there's never a true sense of impending danger, despite the whole nuclear bomb being stolen. The villains are a mainly faceless group of ethnic thugs from around the world who have decided to blow up a bomb on US soil for no reason whatsoever, if this movie is any indication. No motivation or goal is given, nor are they given any real personalities. On the side of the law, Callie Ferris is mostly portrayed as a stern yet understanding officer with no personality or interest outside of her job. We know that she's been following Cris for a while, and knows of his ability, but we never learn how she first discovered him, or what led to her idea to chase him down in order to get his help. A lot of this has to do with the film's fairly brief 96 minute running time. It feels like a lot got cut out of this movie, especially since very little of the film actually deals with the terrorist plot at hand. You would think someone blowing up a nuke in a residential area would be a bit more pressing of a matter. Yet, it seems to be the last thing on Cris' mind. I suppose you could argue that it's related to the whole "I don't want my powers exploited" thing, but still I would think he'd be a bit more concerned than he lets on.
Next is far from anything great, but the performances do help it go down a little bit easier than it probably should. Nicolas Cage once again turns in a likeable performance as Cris, giving the character his usual sleepy-eyed sarcastic edge that just about all of his recent performances contain. It's not that I'm complaining, as even in his worst films, Cage is always a joy for me to watch on the screen. He has a good screen presence, and he always comes across as likeable to me. It's an added plus that he's teamed up with Jessica Biel, who has a warm presence in this film and a good overall chemistry with Cage. They don't get developed very well as a couple, but they still manage to build some enjoyable moments together. As the head government agent, Julianne Moore seems to be slumming just a little, but at least she manages to leave a mostly positive impression. The role is beneath her abilities, but she doesn't let it show, and she's certainly game throughout the film. A special note must also be made of a short cameo by veteran actor Peter Falk. It's merely a walk-on, but it's still a comfort to see the guy still has that likeably crusty and slightly cranky screen presence that's always made him stand out.
By all accounts,
Next is a movie that should not work. The characters are weakly developed and two dimensional, it never seems quite as exciting as it should be, and it relies too heavily on a gimmick. And yet, at the same time, the gimmick is the very thing that makes it work from time to time. Not enough for me to call it a success, but enough for me to tell that they at least made a serious effort. I suppose I should give credit to Nicolas Cage and company for not completely screwing up such a silly idea. And yet, I can't help but wish Cage would move past these kind of genre films, and go back to some real acting roles. I understand the guy's got a sense of humor about himself (see his cameo in
Grindhouse for proof), but he's also got some great skills that are being neglected. Here's to hoping he wises up soon enough.
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Were it not for the plot's central gimmick, Next would be a perfectly standard action film, and a pretty mediocre one at that. Thank goodness screenwriters Gary Goldman, Jonathan Hensleigh, and Paul Bernbaum get to use this gimmick every chance they get to keep things interesting. At its heart, Next is a perfectly average film that wouldn't stand out at all were it not for the fact that its main character has the ability to see two minutes into his own future. Why two minutes? Heck, even the character himself doesn't know. The movie is wise to throw common sense to the wind, and just let us get wrapped up in this ludicrous yet entertaining plot device. It certainly manages to hold our interest for a while, but a gimmick can only take you so far.
Second rate Las Vegas magician Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) was born with the ability to see into his own future. He's never understood it, and spent most of his childhood being studied by doctors because of it. He is now trying desperately to lead a semi-normal life, which is right about the time no-nonsense government agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) walks into his life. Somehow, she's been able to figure out his ability to see the future by watching his Vegas act, and wants his help in tracking down a stolen nuclear weapon that was recently obtained by a small terrorist army who is planning to detonate it on US soil. Cris, however, is not interested in letting the government exploit his ability. The only thing he's interested in is finding out the identity of a mysterious woman in a diner who he saw in one of his visions. The woman turns out to be a lovely young teacher named Liz (Jessica Biel), and when the two strike a bond, Cris hitches a ride with her in an attempt to outrun his government pursuers. The situation will quickly escalate into something he can no longer ignore, especially when Liz gets involved, and Cris will find himself dragged into a situation where the lives of thousands of innocent people depend on him.
Freely adapted from a short novel by Philip K. Dick, Next is pure junk food entertainment that is relatively harmless, and manages to go in one ear and out the other. The movie may not explain how Cris possesses this ability, but at least it's smart enough to exploit his talent to the benefit of the screenplay. It is clever in the way that it shows a deadly outcome for Cris if he keeps on continuing on his current path, then literally rewinds, revealing what we just saw was a vision, only to have Cris make a split-second choice that changes his fate. There is a memorable sequence where Cris causes a landslide in order to escape the people pursuing him, and throw off the gunmen who are lying in wait for him. If this all sounds needlessly complex, it probably is, but the movie has a lot of fun toying with us. And, for a little while, we have fun right along with the movie. Cris' ability adds some much needed interest to some action sequences that would be pretty mundane without them. The problem is, the gimmick wears off after a while. We can tell when we are being toyed with, yet the movie still thinks we're not in on it. It's like someone trying to explain something to you, and under the mistaken assumption that you don't know what they're talking about. We see Cris "die" many times throughout the movie, and it obviously loses it's effect after a while. I must admit, the movie's final attempt at toying with us near the end of the film is a pretty big surprise, but it also winds up cheapening everything that came before it. It's hard to talk about without dipping into spoilers, but I admit I was a little ticked to discover that the movie spent so much time making us care about nothing.
Still, as I mentioned, the use of Cris' abilities probably winds up helping the movie in the end. All of the film's action sequences, while well done technically, don't wind up offering a lot of thrills. They're pretty mundane, especially the climax, which is mainly composed of people wandering around in the dark. A lot of this has to do with the fact that a lot of the characters are not developed very well, and there's never a true sense of impending danger, despite the whole nuclear bomb being stolen. The villains are a mainly faceless group of ethnic thugs from around the world who have decided to blow up a bomb on US soil for no reason whatsoever, if this movie is any indication. No motivation or goal is given, nor are they given any real personalities. On the side of the law, Callie Ferris is mostly portrayed as a stern yet understanding officer with no personality or interest outside of her job. We know that she's been following Cris for a while, and knows of his ability, but we never learn how she first discovered him, or what led to her idea to chase him down in order to get his help. A lot of this has to do with the film's fairly brief 96 minute running time. It feels like a lot got cut out of this movie, especially since very little of the film actually deals with the terrorist plot at hand. You would think someone blowing up a nuke in a residential area would be a bit more pressing of a matter. Yet, it seems to be the last thing on Cris' mind. I suppose you could argue that it's related to the whole "I don't want my powers exploited" thing, but still I would think he'd be a bit more concerned than he lets on.
Next is far from anything great, but the performances do help it go down a little bit easier than it probably should. Nicolas Cage once again turns in a likeable performance as Cris, giving the character his usual sleepy-eyed sarcastic edge that just about all of his recent performances contain. It's not that I'm complaining, as even in his worst films, Cage is always a joy for me to watch on the screen. He has a good screen presence, and he always comes across as likeable to me. It's an added plus that he's teamed up with Jessica Biel, who has a warm presence in this film and a good overall chemistry with Cage. They don't get developed very well as a couple, but they still manage to build some enjoyable moments together. As the head government agent, Julianne Moore seems to be slumming just a little, but at least she manages to leave a mostly positive impression. The role is beneath her abilities, but she doesn't let it show, and she's certainly game throughout the film. A special note must also be made of a short cameo by veteran actor Peter Falk. It's merely a walk-on, but it's still a comfort to see the guy still has that likeably crusty and slightly cranky screen presence that's always made him stand out.
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