Merolliv
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Sanjeev Waters
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
James
In this Lee Tamahori sci fi-thriller, the role of (anti-ish) hero Cris Johnson (aka "Frank Cadillac") allows Nicolas Cage to achieve what he often strives to - but quite often fails to - in movies, i.e. attract the sympathy and understanding of the filmgoing audience. On the face of it, things don't look too promising, given that Johnson inhabits the familiar Cage habitat of Las Vegas, where he performs a mixture of future-predicting and simple magic tricks to far less than packed houses. He's not averse to a bit of sleazy stuff (this is Vegas after all), and his life is not going anywhere much, though he does have some kind of support-system at home thanks to a character of unknown category called "Irv", who appears in a very brief scene but nevertheless makes a remarkably big mark thanks to being portrayed by Peter (Columbo) Falk, whom it proves surprisingly - if quite tangibly - pleasant to come across again, in this sparse but satisfying cameo role. In fact, this sets a kind of a trend for the film, for Cage is at his best here, just as is that not-always-compelling actress here doing very good things, Julianne Moore. She is an FBI agent interested in Johnson because her observations of him for some time convince her that he has genuine abilities to see the future deliberately played down to allow him to go on leading an anonymous life. This is indeed the case, and it is clear from the outset that, while the ability earns Johnson a modest-ish living, and allows him to avoid certain problems, it also represents a major burden in itself that he doesn't especially want, and would definitely prefer not to put at the disposal of Uncle Sam.As it turns out, Johnson (mostly) only sees 2 minutes into the future, and rather just his own future. Having suspended disbelief this far, one might well consider that such a "gift" would most likely prove entirely impossible to adjust to or compensate for, even if one could. Yet clearly Johnson has got used to it, even if it is also a tiresome weight on his shoulders.So far it's all a bit downbeat and small-time, but what adds a great deal in this story (originally from no less a writer than Philip Dick) is that Johnson has one event from the further future he's also been able to see - a meeting with the woman of his dreams which he knows the hour and place of, but not the day. Given that, when this meeting does indeed materialise, it is with an astoundingly, mesmerisingly good-looking Jessica Biel in the role of Liz Cooper (who also turns out to be a warm and kind person), we can readily sympathise with the character who believes this love might help lift him out of his burdensome existence.This romance, and the warm feelings it inspires, give a very great deal to the movie, not least also a bit of comedy, as Johnsons's "2-minute" thing allows him to go through a multitude of different first-line chat-up scenarios, which invariably fail to work with the lovely newcomer.The FBI have a real task for Johnson to perform, and at first they think (wrongly) that coercion might be as effective as cooperation. However Moore's Agent Ferris soon realises the error of this, especially when she grasps Johnson's romantic motivations for doing the right thing. Given (notwithstanding) their typical features as actors - Moore and Cage offer a surprisingly effective and appealing on-film partnership. There are several pretty major plot twists and one very major one, and a few really spectacular moments, especially at the Grand Canyon, several less well-known facets of which we also get to see and appreciate in the course of what looks like (and can be enjoyed as) a mini "road-movie" segment.There are also some nice touches when Johnson does indeed live up to Ferris's expectations and uses his gifts to save life repeatedly, while ensuring appropriate comeuppances for the bad-guys (of which there seem at times to be hordes).Somehow it all gels well enough, and all the more so given that a great deal is left unshown and unsaid. One is absolutely not used to such economy in films, especially films of this genre, and here it pays dividends. It remains surprisingly fresh throughout, and in many ways we are left with the idea that (despite the critical and grand-scale nature of the threat that Johnson is roped in by the FBI to avert), this film is also very much about the overriding need in all of us to find the right person to love - a prize for which we are naturally prepared to do a very great deal, and put up with a very great deal. In the end, one cannot fail to empathise with the joy - but also the burden and fragility and chanciness - of being given the chance to envision one's perfect mate with which to pass through life.
summerreighn
Aprently it was an adaption of a short story by Philip K Dick "The Golden Men" which I have not read. So my review comes strictly from what I saw of the Hollywood story in NEXT staring Nicholas Cage as Chris Johnson a melancholy magician in Vagas who uses his power/ability or whatever you want to classify it of being able to see 2 minutes into his own future and see all of the deferent possible out comes. Early in the movie you are told that FBI agent Callie Farris (Julianna Moore) has discovered Chris's future seeing ability and for some implausible reason thinks he can help them locate and disarm a nuclear bomb that is going kill millions of Americans. Which makes little to no sense because this has nothing to directly do with Chriss future and even if it did how would a two minute advantage really help in this situation? For a reason unexplained Chris wants no part and doesn't really seem to care about all of the people who could potentially die and goes to pretty extreme measures to avoid helping the FBI which makes his character dispissable. With that being said the first escape scene is pretty intertianing to watch. After Cage escapes from the FBI and the opportunity to potinally save millions of lives he is on the hunt for a woman who he has been repeatedly dreaming of meeting and allows him to see even further into the future past his two minute limit. He waits for her in a diner and there is a clever scene of there first interactions played out into several different scenarios until he finds the right one that will get Liz (Jessica Beil) to allow a total stranger to jump in her Land Rover and drive to flag staff with her. They make a pit stop at the reservation she teaches at, which provides some beautiful scenery to the movie. They continue on in a cheesy forced scene where Liz somehow ends up passing out all the way over into the drive seat onto Chriss shoulder. Then the end up stuck staying at a motel where Beil is uncomfortable with Cage staying in the room, which a total normal reaction but all that logic is wasted as where in the morning she is totally fine prancing around naked in a towel in the same hotel room with him. Shortly after that Liz throughs herself at Chris and there is the obvious innuendo that they hooked up with out the sex scene which I'm thankful for because it was hard enough to believe that a woman like Jessica Biel would hook up with him man 18 years her senior like Nicholas Cage. Liz goes outside and is confronted by Faris and she tells him that Chris is a sociopaths and that he is very dangerous and she needs to drug him and turn him over peacefully to the FBI. Liz drugs his drink but then at the last minute has second thoughts and tells him about the drug in his drink and tells him about her encounter with the FBI agent. She ask the obvious question of why he is refusing to help which gives her the explanation that's just not how his powers work I couldn't help thinking come on man isn't worth a try to save millions of lives? I guess not I guess it's easier to plan the next ecape which ends up in the scene of a downhill avalanche and car chase which was pretty entertaining and had some OK CGI effects, but the continued extreme links he goes to avoid the FBI to not help all of these people just added onto my hate for his character. He is eventually captured by the FBI when he chooses to save Ferris's life the one redeeming action his character has. The FBI hook him up to a machine much like in the clockwork Orange making him watch news broadcast hoping he will get a glimpse of the detonation location. He instead see Liz with a bomb vest as a terrorist hostage. He uses his ability to ecape the FBI and is conveniently located across the street from where Liz is going to be blown up. He now and only now agrees to help Ferris save all of the millions of lives now that it directly affects his new love interest. There is a climactic scene where he now develops into multiple selves exploring multiple futures and pathways at the same time. And now show superhuman likability to dodge bullets in a matrix style fashion to catch the terrorist. With Liz safely in his arms Ferris has an look at a monitor to see if you can see when and where the bomb going to go off. He realizes that he is made a mistake in the bomb detonates and destroys the port in the entire city. *spoiler* Then in a painful plot twist Time reverts all the way back to where they were lying in bed together after their initial hook up letting us know that the entire two thirds of the movie that we watched did not happen but only was it foreseeing into the future. Ending with a cheesy line something along the lines when you see the future it changes... He leaves Liz asking her to wait for him and calls Farris and agrees to help her. But the problem with this is the terrorists already know who Chris is and obviously who Liz is and the second he walks away from her I suppose they would just walk in there and kidnap her all over again..a bit of a plot hole.
Python Hyena
Next (2007): Dir: Lee Tamahori / Cast: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Peter Falk, Jim Beaver: Here is an intelligent idea with a horrid delivery. Action film about future starring Nicolas Cage as magician Frank Cadillac who is wanted by FBI due to his ability to foresee the future by two minutes. Too bad that he didn't possess this ability before being cast in this film. Apparently there is a bomb set somewhere in the city and he is needed to assist in finding it. Script is smart with director Lee Tamahori having fun with Cage's options and humorous surprise ending. Tamahori previously made The Edge, which is far more suspenseful. Cage has fun with the role playing off Cadillac's need for solitude. Supporting roles are unfortunately flat relying totally on Cage to carry it. Jessica Biel is basically there to sleep with Cage then she is kidnapped and strapped to a chair with a bomb. Julianne Moore as an FBI agent is wasted. She has done far greater performances in much better films and this is definitely beneath her. Peter Falk appears briefly but serves little purpose. Jim Beaver plays a guy named Wisdom and that appears to be lacking in much of the film. The film is well made from a visual and production stand point, otherwise it is pointless entertainment. There is not much in terms of originality so it is not likely that we will be looking forward to what happens next. Score: 5 ½ / 10
eyeintrees
Ghastly. Just terrible. I bothered to watch because IMDb said it was half good, but I think I'll stop believing the review percentages on this from now on; been bitten too often and either someone is getting paid to say how good movies are or there are a lot of people with no standard above B grade.The premise for 'Next' is fantastic. However, the execution, script, cheesy, cheesy, cheesy, utterly lame as all hell actual movie is another thing.I really like Nicolas Cage, it's just a shame I can't watch anything he's in anymore because all the stuff he makes is terrible, most likely due to no fault of his, since he's got to pay his bills, right.Both female leads, from the naïve - I'll walk around all wet in a towel in front of a total strange guy I picked up and gave a lift to, but hey, he won't rape me - to the hard-nosed ugly cow with the ugly voice, give this no credence, just add to the scratching of fingernails on a chalk board.The idea of a magician who's actually psychic... wow, what they COULD have done with this idea might have been fantastic. Don't worry, it isn't.Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy ... a stolen atomic thing going to blow everyone up... should have blown up the movie and not wasted my time.If you love bad B grade nonsense pretending to be interesting and romantic then you might enjoy this big gobble of trifling tinsel fare.Rubbish.
