Next Reviews

Chris Johnson was born with the ability to see two minutes into his own future but chose to hide it in an attempt to lead a "normal" life, until FBI agent Julianne Moore decides that he is her best chance of foiling a terrorist plot to detonate a nuclear weapon in California. Next is a fairly generic sci-fi actioner based on an interesting premise taken from yet another Philip K. Dick story, but the upshot is that it's 24 with Hiro from Heroes standing in for Jack Bauer. There are a couple of flaws in the logic of the plot; the reason why Jessica Biel's pretty and pretty irrelevant character alters his ability and who the terrorists are and what it was they hoped to achieve are both completely ignored. What is left though is an entertaining action flick that ticks all the no-brainer boxes. Essentially it's just a superhero film without the tights but thanks to some well executed set pieces and direction with a modicum of flair it's a fun way to spend an hour and a half if you're not in the mood for anything too taxing.

Bad acting + bad plot = bad sci-fi(-ish) movie.

A thrilling, clever and action-packed thrill-ride. It`s full of great suspensful moments, great action sequences and a wicked twist ending that makes yours eyes pop wide-open. It`s cool, fun and very enteratining.

I really like the idea behind it however it just turned into a mash up of action and bad acting. Cage looks like he mock acting in an attempt to be funny, Moore looks like she's trying too hard to be someone she's really not suited to play and Biel just can't act at all. Such a sham considering the source material.

OK where to begin, guess what, I didn't like this either, another Phillip K Dick adaptation and another movie about being able to see the future or a couple minutes ahead anyway. Its a nice idea, hardly original these days, back then sure, now no. 'Minority Report' was a better film, slightly different idea of seeing the future but basically the same.

This film doesn't really look special, its drab and normal looking, a bit average really, I don't mean there should be huge spaceships and effects but it just looks boring, there's nothing to make you sit up and take notice and it is or was suppose to be a sci-fi story of sorts.

Cage is as usual, over the top, looking old with less hairline and frankly a poor actor all round, never did think much of him, always got the impression he's where he is today cos his uncle is Francis Ford Coppola. The remaining cast are mundane and play the usual sterotype baddies and goodies, the action is also laughable really, Cage dodging bullets, beating everybody up as if they were muppets and tacky looking 'future sightings'.

There's just no punch here, I was bored, the plot can be alittle loose and the ending is kind of a contradiction of the whole future seeing premise, only 2min ahead for himself???? then what's the ending mean then?
This is a video shop rental only for sure, dont expect much here.

NEXT had lots of neat and visually stunning effects, but they were mostly used to tell us, "Look what we can do with our CGI. Ain't it cool?" Yeah, it's "cool" all right, if you really want to call it that, but Nicolas Cage, your acting skills were terrible, and there was rarely any plot in this one, either.

I'm torn about movies like this. Sure, I enjoyed the action moves - like when Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) does his Neo-like moves.

But I need movies to be consistent. If Cris can see two minutes in advance, base the story on that. Somehow, by the end of the movie, Cris is seeing weeks in advance. And they do the "Cris-gets-killed-in-this-sequence-but-this-one-turns-out-to-be-a-sequence-in-his-mind" more than once. I down-rated the movie a full star for its unsatisfying ending.

Don't know why people didn't liked this movie but I sure did. I know the idea was a bit tiring and old. I myself have watched more than three/four of the same plot. I guess it really depends on how they represent it. The ending totally got me.

Nick Cage...WHAT A JOKE. Ohhhh he can control time you say and change the outcomes of the future, well that sounds appealing...that was a large regret. Last time i watch you nick and expect anything good, I mean BANGKOK DANGEROUS what were you thinking!?!?

i liked this flick because it was fun to watch and interesting all the way through. there were some problems. the acting except for jessica biel was bad all the way through. moore is usually good and she was awful in this movie and nic cage is either incredible or caveman in movies and this was one of his caveman performances. the end of the movie was one of the worst endings i have ever seen in my life. the whole movie was great until the last two minutes when you find out that the movie you just invested your time on was only a hypathetical ending in the lives of the characters. the movie ends with zero closure. that pisses me off. it could have been very good if they had ended it better, but still fun.

B-

Such a fun movie. Even though it's sort've cliched at times, that had no effect on the entertainment level. Nicolas Cage feels like his nineties attitude where he did ridiculous action movies and had so much fun doing it. His performance is perfect in this, I couldn't see anyone else in the role. The thing that really makes it decent rather than great is the direction, it just doesn't do anything special. While this might not be a great piece of film-making, it's really worthwhile in terms of being a cool action movie.

I enjoyed this movie for what it was!

Nicolas Cage used to be such a great actor, remember? It?s getting hard to isn't it! Well, that said, this film isn't too bad, it?s better than most Philip K Dick adaptations anyway! I think the real problem is Lee Tamahori. He's made a couple of half decent films but he just doesn't know how to get the best out of his actors. Cage is a Shadow of his former self, Biel is wooden at best and Moore, who played a similar character in Children of men, and was very good in it, was hammy to say the least! Still, it was fairly entertaining and I quite liked the ending but it isn?t as good as reading The Golden Man!

A low-grade action-film with a twist, "Next" manages a rather bold ending and some plot devices... if only it wasn't a decade or two too late to be anything close to innovative.

Time manipulation is a strained hook to hang a film on without an equally intriguing plot. Sadly, a nifty superpower given to a generally unlikable and boring character doesn't make them worthy of being the centerpiece of a film. While Nicholas Cage is admittedly given very little to work with, he doesn't help matters by prattling on about fate and destiny and a stalker-like conception of true love.

At least a bad modern film like "Jumper" used a superpower that has barely been used. "Next" bores us on two fronts simultaneously... they might as well have gone ahead and cast Keanu Reeves.

Lodged somewhere between Hannibal (Moore in an earnest, gritty role) and Groundhog Day (Cage's experiemnts with interpersonal relationships and time travel), this film manages to entertain and involve its audience but leaves you wanting more. I mean, more of an explanation, more rounded characters, mostly this film just leaves you. The characters are more like characatures, and the plot is nonsensical. While entertaining to watch, I really think they made this up as they went along. Cage was a good choice to portray this sci-fi type character trapped in his own bewildering reality. I like Jessica Biel, in this movie and in general, but she's only a device here albeit a beautiful one. Her inclusion makes even less sense than in Chuck and Larry. The terrorists characters and the iconic Peter Falk are wasted too. This film has plenty of unfulfilled promise.

Next comes from the Philip K. Dick novel The Golden Man, and director Lee Tamahori actually creates a decent movie out of this.The story has a ton of potential, since it involves a man that can see into his own future. 2 minutes to be exact. The beginning and ending are the best parts with the middle being a little slow and mundane. Not surprisingly, the beginning and the ending have all the scenes where "the gift" is put to good use.The brief 90 minutes will not fly by, but it will not take long either. There isn't a whole lot of time spent on explaining the why and the how of this phenomenon and this is OK, however, there is room for it, since the storyline isn't that great.The action is nothing spectacular, however it is enjoyable. Watching Cage's character use his powers to clear obstacles and avoid death is quite entertaining, despite the fact that it seems he can't lose. Nevertheless, it is still intriguing to see how it plays out.The acting is one of the weaker elements of this picture. Nicolas Cage is OK and so is the gorgeous Jessica Biel. Julianne Moore is a bit of a letdown, although she does get better as the film progresses. All the bad guys are just forgettable. Seriously, they never prove to be a threat.Next does have some fun, especially with the "future" scenes, however there is the potential for much more to be done. This is a nice watch if time is available.

"If you can see the future, you can save it."

A man with the ability to see the future and change the outcome of events before they occur is forced to choose between saving himself and saving the world in this supernatural thriller starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day, The Edge). Cris Johnson (Cage) is a Las Vegas magician who possesses the unique ability to witness the events of the immediate future moments before they happen. As a child Cris was subjected to a series of cruel experiments by government scientists and doctors, but a change of name and a new identity allowed the tortured psychic to elude detection and start a new life away from the prying eyes of his former captors. Though his clairvoyant vision only extends a few minutes into the future, it has still allowed Cris to eke out a living as a low-rent Las Vegas magician while earning a little extra cash at the blackjack tables. Up to this point in his life Cris has never used his power for anything substantial, but when he experiences a vision of Los Angeles being incinerated in a nuclear holocaust, the small-time magician realizes that he could hold the key to saving millions of lives. But as low as he has tried to lie in recent years, Cris has never completely escaped detection by the government. Now, as terrorists prepare to unleash the ultimate horror on an unsuspecting city, FBI counter terror agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) sets out to capture Cris and convince him to use his exceptional gift to prevent the nuclear nightmare from becoming a terrifying reality.

Review
Philip K. Dick has been the inspiration for many movies from big hits like Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report, to box office bombs like Screamers and Paycheck. His story, "The Golden Man" is the basis for Next. If you know what deus ex machina is, you'll know roughly how the ending goes. You'll also know how the ending works if you watched the TV show Dallas. I won't ruin the movie by telling you how it ends, but as the end credits rolled, I got a feeling that I was ripped off, simply because the ending is exactly what writers are told never to write. I didn't expect it, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

Obviously it's crap & Cage is annoying like always

Next, oddly enough isn't that bad. Nicolas Cage doesn't pump up his trademarked douche factor too badly (a decent wig would've absolved him) and is actually tolerable here. The Phillip K. Dick story works on an interesting premise and Julianne Moore turns out an expectedly good performance. All Jessica Biel does here is look cute, which given what we're working with is enough. The effects are well done in relation to the context but the action/shoot out sequence at the end is pretty weak. The Twilight Zone twist at the end left me with an empty feeling, but given Cage's current string of shit, Next was a lot better than I expected it to be.