Obscurely motivated terrorists with Eastern European accents are preparing to explode a hydrogen bomb in Los Angeles.
Next (2007)
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Reviews Counted:124
Fresh:36
Rotten:88
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: Numerous plot holes and poorly motivated characters prevent Next from being the thought-provoking sci-fi flick it could've been.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for intense sequences of violent action, and some language
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins 8 secs
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:27-04-2007
Synopsis: In the years since his novel DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? was brought to the screen as BLADE RUNNER (1982), Philip K. Dick's paranoid, futuristic works have frequently made the same... In the years since his novel DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? was brought to the screen as BLADE RUNNER (1982), Philip K. Dick's paranoid, futuristic works have frequently made the same leap---sometimes as brainy puzzlers (OPEN YOUR EYES, A SCANNER DARKLY), but more often as star-powered action vehicles (TOTAL RECALL, PAYCHECK). NEXT (based very loosely on Dick's short story "The Golden Man") falls squarely in the latter category, with always-game Nicolas Cage as Cris Johnson, a man with the ability to see two minutes into the future. Afraid that all sorts of frightening demands will be made on him if the true scope of his ability becomes known, Johnson limits the use of his powers to a hokey, third-rate Vegas stage show and reading slot machines to gauge their payouts. Meanwhile, terrorists have imported a nuclear device into the U.S., with the intention of detonating it in a major metropolitan area, and F.B.I. agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) has discovered that Cris's ability is no fake and that he might be able to prevent the disaster. Unfortunately for Cris, he has just met Liz Cooper (Jessica Biel), a gorgeous schoolteacher who gets more involved in this international intrigue than she had any intention to. Lee Tamahori (DIE ANOTHER DAY) keeps NEXT's action coming at an admirable clip, fully exploiting the film's gimmick of several possible outcomes to every major crossroads that Cris encounters. Enough things explode, drive fast, and roll down hillsides to satiate any action fan looking for a well-oiled thrill machine. Cage and Moore are their usual likeable screen personas, Biel's Liz Cooper is a suitably crushworthy romantic interest, and Mark Isham's (CRASH, THE BLACK DAHLIA) score provides perfect accompaniment to the proceedings. [More]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann, Tory Kittles, Peter Falk
Director: Lee Tamahori
Director: Lee Tamahori
Screenwriter: Jonathan Hensleigh, Paul Bernbaum, Gary Goldman
Producer: Nicolas Cage, Norm Golightly, Todd Garner, Arne L. Schmidt, Graham King
Composer: Mark Isham
Producer: Nicolas Cage
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Reviews for Next
The best thing you can say about this blend of hard-boiled action and paranormal prescience is that it is inadvertently funny.
It's all complete nonsense, of course, hampered by a clunky script and Tamahori's uneven direction (which elicits unintentional laughter throughout and, unforgivably, a dull performance from Nic Cage).
This one experiments with the putatively brain-frying idea of a man who can see two minutes into the future.
It is so preposterous it could almost be the spoof "bad action movie" they'd keep flashing to in a Hollywood satire.
Cage's paranormal powers enable him to dodge arrest, assassins' bullets and even an avalanche.
Cage has yet another bad hair day in a Dick-based actioner that repeatedly breaks its own rules.
Another failed attempt to bring Dick's deliriously paranoid mind-set to the screen.
Establishes has a smart premise before it turns into another big, dumb action movie.
Lee Tamahori's ludicrous thriller is as straggly and ill-judged as Cage's rotten crop.
Jessica Biel puts in an Oscar worthy performance to make us believe a hot babe like her would be interested in a balding, creepy guy twice her age like Nic Cage, so give her some props.
"What about intel?" someone asks. "We don't need it--we have HIM." You don't need to be Cage to forsee we're in for a lot of bang bang and the obligatory shooting of the black secondary character is moments away.
Straddles a fence between adequately clever and surprisingly stupid ... but most of it is still fun anyway.
Does nothing with its intriguing premise, and it's mostly just one more tedious and progressively dumb collection of Hollywood action clichés.
The nadir comes when Cage is called upon to emote the look of love and instead does a dead-on impersonation of a stunned gopher
Lee Tamahori's thriller avoids all or most of the pitfalls that have ruined other time-manipulation films.
"Next" is implausible and leaves many questions unanswered, but the action is so spectacular and the chase sequences so slick %u2014 thanks to director Lee Tamahori's signature style %u2014 that a nutty plot is forgiven.
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