Next
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Movie Reviews of Next
Movie Review: Next
Summary: 5 Stars
On time, great shape - have watched it several times since I received it. A very good flick.Movie Review: Next - Better than you might think
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie is good. It was kind of like a sixth sense feel. I think you'll enjoy it.Movie Review: Excellent movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent movie, and would suggest it to anyone that enjoys good movies.Movie Review: A Good Popcorn Flick With Flaws
Summary: 4 Stars
I must admit, I love time travel movies, but in the end, most fall short in the subject they're dealing with. They just can't get into their head that if you change one little thing, everything changes. "Next" avoids this problem altogether, by shrinking the margin of travel to two-minutes, for the most part. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
Story: Nicolas Cage's character apparently can see into the future, which is both a blessing and a curse. He can see a bank robbery and a murder before it happens, and prevent it, saving innocent lives. But since the police can't see the future, they take offence at this mysterious magician seemingly punching people for no apparent reason. But he can also avoid them with this ability, which is how he chooses to live his life. But wait... then the darn government agents have to interfere, asking his to stop a nuclear bomb from going off. However, since his ability seemingly can only go two-minutes, he isn't much help. Until he meets a woman that seemingly amplifies his powers to great lengths.
Concept: Pretty darn interesting, and original. His powers also evolve over time, making them and character, and for that matter, the movie rather unpredictable. And while the concept is handled rather well, the movie makes it very confusing for viewers that totally aren't mentally into the movie. But think of his powers this way, he basically can go "Groundhog Day" for two-minutes. Rather original, I think.
Good Guys: Nicolas Cage is again amazing in the role, and is really perfect for the role, giving the character added depth and emotion. The character therefore is likable, and you feel for him, even though his background information is left completely out of the picture unlike most 'superpower' movies. Jessica Biel does surprisingly well, sure she doesn't blow you out of the water, and the character is pretty cut and paste, she still does fine with it. And even though Peter Falk is listed as one of the main actors, he has all but a few lines, and is more of a cameo.
Bad Guys: Julianne Moore shows off her mean side in this film, and while she was never a bundle of joy, she isn't exactly a caring government agent in this film. Exact opposite, while she's doing her job, the character plays good cop sometimes, her only use for Chris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) is too stop the bad guys, which isn't bad, they just bring up some torture questions in the movie, which I personally could have done without. Definitely not the best of roles for Moore.
Her partner however could be even worse, not because he's mean or anything, but thank god he only says a few lines, because he's just a downright pathetic and horrible actor to the nth degree. You cringe everytime you hear him speak. Soap-Opera bad doesn't describe it, it's Sci-Fi channel bad. Pathetic, and a real oversight on the director, and Producer Cage. The terrorist on the other hand are pretty bland, and cardboard. But with the main terrorist's name being "Mr. Smith," did you expect anything else?
Effects and Action: There's a bunch of "oh snap!" moments in terms of action in this film. Particularly the jumping over the tracks, and totally awesome hill sequence. That was just amazing, until the part at the bottom, where I noticed a couple of effects that looked about ten years old. But other than that, they rarely fail to disappoint. While they aren't exactly blockbuster, they're pretty good considering the rather low budget.
The End: Here's the thing, up until this point, I've thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and was ready and willing for another half an hour, and it looked as if it was heading in that direction, because that's what happened in every other movie like this. They go through the scenario the first time, screw up, try it again, get it right, happy ending. However, with this movie, you're forced to make up the ending on your own. 'But wait, I'm seeing somebody else's story, so I don't have to make up my own.' Well, if you're that type of person, and most of us are, you won't like the ending at all. But apparently, they didn't have the production budget for it, so they cut the movie about 30 minutes short. Sure you'll feel cheated, sure you'll be angry.
Overall, this movie is a rather enjoyable popcorn flick, and a great movie to see on TNT or something. It has a great concept, an interesting story, and good characters. However, all these element have their glaring flaws that mar a otherwise great movie. It's still a good movie, just not great. Also, you have to really pay attention to this movie, because you'll get confused very easily if you don't. Chris's power evolves, and sometimes you don't know what is the future, and what is the present, so sometimes you'll be shocked. But if you do pay attention, the movie is actually improved because of those otherwise confusing elements. And I actually would love a sequel to this movie.
Movie Review: Make no mistake...
Summary: 4 Stars
I've gamed with my share of psychic characters in various modern-day role-playing games, but for some reason male precogs has never gotten the same attention from Hollywood. The clairvoyant types are always women or kids who talk to ghosts, with the exception of Stir of Echoes...which was about a guy who talked to ghosts. It was high time we had an action-packed, testosterone-injected update of the typical precog movie.
Our hero, Chris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) is wandering around Vegas performing magic tricks. Something is keeping him there: normally, Johnson can only see a few minutes into the future. But when he encounters (or will encounter) Liz Cooper (the delectable Jessica Biel) at a diner, he discovers he can see his future with her, and only with her. At heart, Next is a star-crossed romance.
What's entertaining about this somewhat flimsy premise is that Johnson can make it work. Nobody as hot as Cooper would normally be interested in shlubby Johnson, but he keeps trying alternate approaches, visualizing an endless array of possibilities, until he hits on the tactic that will work.
As you can imagine, precognition is a lot like time travel, and it's difficult to visually pull off. Next does an excellent job of showing what Johnson sees and the innovative ways he uses his gift; at one point, we see him splitting into multiple selves (representing all the possibilities of a particular course of action). In combat, this is really fun to watch - since Johnson can see when someone will throw a punch, he can easily dodge the blow. He can even dodge bullets.
Into this tidy romance steps Callie Ferris (the usually gorgeous Julianne Moore, who looks terrible in this movie), a federal agent bent on using Johnson's powers to stop a nuclear bomb from going off. The plot spins from there. The terrorists, who are tracking Ferris, figure that Johnson must be important because the government wants so desperately to speak with him, so they try to kill Johnson. In other words, the movie is something of a closed loop - the whole reason Johnson gets involved is because people THINK he might be important, and thus he becomes important.
Next has its flaws, however. For one, Cage acts like he's in a daze. His character is bland, confused, and a little addled - not in a cool, I-have-mental-powers sort of way, but an old-man-who-forgot-his-meds sort of way. It's not very appealing, and strains the credibility of any attraction that Biel's character would have to him.
Speaking of Biel, she's simply too attractive for the role. At the time of the film, Biel was 25, Cage was 43. They seem wildly mismatched in age, personality, and temperament. Biel does a good job acting bewildered and enchanted, but she's essentially making goo-goo eyes at a walking, talking zombie.
The other problem is that Next simply doesn't have enough of a budget to pull off all the really cool special effects in the film. The worst is when Johnson drives a stolen car in front of a train; the train, the car, and the crash look like they were made on a Commodore 64. It takes away from an otherwise riveting scene.
The bad guys are non-descript Eurotrash. Their motivation is vague, although they seem to be so powerful that the bad guys even shadow the feds without being noticed. No wonder the only person who can defeat them is a psychic!
When Johsnon and Ferris team up, things really get going. There's nothing like watching a precog and a sniper work in tandem. Or a precog wending his way through a maze trapped with bombs. Or a precog...well, you get the picture. It's fun stuff.
Throughout the movie, Next plays fast and loose with the timeline. At any point in time, we're never sure if we're seeing the future or if Johnson is actually experiencing the future. Depending on your perspective, this is either an interesting twist on the action genre or really annoying. The ending pivots on the phrase, "I made a mistake..."
Was it a mistake? I don't think so. This little movie works with what it has. Sometimes it might overreach, but for the most part it's an exciting science fiction action thriller.