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Movie Reviews of Next
Movie Review: Exciting SF inspired by "The Golden Man" by Philip K Dick
Summary: 4 Stars
Nicholas Cage produced and took the lead in this clever, action-packed film inspired by "The Golden Man", a short story by Science Fiction author Philip K Dick.
Quite a few of Philip K Dick's stories have been made into films -"Minority Report" and "Paycheck" spring to mind. In my opinion this is one of the best and more imaginative, though certainly not the closest to the original. The hero of "Next" takes his name and his special abilty from "The Golden Man" and some of the action scenes brilliantly bring to life equivalent passages from the short story, although the setting and plot are completely different. Where Philip K Dick's original was set in a time after a war where the government hunts down and euthanises all mutants including those with special abilities, "Next" is set in a time like our own, in which a government faced by a serious terrorist threat is looking for any angle, no matter how strange, to help defeat it.
Cage plays Cris Johnson, who has the psychic ability to see into the future - but usually only two minutes into the future, and then only if it is something which affects him. Then he sees a beautiful woman (Liz, played by Jessica Biel) visit a restaurant at a specific time of day at some uncertain point in the future, so he waits there for a few minutes each day at that time until she appears.
Cage has been earning a living on the stage using his talent to do "magic tricks" and supplementing it with a little gambling. But unknown to him, FBI special agent Callie Ferris, played by Julianne Moore, has become aware of his abilities and is convinced his talent is real. She is desperate to apprehend a group of terrorists who have stolen a nuclear warhead and is trying to recruit Cris in the hope that he can help to find the nuke before the bad guys set it off.
Unfortunately for both Cris and Liz, the terrorists discover that the same Federal agency which is hunting them is also very interested in Cris. (This isn't stated in the film at any stage but I assumed while I was watching the film that the terrorists are supposed to have either a mole or some kind of highly effective bug inside the FBI.) So the terrorists decide to kill Cris as a potential threat or use someone close to him as a hostage or as bait to flush him out ...
The action is pretty much non-stop, usually highly dramatic, and has some original twists, the acting is mostly pretty good, and although there is the odd hole in the plot it is not too difficult to suspend disbelief. The twist at the end is very clever.
No, it is never quite explained who the terrorists are or what their objective is, other than that they are a group of ruthless, highly trained and well equipped french-speaking caucasians who want to nuke Southern California. Sadly, in the world we are living in today, the presence of a group of terrorists supported by considerable resources who are prepared to go to great lengths, including the loss of their own lives, to blow up innocent people, is hardly the most implausible part of the film.
I'm surprised this wasn't more successful at the box office, I thought it was a very good film, especially if you like Sci-Fi thrillers. If you enjoyed either Paycheck or Minority Report, you will very probably like Next.
Movie Review: Next....Pretty Damn Good.
Summary: 4 Stars
I love movies about alternate possibilities, time travelesque stories, alternating time lines. Some Films of recent come to mind such as Deja Vu, Premenition, even the sappy romance of the Lake house. I would even like to mention one of my personal favorites although utterly fantastic in a quantum physics way is Grand tour: Disaster in Time with Jeff Danials. I missed Next in the Theater to many other blockbusters playing on multiple screens phased this action thriller off the big screen very quickly. I thought the concept for this film (based on the story by Philip K. Dick) was very cool. Chris Johnson aka Frank Cadillac (Cage) is a fortune telling magic act in vegas, who can also see 2 minutes into the future of his own life. And if you can see the future you can change the present. Johnsons life of scamming the black jack tables and slot machines changes when the feds take notice of his abilities. Incidently the opening sequence after Johnson foils a shooting in the casino(an incident the may have happened if Johnson had just let the event unfold as it did in his premonition) leads casino security on a cat and mouse through the casino watching johnson manuveur going on a 2 minute lead into the future to perfect timed escapes and dodges was more impressive then watching tom cruise duck authorities with the Pre-cog in Minority report.
Johnson can only see 2 minutes into the future until he meets Liz(Beil), a fateful meeting based on a unusual premonition. For some reason, that is never explained in this film he is able to see further into the future when he is in her presence. If you can just accept that as the way it is I think you'll enjoy this movie better.
Thrills come hard and fast as Cage dodges the feds and foreign terrorists that have taken a nuclear munitions cache. which is why the feds want Johnson, to use his abilities to find said cache before it detonates. Johnson cheats death numerous times along with a few embarrassing situations when he first meets Liz, as you see all the possibilites he initiates before choosing the one that works. Next delivers the goods as far as thrills and shootem up action, and as a treat there is a little bit of a surprise before the end of the film which blew my mind, not a mind blowing as the end of the Sixth Sense, but still pretty cool. Coolest special effect in this film is watching Johnson split apart from himself, creating multiple versions to check out all the possiblities of his surrounding and which way to go. And dodging bombs, snipers and other close shaves.
Jessica beil is absolutely gorgeous as Liz(no surprise) a very girl next door type. Julianne moore plays lead persuing FBI agent.
This movie was entertaining despite some of the criticisms from mainstream magazines whose biggest complaint about Next was Nicolas Cages' Lame hairdo. Please, Next is suppose to be a science fiction/fantasy of coarse theres going to be some inconsistencies(like Cage being old enough to be Beils Father), but to that all I have to say is...Time Cop!
Bottom Line....Entertaining. Would have given this one more star, but I feel the film could have been at least a half hour longer to resolve things.
Movie Review: Cage Plays a Very Quirky PreCog
Summary: 4 Stars
Nic Cage plays a very quirky guy who seems to just be floating along in life. You find out very quickly that he has a sixth sense about him while he is at the black jack table. He gets into trouble, but you see him ducking in and out of harms way with extreme ease and wonder what it is that makes him able to do so.
In one scene you see him fighting against someone, and then you see that person again, here is where his talent is revealed.
Suddenly, the FBI is looking for him. How do they know about him and his talents? Also, the enemy is looking for him too? I must have missed something because I am not sure how they know about him at all. You see Julianne Moore as the lead FBI agent on the case, she is just great, intense, professional and inflexible in what she is doing. Each scene keeps you wondering if you are seeing the reality or a flash forward two minutes into the future. So, there are definate surprises throughout the movie because of this.
Although from the same author as the Minority Report and Total Recall, there are definate elements that you have with a surprise or two, yet this is so much less so a full blown scifi thriller as it has little related to that since it not a futuristic movie. Cage is just a guy with a gift.
Jessica Beil is one of his visions, and with her he can see further out for some reason. When he finally meets her there are some very funny scenes that are 'replayed' that look like great outtakes.
The movies climax is just great, the last 1/2 hour is a definate intense thrill. He goes from the rim of the Grand Canyon to Los Angeles as one long avoidance of disaster. His gift keeps him safe, so he is almost like a superhero and that is what makes the movie so fun. The end is a real cool surprise, worth the price of the DVD or at least a rental.
I prefer to acquire the movie because there is so much in it.
Movie Review: I have a premonition: you'll be entertained
Summary: 4 Stars
Cris Johnson (Nicholas Cage) is a Las Vegas magician, stage name Frank Cadillac, with a talent a little more esoteric than sleight-of-hand: he can see 2 minutes into the future. His own future. The exception is Liz (Jessica Biel). When he's around her, he can see much further.
He's been keeping a low profile, but comes to the attention of the FBI anyway. When he prevents a casino robbery, it gives Agent Ferris (Julianne Moore) the leverage to force him to work for them. See, there's this group of terrorists with a nuclear bomb....
I loved the premonition plot, and was impressed by how well the concept was portrayed on-screen, as basically imagining the consequences to each small choice and then choosing the course of action with the best outcome. The best scene depicting that is in the diner when Cris actually meets Liz, the woman he's been seeing in visions.
The action plot I wasn't quite so enthralled with. I didn't quite understand why they needed Cris's talents, and I didn't understand the terrorists' objective, and what the heck the FBI was doing to Cris with the eye clamps is a complete mystery.
The climax, however, using the precognition in an action scene, was very cool, and I enjoyed it as much as the somewhat similar scene in Morgan Hawke's novella "Fortune's Star" in the anthology Hard Candy.
I know Nicholas Cage gets on some people's nerves, and this is not the movie to change their minds. I like him. It's Julianne Moore who gets on my nerves. She seems too bland to me to be convincing as a tough FBI agent. Eh. It's personal preferences, either way. If you like both of them, you'll probably love the movie. And Jessica Biel, well, she was just there. Eye candy, I presume. I'm not the target audience there.
Movie Review: Very strong overall.
Summary: 4 Stars
While I've never read the Philip Dick story this movie is based on, I'll have to say this story has some strong points on its own. Nicolas Cage is great as "Frank Cadillac" or Chris, as he prefers to be called. He can see two minutes into his own future, and this opens some interesting possibilities. It's funny to see him run through several different pick up scenarios before finally finding one that will work with Jessica Biel. This ability also saves his life several times.
The storyline moves along at a good pace. While there are some boring scenes, there are enough "Wow!" moments to keep you hooked until the end.
Ah, the end...there's our problem. In an attempt to pull out a great plot twist, we end up with a very cheated feeling. It's almost as if we don't get to see how it all ultimately works out. This could have been fixed with about 5 minutes more screen time, but we don't get it. I'm pretty sure the DVD will probably have an alternate ending in there somewhere because I can't believe this is how they originally envisioned it.
As a whole, this was a good movie and I really enjoyed it. It wasn't perfect, and seemed to stumble under the weight of its plot a couple of times (who were the terrorists? where did they get the bomb? Why would a woman like Jessica Biel agree to drive a man she'd just met across the desert...especially when the guy looked like a psycho?), but it was worth the time it takes to watch it.