65 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very strong overall, April 27, 2007
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"With freedom comes responsibility.", August 3, 2007
Next brings to the screen the story of Chris Johnson, a.k.a. Frank Cadillac, a down-on-his-luck onstage Las Vegas magician with a rare gift: to be able to see two minutes into the future! Things "liven up" when a government agent in her effort to find a group of terrorists aiming at detonating a nuclear bomb somewhere in the United States attempts to enlist Chris Johnson who seems to be rather preoccupied with other matters...
There are slight hints of the X-Files, Deja Vu (Denzel Washington), Frequency (Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel), Timecop (Van Damme) and The Lake House (Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock).
Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, and the rest of the cast, have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least! All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows (the chemistry is AMAZING)! Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few thrills.
The only major setback is in relation to those "geniuses" that came up with the French-speaking Europeans as the villains and with no explanation whatsoever as to their motive! It's not as if there aren't enough prospective terrorists out there, they're lining up for crying out loud, so why go with some of the most unlikely candidates?
What European would even bother to act as such in reality???
Nevertheless, the setting, the plot, the dialogues, and the music are all good.
In conclusion, Next is a movie definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection as it is one of those films that gets you and keeps you thinking long after it's over. 4.5 Stars
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Movie Marred by the 9/11 Scare Tactics, September 25, 2007
Next, a movie based on the Philip K. Dick short story, is very clever in spots. Nicholas Cage plays a precognative gmbler/magician who can see two minutes into the future. The interesting thing in this movie is that he can see all possible futures; this led to some interesting scenes in the movie. The plot revolves around terrorists planning to blow up LA who finad out that this guy could upset their master plan. Government agents are looking for this guy too for the same reason. Ahh, terrorism, the all purpose plot device - why blow up LA? Just because I guess - whatever..
Anyway, the special effects are cool, there are some good action sequences and Cage is a good choice to play the main character in the movie. Its not worth the 9-10 bucks it would have taken to see this in the theatres but it is worth renting/buying on sale.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
