Next

I watched this film not knowing anything about it or heard of it. It came up on Foxtel. What a good film. I great when you come across a random film that has a good story line which is action packed with a top cast. Nic Cage plays an interesting role which would hold endless possibilities. A man who can see the future for the next two minutes. Imagine having that talent. He does the gambling thing which most people would take advantage of. He does the girl thing knowing if he will get rejected or not. And after all the normal sort of fun things, he gets called upon by the FBI to save the human race from the usual bomb threat. Lots of action and definitely worth a watch.

Cris is a man with a gift. He can see into the future, at least into that bit of it that includes him. It's a gift he has only used for cheap tricks and the occasional gamble, until now. Because now there is a federal agent knocking at his door, telling him she needs him to predict when and where an act of terror is going to happen.

So far the background story. It is clear that it isn't the first time that this kind of story is worked out, there are many more films that play around just the same thing really. But this one is there, and plays around the same theme in its own way. IMO, it has all rights it needs to be considered a new film. The way the story is worked out really isn't half bad.

Somewhat predictable but nevertheless amusing. rolling on steadily like a rocky river. Effects are good enough, apart from a handful, characters are believable and tension is just (but barely) enough to keep it going.

7 out of 10 futures altered

Next is different! Whether it is true Sci/Fi is, in my opinion, debatable. Oh yes, it IS paranormal. No doubt about that - and you find that out in the opening scene. Cris Johnson (Nicholas Cage) is a Las Vegas magician with a difference. He has a gift where he can see briefly into his future which, as any opportunist would do, he uses to his financial advantage, not only in his stage act but also at the gambling tables. But Cris is also sensible. Whilst he could use his gift to make millions - very briefly - he just makes enough to do what he wants to do in life without drawing attention to himself as he would if he consistently relieved the house of large sums of money.

Following an unfortunate incident at the casino where Cris is mistaken for a petty robber and, on viewing the CCTV coverage of the incident, FBI agent Callie Ferris realises his gift and tries to recruit him to help in stopping an international terrorist gang that is threatening to explode a stolen Soviet nuclear bomb in Los Angeles, putting 8 million people's lives at stake.

Ferris (Julianne Moore) thinks (somewhat mistakenly) that Cris can help find out where and when the terrorists are going to act before it happens but, knowing his own limits, Cris wants nothing of it until circumstances leave him with no alternative.

And then the movie ends!

P.S. It's what happens to change Cris' mind that makes this a movie well worth watching! And that's what makes it a refreshingly different and surprising story.

"Next" is a film about Chris (played by Nicolas Cage), a man who can see what will happen to him personally up to two minutes into the future. The only exception to that rule is a vision he has of a beautiful woman (Jessica Biel) whom he knows he meets in a particular diner at 8:09. Every day, twice a day at exactly 8:09 he is in the diner until one day she arrives.

Because of Chris' forecasting skills, he goes to casinos on occasion to supplement his salary from his regular job as a magician. His skills are noticed by an agent of the FBI (Julianne Moore) who wants to utilize his abilities to thwart terrorists who plan to set off a nuclear device in Los Angeles.

I found the movie entertaining and suspenseful. There are a few sequences where the CGI looks kind of fake but overall I thought it was very good. It was well-acted and well-paced. I almost always like Nicolas Cage movies, and man oh man Jessica Biel looks absolutely smmmmmoking hot! I recommend it; I give it seven stars.

Nicholas Cage, Julianne Moore, and Jessica Biel star in "Next," a 2007 action film directed by Lee Tamahori and written by Gary Goldman, Jonathan Hensleigh, and Paul Birnbaum.

Cris Johnson (Cage) is a magician named "Frank Cadillac." What people don't know is that Johnson has a unique gift: he can see up to two minutes into the future as long as it impacts him personally. There is just one exception: the girl of his dreams (Biel). He's seen her and he's waiting to meet her.

Johnson has come to the attention of the FBI, led by Moore. There is a nuclear munitions shipping coming into the U.S., and they want Johnson's helping in locating it. One night, in a casino, he overcomes a would-be robber and grabs his gun, as he saw into the future when the man not only robbed the casino, but shot the young woman at the payout window. However, the police attempt to arrest him, thinking the gun is his; the FBI knows differently. With his two-minute warnings, Johnson is able to get away in a stolen car and go officially on the run. Not only does the FBI want him, but the munitions people as well.

I found this film very entertaining with some neat effects as it plays with past and future, sometimes advancing the plot ahead by mere seconds. Nicholas Cage is always great, and he is here as the beleaguered magician who has come to the attention of the casino because they suspect him of cheating.

It's a good cast, and the late Peter Falk has a cameo, another treat.

I didn't catch the reviews when this film came out nor did I do more than glance at a few here on IMDb. But this is an action film. In action films, one enjoys the action and doesn't dwell on the plot nor delve too deeply into it. After all, the basic premise and action sequences in some of these films can be absurd. So just go with it and have fun. That's what I do, anyway.