Next (2007): C+

In Next, Nicolas Cage’s Cris boasts Tom Hanks’ haircut from The Da Vinci Code. He also can see two minutes into the future, but it’s debatable whether Cris’ supernatural ability is any more interesting than his strange coiffure, given the general silliness of this adventure. The special power Cris possesses makes him desirable to FBI agent Ferris (Julianne Moore), who wants him to help the feds locate a nuke scheduled to be detonated in downtown L.A. by a multicultural group of terrorists without any apparent motives. Fearing that if he cooperates, the government will never let him return to his life, Cris flees with a woman (Jessica Biel) whose future he can see into for more than the usual 120 seconds. Director Lee Tamahori treats his material’s paranormal elements with as much respect as possible given the general illogicality of his prophesy-focused scenario. And his action sequences – such as Cris anticipating punches during a fight, or dodging logs during a sprint down a hillside – have a cheesy energy and humor that isn’t diminished by sub-par CG effects. All the while, a thoroughly miscast Moore vainly strives to convey hardass authority as a stereotypical no-nonsense law enforcement agent, though it’s Cage’s hair and Biel’s lips that ultimately carry most of the acting load.

Comments

[Joe Valdez]

Fantastic site, Nick. Your ability to produce consistently good content is impressive, as is your ability to get your point across on each film in around 250 words or less.

"Next" sounds like a high concept action movie that was pitched in 1997 - between the time Cage appeared in "The Rock" and "Con Air" - and has been discovered and thawed out by scientists. It actually doesn't sound as awful as I wanted it to be.

Thanks for the review!

[Nick]

Thanks for the compliment, Joe. And you're right - Next is something of a throwback to Cage's late-90s action "heyday." For better and worse.

[Jen]

Seeking some catharsis, I searched the web for a review that helped describe the silliness of this movie and combined the confusing nature of NC’s hair. I’m happy to say I found it, but I’m still a little disappointed that any of the “premium” networks would see fit to air this not-bad-enough-to-be-hillarious concoction named “Next”.