Scan and Pan
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Next
Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) is a small time Las Vegas stage magician with the ability to see two minutes into his future, with the exception of a vision where he meets a beautiful young woman named Liz (Jessica Biel). After they finally meet and she begins to fall for him, he finds himself being pursued by FBI Agent Ferris (Julianne Moore), who's willing to go to any lengths to force Cris to help her track down terrorists planning to detonate a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles, as well as the terrorists themselves, who know that his ability is a threat to their plan.
Beyond a character named Cris who can see the future, the film has absolutely nothing in common with Dick's story. Screenwriters Gary Goldman (Big Trouble in Little China, Total Recall), Jonathan Hensleigh (Die Hard With a Vengeance, Jumanji), and Paul Bernbaum (Hollywoodland) have taken a potentially intriguing concept and constructed a formulaic action film. After taking the time to set up how Cris' powers work, they then proceed to violate their own rules, which is the same way they treat the audience with their cop out of an ending. The villains are cardboard cutouts and it's never made clear why a coalition of Germans, French, and Asians want to nuke a US city in the first place. All three writers are capable of much better than this. Director Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day, xXx: State Of The Union) can usually be relied on for some exciting action scenes at least, but they seem strangely perfunctory here.
Cage is solid as the cool but brooding hero. Cage the actor isn't the problem here as much as Cage the producer, who presumably had a large hand in the development of the film. Of all the actors, Biel comes off the best as the obligatory love interest in danger, taking a routine role and delivering a performance that's surprisingly vulnerable and charming. Moore, meanwhile, seems to be sleepwalking through her role. Peter Falk has a fun cameo as Cris' curmudgeonly friend, Irv.
Next simply isn't a very good film. The thought-provoking ideas of Philip K. Dick have been replaced with Hollywood formula by filmmakers who don't seem to be trying very hard.
[2 out of 5 stars]
The latest Hollywood adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story has an interesting premise but the finished product doesn't capitalize on it and is a big disappointment considering the talents involved.
Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) is a small time Las Vegas stage magician with the ability to see two minutes into his future, with the exception of a vision where he meets a beautiful young woman named Liz (Jessica Biel). After they finally meet and she begins to fall for him, he finds himself being pursued by FBI Agent Ferris (Julianne Moore), who's willing to go to any lengths to force Cris to help her track down terrorists planning to detonate a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles, as well as the terrorists themselves, who know that his ability is a threat to their plan.
Beyond a character named Cris who can see the future, the film has absolutely nothing in common with Dick's story. Screenwriters Gary Goldman (Big Trouble in Little China, Total Recall), Jonathan Hensleigh (Die Hard With a Vengeance, Jumanji), and Paul Bernbaum (Hollywoodland) have taken a potentially intriguing concept and constructed a formulaic action film. After taking the time to set up how Cris' powers work, they then proceed to violate their own rules, which is the same way they treat the audience with their cop out of an ending. The villains are cardboard cutouts and it's never made clear why a coalition of Germans, French, and Asians want to nuke a US city in the first place. All three writers are capable of much better than this. Director Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day, xXx: State Of The Union) can usually be relied on for some exciting action scenes at least, but they seem strangely perfunctory here.
Cage is solid as the cool but brooding hero. Cage the actor isn't the problem here as much as Cage the producer, who presumably had a large hand in the development of the film. Of all the actors, Biel comes off the best as the obligatory love interest in danger, taking a routine role and delivering a performance that's surprisingly vulnerable and charming. Moore, meanwhile, seems to be sleepwalking through her role. Peter Falk has a fun cameo as Cris' curmudgeonly friend, Irv.
Next simply isn't a very good film. The thought-provoking ideas of Philip K. Dick have been replaced with Hollywood formula by filmmakers who don't seem to be trying very hard.
[2 out of 5 stars]
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