Oct 042007
 
three reels

Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) can see two minutes into his own future. Hiding in Las Vegas and attempting to lead a normal life, he finds himself pursued by an FBI agent (Julianne Moore) who wants to use him to stop a nuclear holocaust, as well as by terrorists who think he could be a threat to them. His only interest is in an unknown girl (Jessica Biel) because he can see further into her future than he’s ever been able to with his own.

There isn’t a lot of science in this science fiction thriller, nor are there many answers to the numerous questions it asks, but it does have plenty of action, myriad explosions, an engaging popcorn ride, and Nicolas Cage’s best performance in years. Time after time he’s played the “Nicolas Cage character,” a scruffy, sleepy, and slightly crazed outcast whose mind wanders and whose emotions are often intense but only sometimes related to events around him. He plays this character even when the movie doesn’t call for it.  This time, it does, and it’s no surprise he’s got it down to a science.  It feels as if the part was written for him (and since he was a producer, it was).

Next isn’t sci-fi or magical fantasy. It’s a superhero flick, where the superpower is limited enough that there’s actually a chance that the hero could fail. Sure, seeing two minutes ahead makes it easy to avoid getting shot, but how does it help with things happening far away?  While watching, I found myself playing the “how would I use that power” game, not because I was bored, but because the situations pulled me in.  That’s more than most superhero films can manage.

The trailer promises big calamities and Cris using his gift to avoid them, but the better moments are less life and death and carry substantial humor: Cris walking through a crowded casino, avoiding numerous security guards; Cris attempting to pick up a girl. When you can keep playing a situation over and over, you’ll get it right eventually.

Next isn’t going to be an adventure classic nor is it going to win academy awards. It isn’t saying anything about the human condition or suggesting how you should live your life (unless you thought Spider-Man was deep, in which case this is your new religion).  Next is the first of the summer diversions, where the only goal is to entertain. That it does.

 

Other films based (often very tentatively, like in this case) on the works of science fiction author Philip K. Dick: Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990), Confessions d’un Barjo (1992), Drug-Taking and the Arts (1994), Screamers (1995), Impostor (2002), Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003), A Scanner Darkly (2006).