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Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) was born with a gift to see into the future—but only two minutes into the future…and only two minutes into his own future. As a child, Cris endured test after test after test. So, as an adult, Cris hides out in Las Vegas, where he poses as just another cheesy Vegas performer, a magician called Frank Cadillac. He disguises his unusual abilities as simple magic tricks, and he supplements his income with blackjack and slot machine winnings—always careful not to attract attention by winning too much.
When the FBI learns of a Russian bomb that’s somewhere in Los Angeles, Agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) seeks Cris out, convinced that he’ll be able to help her prevent a catastrophic terrorist act. But the terrorists follow Callie to Vegas, and they’re determined to kill Cris before the government can use him against them.
Meanwhile, Cris finds himself visiting the same café twice a day—at 8:09—to find Liz (Jessica Biel), the woman he saw appear in the café days before she showed up, instead of just the usual two minutes. He’s convinced that he saw her for a reason—that she could be The One—but when he finally does meet her, he unintentionally puts her in danger, too.
Though Next has an interesting premise, there’s just too much going on—and way too many unanswered questions—to make it work. The whole Russian terrorist thing is just silly (Note to filmmakers: The Cold War’s been over for years. Give the Russians a break already.), and it never really makes sense that the FBI would be trying so hard to enlist a guy who can see just two minutes into the future. Will those extra two minutes really help, or would all that time be better spent actually looking for the bomb?
Had Cage been his usual over-the-top, over-acting self, he could have made the movie quirky and entertaining (like Ghost Rider). But that Nic Cage is nowhere to be found this time around—and though he does a decent job of creating an eccentric character, he just seems bored with the role. Sure, his character is supposed to be so used to his ability that it’s become old hat, but Cage’s almost gloomy indifference left me feeling indifferent, too.
To further complicate things, director Lee Tamahori seems to think it’s perfectly acceptable to create a list of rules to govern the story, only to turn around and break them all, one by one. As soon as the audience figures out that things work one way, Tamahori changes his mind—and things don’t work that way anymore. Then comes the film’s shocker of a conclusion, which is such a cheap cop-out that the entire theater let out a disappointed groan. All Tamahori’s tricks and sleight of hand may add a little excitement to the story, but it doesn’t do any good if the audience feels cheated in the end.
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