Nicolas Cage is NEXT: Movie Review

2008-09-16 03:58:37

"Next" Movie Review. 6.5/10.
By Todd Murphy. ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.

BOTTOM LINE:
An intriguing concept for a film that never really develops and ultimately implodes with a big cheat of an ending.

THE GOOD:
The concept of this film revolves around Nicholas Cage's ability to see up to 2-3 minutes in the future and then being able to adjust his actions and behaviour to give him the best possible outcome. Very cool. At the beginning of the film, you see him working the Black Jack tables in Vegas and of course, making money because he knows the outcome of the hands being dealt, although he tells us he keeps a cap on what he wins to not arouse suspicion. The casino security don't know how he's doing it. And it's fun. You only wish we could all do it! Watching him play scenes in his head over and over again until he finds the right solution is quite entertaining as well. The story draws you in as Cage's ability to see in to the future is put to the test to save a girl he gets involved with - will he be able to predict, and thus prevent what happens to her? The action in the film is quite well handled, and Julianne Moore puts in a fine performance as the cop who comes to believe in Cage's special ability. It's good until...

THE BAD:
The film is reasonably entertaining until you get to the ending. And it ruins everything that came before it. You see, being a time travel film of sorts, there's always the chance that you can go back in time to do it all over again. And that's exactly what happens. The bulk of the film is what Nicholas Cage sees in the future but we don't know that until the ending; when he realises his actions have a negative consequence, we go right back to the beginning and we start all over again! So in other words, everything you saw didn't really happen so it's best to erase it from memory. It's a cheat and kills the film in no uncertain way. I probably would have rated it higher if there wasn't this kind of cop-out ending present.

For the original review, click HERE.

Todd Murphy is a film analyst and staff writer/reviewer for the film and DVD review web site, ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.

Todd is also an administrator for the dating advice site APPROACHING SEXYWOMEN.COM and the financial web site, WEALTH-ADVICE.NET.