Next
by Lee Tamahori
List Price:
Our Price: $2.22
You Save: $17.77 (89%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.77 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Jessica Biel, Julianne Moore, Nicolas CageDirector: Lee Tamahori
Brand: BIEL,JESSICA
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Surround Sound, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 96 minutes
Published: 2007-09-01
DVD Release Date: 2007-09-25
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
Product features:
- TESTED
DVD Reviews of Next
DVD Review: Don't waste your two minutes on this one
Summary: 2 Stars
Several of sci-fi author Philip K. Dick's wonderful stories have been translated to cinema over the years, the most notable ones of which are Total Recall (Special Limited Edition), Blade Runner - The Final Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition), and Minority Report (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition). I even liked Paycheck (Special Collector's Edition) and Screamers. But Philip K. Dick's received shabby treatment from the film industry as well, what with A Scanner Darkly and with this one, NEXT, which is loosely based on Dick's short story "The Golden Man."
Some plot SPOILERS follow.
The premise of both MINORITY REPORT and PAYCHECK hinges in part on a character's knowledge of future events. Same with NEXT. All his life Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) has been able to see, with precise clarity, 2 minutes into his own future. All his life he's learned to keep a low profile, and even now he, as the Amazing Frank Cadillac, ekes out a living performing in a shabby little magic act in Vegas, wherein he could disguise his talent as a magic trick. Now and then, because his show doesn't pay a lot, he ventures in a small way towards the gaming tables. Cris is real careful. But, it turns out, he hasn't been careful enough.
No-nonsense FBI agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) senses that Cris is more than he seems and asks him to help her locate a nuclear bomb set to detonate in Los Angeles. Cris, however, wants no part of it. He's instead fixated on a beautiful girl he's yet to meet, a girl he glimpses in a bout of precognition. But the FBI aren't the only ones spying on Cris. The terrorists, having noted the FBI's interest in the magician, have been keeping tabs on him, as well. And, in Liz, the girl in the vision, the terrorists and the FBI have finally unearthed Cris's weakness.
What drew me to the film was the cool sci-fi set-up. And, unlike most films or books, NEXT endows its lead character not with nebulous visions but with well-detailed peeks into his 2 minute window. The most enjoyable and exciting moments in the film deal with Cris utilizing his gift to deftly evade capture in a casino. This sequence, in terms of its pinpoint timing and execution, is very reminiscent of the hide & seek scenes in MINORITY REPORT and in The Bourne Ultimatum (Widescreen Edition). After that, the diner scene, where Cris finally meets Liz, is the best and the most humorous. Okay, so these are the good things.
Where does the film fall apart? Let's start with the villains, who seem to be mainly Europeans, but are mostly ill-defined and seem to appear in the movie simply because token villains are needed. The last half hour of so of the film deals with Cris taking on the baddies, and I can honestly say that these blaring, full-blown action scenes turn out to be the most dull and uninteresting of the lot. I simply didn't care. Another flaw is that there are too many moments throughout the film where the pace seems to just trudge along. What else? How about the introduction of Peter Falk's supporting character early on and then never seeing him again?
And then there's the love story, which to me isn't pulled off convincingly. You have the lovely and grounded Liz, as played very nicely by Jessica Biel, and I guess I don't have it in me to believe that a practical girl like her could instantly hook up with someone like Cris, who, at first glance, seems a dubious and creepy character. When she gets guilt-tripped into offering him a ride, I was thinking: "How very not clever of her." Admittedly, a large part of it is that I just wasn't feeling any chemistry between them.
Nevertheless, I was ready to forgive and forget all these botherations because I liked the sci-fi gimmick so much. That is, until the ending came along and completed the sabotage. The abrupt ending really, really, really sucks! Although, in retrospect, I guess it's a fitting end to a movie which had been spiraling downhill, anyway. On the acting side, I wish Nic Cage would dial down the quirky a bit. Even Jeff Goldblum says he should tone it down. If he does, I feel his characters would be better off and be more sympathetic. Cage is this close to becoming a caricature of himself. I also expected better from Julianne Moore. Props to Jessica Biel, though, for putting in an honest effort.
In the "Just in case no one's mentioned them yet" department, here's what we get for special features, which also let down the fans: the obligatory "Making Of" featurette (18 minutes); "The Next 'Grand Idea'" - a 7 minute featurette focusing on a corner of the Grand Canyon (where several scenes were shot) and its Indian reservation; "2 Minutes in the Future with Jessica Biel" - a brief and boring interview; and "Visualizing the Next Move" - an 8 minute f/x segment centering on the CG aspects of the film. Overall, a dull set of extras. Sorry.
What cleverness there is in this film is ultimately drowned in poor choices and bad film-making. NEXT should've been better. Instead, when folks think of this movie - if they think of it at all - they'll think of the neat sci-fi gimmick, yeah, but also that this one's a derivative action picture with many lulls. In the end, Cris Johnson becomes a character I fear the viewers will forget 2 minutes after having seen the film. And that's just doing Philip K. Dick a disservice.
Description of Next
DVDBestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Deja VuBuena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2007-04-24; Published: 2007-04-01; DVD
Best price: $4.84
Price in other shops:
PushFORD,COLIN; Release date: 2009-07-07; DVD
Best price: $5.69
Price in other shops:
Bangkok Dangerous (Single-Disc Edition)CAGE,NICOLAS; Release date: 2009-01-06; Published: 2009-01-01; DVD
Best price: $3.65
Price in other shops:
World Trade Center (Widescreen Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2006-12-12; DVD
Best price: $2.76
Price in other shops:
Season of the WitchTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2011-06-28; DVD
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
StealthSony; Release date: 2007-01-30; DVD
Best price: $2.33
Price in other shops:
Paycheck (Special Collector's Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2004-05-18; DVD
Best price: $1.77
Price in other shops:
JumperJumper; Release date: 2008-06-10; Published: 2008-06-01; DVD
Best price: $4.88
Price in other shops:
Eagle EyeEagle; Release date: 2008-12-27; Published: 2008-12-01; DVD
Best price: $4.51
Price in other shops:
KnowingCAGE,NICOLAS; Release date: 2009-07-07; Published: 2009-07-01; DVD
Best price: $5.48
Price in other shops: