Next (2007 film)
Next is a 2007 American sci-fi action thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann, Tory Kittles, and Peter Falk. The film's original script was loosely based on the 1954 science fiction short story "The Golden Man" by Philip K. Dick. The film tells the story of Cris Johnson, a small-time magician based in Las Vegas, who has limited precognition. His ability allows him to see into the very immediate future. His gift not only makes him a target of a highly motivated and heavily armed group of terrorists, but also puts him in the crosshairs of the FBI who want to recruit him to oppose those terrorists instead.
Next
- Gary Goldman
- Jonathan Hensleigh
- Paul Bernbaum
- Nicolas Cage
- Todd Garner
- Norm Golightly
- Graham King
- Arne Schmidt
- Paramount Pictures (United States)
- Initial Entertainment Group (International)[1]
- April 27, 2007
96 minutes
United States
English
$78.1 million[2]
$77.6 million[3]
The film was released on April 25, 2007, in Belgium and France, and on April 27, 2007, in the United States by Paramount Pictures. With a production budget of $78 million, the film grossed $76 million worldwide, making it a box office flop.
It was the first Revolution Studios film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures, followed by 2017's XXX: Return of Xander Cage.
Plot[edit]
Cris Johnson can see into his future. He can only see two minutes ahead, with the exception of a vision he once had of a woman walking into a diner. Knowing no details other than the time, he goes to the diner twice each day at 8:09 to await her arrival. He works as a small-time magician in Las Vegas, where he supplements his income with gambling, using his powers to win medium amounts against the house.
Cris draws the attention of NSA Agent Callie Ferris, who has figured out his ability and wants to stop Russian terrorists from detonating a nuclear weapon. Before she can approach Cris, his gambling draws the attention of casino security. Using his ability to forecast the actions of his pursuers, he eludes them and the Las Vegas police. Ferris tracks Cris to his location, but he escapes after foreseeing her arrival. Later that night, the casino's security chief is approached by two of the terrorists and interrogated about Johnson before being killed.
The following morning, Cris is at the diner again when he sees Liz Cooper, the woman from his vision. It turns out that Cris can not only see the future, but also see how his actions can affect that future. When Liz's aggressive ex-boyfriend arrives, Johnson envisions all outcomes of his intervening, and then chooses the outcome that gets him "in" with Liz. Knowing that she is heading for Flagstaff, Arizona, Cris tricks her into giving him a ride. Ferris follows, while the terrorists decide to kill him.
With the weapon tracked to Los Angeles, Ferris persuades her superiors to let her bring Cris in. The terrorists follow in the hope that the agents will lead them to Cris.
Cris and Liz have to spend the night in a motel. Ferris confronts Liz near the hotel. Claiming Cris is a dangerous sociopath, Ferris asks Liz to drug Cris so that they can bring him in peacefully. Instead, Liz warns Cris, who tells her his secret. When she asks why he will not help the FBI stop the terrorists, he explains his limitations, noting the exception for events involving her. Cris tries to escape from the FBI but is captured after saving Ferris from logs tumbling down the side of a mountain. Unable to get to Cris, the terrorists kidnap Liz.
The NSA strap Cris to a chair and force him to watch television until he has a vision that can help. They expect him to see a report about the detonation of the bomb, but instead he envisions a broadcast from several hours in the future in which Liz is killed with a bomb vest while strapped to a wheelchair as bait for him. Cris escapes and races to the parking garage where she will be killed. Catching up to him, Ferris promises to help save Liz as long as Cris will help stop the bomb; she also sets up a plan to draw out the terrorists.
Cris helps the NSA track the terrorists to the port where they are based. When they arrive, Cris is able to walk right up to the terrorist leader while using his power to dodge bullets. After killing the terrorists and saving Liz, they find that the bomb has already been moved. Ferris shows Cris a seismograph, hoping that he will see any tremors caused by explosions before they happen. As he stares at the screen he realizes that he has made a mistake and that he was too late: the bomb detonates out at sea and completely destroys the port, as well as the rest of the city.
The timeline reverts a full day to Cris and Liz in bed at the hotel in Arizona, before Ferris arrived. Because of Liz's involvement in events, Cris has now been able to envision everything that could happen leading to the nuclear explosion. "Every time you look into the future, it changes."
Cris calls Ferris and offers to help prevent the nuclear disaster, then asks Liz to wait for him.
Reception[edit]
Box office [edit]
The film opened at #3 at the U.S. box office, grossing $7.1 million in 2,725 theaters in its opening weekend.[13] In its eight-week run in the United States, it grossed a total of just $18 million and has a combined worldwide gross of $76 million.[3] Compared to other films based on Philip K. Dick stories, Next grossed less than Minority Report, Total Recall, Paycheck and Blade Runner but performed better than Impostor, Screamers and A Scanner Darkly.[14]
Critical response[edit]
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 28% based on 128 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Numerous plot holes and poorly motivated characters prevent Next from being the thought-provoking sci-fi flick it could've been."[15] Metacritic gives the film an average score of 42 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[16]
Justin Chang of Variety said the film plays "like the cinematic equivalent of a Choose Your Own Adventure novel" and that the plot is highly reminiscent of 24. Chang also said "What starts out as a mildly diverting thriller blows itself to smithereens in the final reel", describing the climax as a "stunning cheat."[17] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film 2½ out of 4 stars and said parts of the film are "fascinating" and "compelling" but that "the whole thing ends up collapsing under its own weight." Berardinelli said Nicolas Cage "seems to be going through the motions", "Julianne Moore brings intensity to the part of Callie, although the character is incomplete", "Jessica Biel is appealing" but "the character is unfinished", and that "Thomas Kretschmann is unimpressive as a generic 24-style terrorist." He also said "some viewers will feel cheated by what Next does, and it's hard to blame them."[18]
Connie Ogle of the Miami Herald gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and said the film looks like director Lee Tamahori "spent about 12 bucks on his special effects budget." Ogle said the film had a decent premise but "Next begins to seriously embarrass itself and its stars once it rolls to its climax."[19] Toronto Star film critic Peter Howell gave the film 1½ stars out of 4 and called it a "colossal waste of time" and said it is "possibly the most egregious befouling of Dick's work to date." Howell said the roles "seem to be cut-and-pasted from other movies", called the film a "straight-to-DVD wannabe", and said the film "has one of the most infuriating endings ever."[20]
Moira MacDonald of the Seattle Times gave Next 1½ stars out of 4 and said "Late in the movie, Cris shouts at a bad guy, 'I've seen every possible ending here. None of them are good for you.' It's as if he's talking to the audience, and alas, he's right." and "Julianne Moore spends most of her screen time in Lee Tamahori's confused sci-fi thriller Next looking royally pissed off, like she got tricked into making the movie on a sucker bet. You can't blame her; this film's audience is likely to look that way as well by the time the end credits roll."[21] Kalamazoo Gazette critic James Sanford gave the film 1½ stars and said "the only visions Next inspires are flashbacks to better films" like Honeymoon in Vegas, Leaving Las Vegas, The Illusionist, and Hannibal, adding "any film that makes someone wish he or she were watching Hannibal must be pretty awful." Sanford said "Cage performs as if he's on autopilot, Moore looks more miserable than she did as the suicidal housewife in The Hours, and Biel seems fully aware she was hired only to provide a few glimpses of cheesecake." Sanford also remarked, "the ending of this film is not just a colossal cheat, it's a hard slap in the face to anyone who has invested his or her time in watching it."[22] Daniel Eagan of Film Journal International said the film "follows a familiar Hollywood pattern in which a few intriguing ideas are swamped by the demands of a big-budget, star-driven vehicle" and that it "won't add any luster to Nicolas Cage's resume." Eagan said "Half of Next is a clever, unpredictable thriller that plays with Dick's customary obsessions with time and reality. The other half is a sloppy, bloated adventure marred by cheesy special effects and some equally cheesy acting" and also that "the script to Next has plenty of [plot jams], one or two egregious enough to demand ticket refunds."[23]
Orlando Sentinel critic Roger Moore gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and said "who says preposterous junk can't be fun?" Moore said "this sloppy little time travel variation is a crowd-pleasing hoot, thanks mostly to Cage turning on the charisma and showing off his gift for hangdog understatement" and that the Groundhog Day-like attempts to woo Jessica Biel's character are "hilarious." Moore concluded "It's all so stupid and ends so perfunctorily that you can't call Next good, or even as good as the dopey Déjà Vu...but it does score over [Déjà Vu] in one important criterion. It's just fun."[24] Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe gave the film 2½ out of 4 stars and called it a "watchably absurd popcorn flick" and that the film "bears almost no resemblance" to the original short story "The Golden Man", the short story it was adapted from. He described Moore's performance as "enjoyably curt" and said "alongside Cage's spontaneity, Biel seems humorless and earnestly dull." Morris said the film is fun "until it turns crass" and concluded, "when you're being toyed with that cheaply, you forget how much you admire Nicolas Cage's shamelessness and start to resent the movie's."[25] Diana Saenger of ReviewExpress gave the film 3½ stars and said "Next boasts a fresh plot with a tricky twist ending that can be misconstrued if you don't pay close attention and then pause to think about it." Saenger reported that it was Nicolas Cage's idea for Cris to be a magician, and that it was his suggestion that his wife be part of the scene where a woman comes out of the audience to be part of the magic show. Saenger remarked that people complaining about the twist being a rip-off probably didn't understand it and said it made perfect sense and concluded "I liked the surprise twist and found Next very entertaining."[26]
The film was subject to the heckling of Bridget Jones Nelson and Michael J. Nelson in an October 2007 installment of Rifftrax.[27]
Thematic analysis[edit]
The technique the protagonist uses to see into the future has been compared to the video game concept of savescumming.[28]