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"Next" for Cage? Television. "Next", the latest cinematic bon-bon from Nicholas Cage, is not a great movie, but it is a pleasant diversion, and suitable bargain matinee material. It's also fun to see Cage's latest bad toupee. Cris (Cage), using the stage name Frank Cadillac, performs cheap tricks in a run down Las Vegas nightclub, under a stage name, to hide his real talent. He is certain that if the government, the 'enemy', anyone, discover the nature of this talent, he will lose his freedom and be forced to work for them in order to live. His talent? He can see the future. Granted, he can only see about two minutes into the future, but this is still a valuable skill. There is only one problem. The government already knows he has this power. Callie Farris (Julianne Moore), an FBI agent, has learned that a nuclear bomb missing from the Russian Federation is on its way to America and wants, needs Cris to help them determine when and where it will go off. But Cris has dreams of a beautiful young lady, Liz (Jessica Biel) in a diner and shows up every day, determined to meet her. When Cris finally does meet Liz, he conspires to get her to take him to Flagstaff, because he knows she is headed there. Naturally, Farris and her arsenal of FBI employees are hot on their heels. Oh, and the terrorists, led by Mr. Smith (Thomas Kretschmann, "King Kong") know about Cris as well and want to stop him, because they know he can foil their plans. "Next", directed by Lee Tamahori ("Once Were Warriors", "Die Another Day") and based on a story by Philip K. Dick (who wrote the story that would become "Bladerunner"), takes a completely implausible premise (with more than a few plot holes – how do the terrorists know about Cris?) and makes it an enjoyable piece of fluff to help while away a few hours. Actually, scratch that. An enjoyable piece of fluff to while away 100 minutes. This is one of the reasons "Next" was more enjoyable than I had any right to expect. It was relatively short for a film in this genre, most run two hours or longer, so it kept the action moving. Cris is introduced doing his two-bit magic act at a rundown lounge in a rundown casino in downtown Vegas. He uses a stage name, Frank Cadillac, and gets paid in cash, all in an effort to stay off the radar. To earn extra money, he uses his skill at the tables, earning just enough to make some good cash and not attract any attention. Yet, the casino security people are watching Cris. Even as Cris says he is trying to stay under the radar, he seems to know the casino is watching him. Does he have premonitions as well? He knows that as soon as his ability is revealed, his freedom will be jeopardized, so he tries to stay low key. Naturally, this doesn't work for long. Farris and her assistant are in the audience watching the show. And everyone seems to realize there is a limitation to Cris' ability. This is another of Cage's one-note performances. Throughout the entire film, he seems to be grimacing (in pain? shock?), his face blank and his eyes vacant. But this sort of works for Cris. He is always looking into the future, and these images seem to dull his opinion of the world. Also, he is fairly certain that if his ability is revealed, he will end up in a padded room under observation, so he has to remain fairly low-key. It's sad that the most interesting thing about Cage's performances, lately, is anticipating how bad his toupee will look. In "Next", he has longer hair, slightly greasy looking, which fits his character well, but still looks exceedingly fake. Because Cris can only see a few minutes into the future, he has fairly limited ability, yet he is able to use this ability to elude pursuers. And this leads to some interesting action scenes. As Cris engages in foot chases or a car chase, he is always able to make the right move, at the right moment, to elude his attackers. This helps to explain his almost 'super human' ability to stay out of harm's way. Particularly impressive is how he ducks and weaves, much like a martial arts expert, to elude punches, bullets, falling logs, etc. But this same 'two minute rule' leads to the biggest plot hole in the film. Moore's Farris wants Cris' help to locate the stolen nuclear weapon. When Cris finally agrees to help Farris, she plants him in a medical chair in a concrete room wearing glasses that prop his eyes open. Someone wearing a medical jacket puts some drops in his eyes and he can suddenly see further than two minutes into the future. Huh? Actually, in the beginning of the film, he has dreams of Liz (Biel) showing up at a diner at a specific time on a day, yet he doesn't know which day. It won't fit. Please read the full review at thornhillatthemovies.com email this review to a friend
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