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Next
Next is a movie about a guy who can see the future based on a story by Philip K Dick. Hmm, where have we seen that premise before, could it have been Paycheck and Minority Report. Fortunately Philip K Dick’s fascination with being able to see the future, and the subsequent Hollywood fascination about making movies from stories about being able to see the future bodes well for the future of the dodgy movie industry.
So far, we’ve had Tom Cruise (the short scientologist), Ben Affleck (the blind Superhero) and now Nicholas Cage (Emo posterchild). In a departure from his other roles, Nicholas Cage plays a self pitying whiny stage magician, something he hasn’t done before, well, the stage magician part, we all know about his credentials on the whiny part. Fortunate for us, Jessica Biel is the love interest and looking at her manages to distract us from most of the whining.
Next manages to nicely blur the line between what Nicholas Cage is seeing in the future, and what is actually happening, keeping us, the audience confused but interested. A good state to be in for any kind of thriller. With a couple of twists, including a major “Why is the rum gone?” moment just before the final credits, you’re never quite sure what is going on.
Dodginess
There are a few gun fights, a couple of fist fights and one or two explosions, but short of the dodgy source material, nothing really to score well on the dodginess index. In fact, this film only rates a 2 on the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Scale. In a first for the site, the dodgiest moment in the film occurred while reviewing it. Being able to use the phrase “Why is the rum gone?” in a review without referring to Pirates of the Caribbean or Captain Jack Sparrow is pretty dodgy, even by my standards. Well, almost not referring to POTC or Jack Sparrow…. I mean Captain, Jack Sparrow.
Rewatchability Rating
Next is another of the “Usual Suspects” type storylines, and again this impacts the rewatchability a bit. Although, having said that, the film is twisty enough that a number of viewings may be required, especially if you stop paying attention for short periods of time. As a result, Next scores a 3 on the rewatchability index.
Most Memorable Quote
The most memorable quote in this movie is not very emo, even though the emo posterchild utters it. In fact, it’s actually a joke. “Did you hear about the zen master who ordered a hotdog. He said he’d have one with everything.”
Final Thoughts
Next is a watchable film and even though there have been a number of Philip K Dick adaptations, each one is original enough that they still manage to keep you guessing. If you watch this one once, you’ll probably want to watch it twice.