Nicolas Cage plays Cris Johnson, a small-time magician in Las Vegas who can see two minutes into the future. That power makes him a target. It also makes him the key to stopping a nuclear bomb from going off in Los Angeles. Next is a fast, talky thriller built on a simple idea: the man who knows what happens next can always avoid it. The film asks a harder question than it answers. It never quite earns the stakes it sets up.
Lee Tamahori directs from a script by Paul Bernbaum, Jonathan Hensleigh and Gary Goldman. The film is based on Philip K. Dick’s 1954 short story “The Golden Man,” though the finished movie bears little resemblance to the source material. The story moves through Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Arizona, and Los Angeles, chasing a terrorist group led by Mr. Smith and his associates. The chase builds toward a climax where Cris’s ability could save millions or cost him everything.
Trailer, via HD Retro Trailers.
Cris Johnson and His Gift
Cage plays Cris as a man trapped by his own talent. He performs cheap magic tricks in a showroom, lives off small gambling winnings, and hides under an assumed name. He is not a hero by nature. He is a survivor who learned early that curiosity kills him. Julianne Moore plays Callie Ferris, the FBI agent who believes Cris can help stop the bomb. Her job is to capture him. His job is to keep running.
The setup is elegant. Cris can see two minutes ahead, nothing more. That means he can predict a bullet before it hits him, a car crash before it happens, or a terrorist attack before it starts. The film spends its first half showing Cris using that power to escape. He stops a shooting at a casino, outruns the police, and evades a team of armed pursuers. Each scene is designed to prove how dangerous Cris is when he is calm.
Jessica Biel plays Liz Cooper, the woman Cris meets at a diner. She is the one vision he has carried with him for years. Their meeting changes the story. Cris realizes he can not only see the future but shape it. He can choose which version of the future he walks into. This is the film’s central trick, and it is also its biggest problem.
The Terrorists and the Bomb
Thomas Kretschmann plays Mr. Smith, the leader of the terrorist group. The film introduces him late, and his role remains unclear until the final stretch. The terrorists pursue Cris because his ability is the only thing that can stop them. They watch Cris move through the city, tracking his movements and waiting for the moment he slips. The film treats the terrorists as shadows, not as characters with motives.
The bomb itself is the engine of the plot. It is set for Los Angeles, and the film keeps the clock running. Callie Ferris pushes her superiors to bring Cris in, convinced he is the only one who can stop the attack. The terrorists follow in hopes the agents will lead them to Cris. The film runs on tension, but it never quite finds a rhythm.
The Chase Through Flagstaff
The middle of the film slows down. Cris and Liz spend a night in a motel outside Flagstaff, Arizona. The film lingers on their conversations, on Cris explaining his power and Liz trying to understand it. These scenes are meant to deepen the relationship, but they drag. The film loses momentum when it stops moving.
Callie Ferris watches from a distance, unable to catch Cris because she cannot predict what he will do next. The film sets up a cat-and-mouse game between the three leads, but it never quite delivers on the promise. The chase scenes are competent, with Cris using his foresight to dodge gunfire and explosions. But the film never lets the stakes land. We know Cris can survive, so we never feel afraid for him.
The Diner and the Vision
The diner is where the film’s central mystery begins. Cris visits twice each day at 8:09, waiting for a woman he has never met to walk through the door. He knows nothing about her except the time. The film returns to this image several times, treating it as a talisman of Cris’s loneliness. It is a quiet moment in a loud film.
When Cris finally meets Liz, the film reveals that his ability is more complex than he thought. He can see multiple possible futures, and he can choose which one to enter. This is the film’s most interesting idea, and it is also the one it handles least carefully. The film explains the mechanics of Cris’s power in a single conversation, then moves on. The audience is left to trust that the rules hold.
The Final Stretch
The film picks up pace again in its last act. Cris and Liz head toward Los Angeles, pursued by both the FBI and the terrorists. The film cuts between Cris’s visions, Callie’s pursuit, and the bomb’s countdown. The editing is frantic, and the music is loud. It feels like a race against time, even though the film has spent an hour establishing that Cris is always one step ahead.
The climax depends on Cris’s ability to see the future and change it. He must stop the bomb before it detonates. The film does not explain how he does it. It simply shows him making a choice, and the world shifts around him. This is the film’s boldest moment, and it is also its most hollow. The resolution feels earned only because the film has not given us any other way it could have ended.
The Verdict
Next is a film that is smarter than it looks but less confident than it should be. It has a great premise, a strong cast, and a director who knows how to stage an action sequence. But it never commits to its own rules. The film keeps pulling back from the edge, explaining away the danger and the stakes. The result is a thriller that feels safe.
The film’s tagline promises that seeing the future means saving it. The film proves the opposite. Cris can see the future, but he cannot stop it. The film ends on a note of fatalism, suggesting that some disasters are beyond even a prophet’s reach.
6.1 of 10.
Production Facts
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director | Lee Tamahori |
| Writers | Paul Bernbaum, Jonathan Hensleigh, Gary Goldman |
| Cast | Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann |
| Genre | Action, Science Fiction, Thriller |
| Runtime | 96 minutes |
| Release | April 27, 2007 |
| Distributor | Paramount Pictures |
| Budget | $78.1 million |
| Worldwide Gross | $77.6 million |
The film’s failure at the box office is a box office flop. A $78.1 million budget that grossed only $77.6 million worldwide suggests a movie that could not connect with audiences. The film was the first Revolution Studios release distributed by Paramount Pictures, followed by 2017’s XXX: Return of Xander Cage.
Next is a film worth seeing for its premise and its performances. Cage is excellent as Cris, playing a man who is both brilliant and broken. Moore is sharp as Callie, a woman who understands the stakes better than anyone else in the room. The supporting cast, including Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann, Jim Beaver, Tory Kittles, Peter Falk, Enzo Cilenti, José Zúñiga, Jason Butler Harner, Sergej Trifunović and Nicolas Pajon, fills out the world without stealing focus.
The film’s weakness is structural. It spends too much time explaining Cris’s power and not enough time using it. The chase scenes are fun, but they are not tense. The emotional beats fall flat because the film never makes us believe in the characters’ fear. The ending is a letdown, a resolution that feels rushed and incomplete.
There is a better movie buried inside Next. It is the movie where Cris’s ability is treated as a burden rather than a tool. It is the movie where the terrorists are given motives. It is the movie where Liz Cooper is not just a love interest but a partner in the fight. The film hints at all of these things, then pulls back.
Next is a film that is easy to recommend but hard to love. It is a solid entry in the genre, but it never becomes a great one. It is a film that respects its premise without trusting it. That respect is not enough. The film’s best moments come when it stops explaining and starts doing. The worst moments come when it tries to tie everything together.
The film’s final image is Cris standing alone, looking into the future and seeing something he cannot change. It is a sad picture, and it fits the tone of the whole enterprise. Next is a film that knows it cannot win, and it accepts that fate. That acceptance is rare in Hollywood. It is also the reason the film fails.
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