In \"Next\" Nicolas Cage plays Cris Jonson, a Las Vegas magician with the ability to see two minutes into his own future, thus ensuring his cheesy stage act has at least a few truly impressive moments, and that it's relatively easy for him to top up his meagre income at the blackjack tables. Julianne Moore is FBI agent Callie Ferris, desperate to bring him in so that Cris can use his unique powers to help prevent a rogue nuclear attack on Los Angeles, while Jessica Biel is Liz Cooper, the first person that Cris has ever had visions of far beyond his normal two minutes window. The intriguing central concept comes from the mind of Phillip K Dick (the late science fiction author responsible for the original stories behind such movies as \"Minority Report\", \"Blade Runner\" and \"A Scanner Darkly\"), and is responsible for some of the movie's most memorable moments, with our hero's unique ability ensuring he knows exactly which way to turn at any one moment to avoid his pursuers and their bullets, and enabling him to replay again & again his 'first' meeting with Liz. At a refreshing ninety-six minutes long \"Next\" propels itself at a rapid pace, with \"Die Another Day\" director Lee Tamahori delivering the first impressive action sequence within fifteen minutes (a spectacular car chase, complete with a leap across a railway crossing as a train bears down upon it). Plenty more follow, including an epic landslide involving cars, water towers and logs, which successfully combines special effects with physical effects & stunt work to create a spectacular sense of peril. While the script travels into the realms of cliche on various occasions, and there are elements of the plot that really don't bear thinking through in too much detail, it barely matters. This then is Nicolas Cage in \"Ghost Rider\", \"Con Air\" and \"The Rock\" mode, a fast-moving Saturday night popcorn movie that wont disappoint those in search of an hour & a half of engaging Hollywood escapism.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>","fnc":"googleTrackerHelper.doTrackPage( '\/'Next-film_options~20586'\/Reviews\/ViewAll\/1' );"}