Next
Next is based on the Philip K. Dick story The Golden Man about a man who sees his own future, but only the next two minutes. Produced by, and starring Nicolas Cage as Cris Johnson, Next features a terrorist nuclear bomb threat as the thriller backdrop. Julianne Moore plays FBI agent Callie Ferris who has somehow glommed onto the idea that Johnson, who “hides his ability in plain sight” as a second-tier Las Vegas magician, actually has the ability to see into the future. She figures this is the best way to track down the terrorists and their bomb. Exactly how this might work is not clear, though, as even Ferris knows that Cris can only see a couple of minutes into the future. I think two minutes warning that a nuclear bomb is going to go off in downtown L.A. is not going to do much good.
Unbeknownst to Ferris, though, Cris has discovered his foresight muse: Jessica Biel plays Liz who is linked somehow to Cris and enables him to see much further into his future - days at least. The threat of the nuclear bomb, and the terrorists who are chasing Cris because the FBI is chasing him, moves the plot along and provides some urgency. But there is enough in Dick’s idea of the character to make for a fascinating character study without the bombs and snipers. The gimmick presents an interesting storytelling challenge that director Lee Tamahori handles beautifully. Cris sees what will happen in his future, but once he sees that he can change his actions which changes what will happen next. Tamahori shows us these possible futures as Cris cycles through various possible plans of action. It is skillfully done and works well.