Blu-ray Review: Next

By Jeff Swindoll May 20, 2008, 13:25 GMT

Las Vegas showroom magician Cris Johnson has a secret: he can see two minutes into the future. Sick of the government and scientific interest in his gift he lies low in Vegas performing cheap tricks and living off small-time gambling winnings. But when a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles government agent Callie Ferris must use all her wiles to capture Cris and convince him ...more

Now that the war is over, that format war that is, some of the titles that were released exclusively to HD DVD are showing up on Blu-ray.  I wonder if Nicholas Cage’s character, he can see two minutes into his future, could see that coming?  

Again it feels like cheating but I’m going to quote my review of the standard DVD.  

“Chris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) is a magician on the Vegas strip (under the moniker Frank Cadillac).  The thing is that he really does have supernatural powers and he can see exactly two minutes into the future.  The problem is that it’s his own future.  It’s a good deal in that he can make a dime or two in the casinos, but he keeps his winnings small to keep suspicion off of him. 

He comes to the attention of Agent Harris (Julianne Moore) and she wants him to “recruit” him to help find a thermonuclear device that’s been smuggled into the U.S.  The only vision that Chris has had that’s broken the two-minute barrier is that he had a vision of a girl that walked into a diner at 8:09.  So he shows up at the diner at both am and pm to catch this mystery lady. 

After Agent Harris attempts to recruit Chris forcefully, his two-minute head start keeps him from getting caught; he finally meets Liz (Jessica Biel) at the diner.  Chris’ powers seem to be boosted when he’s with Liz and he can go beyond the two-minute barrier, but only into Liz’s future.  Both Agent Harris and the terrorists with the nuclear bomb both catch up with Chris and Liz gets caught in the middle of it all.  The terrorists capture Liz and what Chris sees makes him shudder.  

Nicolas Cage really hasn’t had too good a run as far as the box office goes.  The Wicker Man was just terrible and Ghost Rider wasn’t going to win him any Oscars but it was popcorn-laced fun.  I’d have to say that Next falls into the Ghost Rider category as far as entertainment goes. 

The whole way that Chris’ “gift” works can be a bit confusing, but the whole action part is pretty good.  The way that Chris avoids event by knowing what lies ahead in those two-minutes is pretty cool visually, but when you try and wrap you head around some of it you might get a headache. 

The filmmakers don’t help matters by inserting a scene in the diner where Biel acts like she can see what Chris is up to with his gift.  I think it’s just Chris’ imagination, but it confused me for a bit. 

Chris’ psychic ability is then wrapped in an explosive action movie.  They even try for a twist ending that you’ll either enjoy or be annoyed with – your choice.”

When Paramount moved firmly into the HD DVD camp they did so completely and no more Blu-rays were to come out of the studio.  Now that the war is over and HD DVD has lost they’re now putting some of those titles out onto Blu-ray.  This release basically replicates both their HD DVD and standard DVD of the film.  

Next is presented in 1080p anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  All of the special features are presented in high definition. 

Special features include the 18 minute “Making the Best Next Thing” which interviews screenwriter Gary Goldman, executive producer Jason Koornick, producer Todd Garner, Nicolas Cage, producer Norman Golightly, Jessica Biel, producer Arne Schmidt, Julianne Moore, and Tory Kittles (“Cavanaugh”) about the film’s production. 

The 7 minute “Visualizing the Next Move” interviews visual effects supervisor John Sullivan, lead compositor Marco Recvay (Digital Dreams), digital artist Nicholas Luna-Ulrich (Digital Dreams), and visual effects supervisor Dion Hatch (Digiscope) about the digital effects used in the film. 

The 7-minute “The Next Grand Idea” is about the location of the Indian Reservation in the Grand Canyon.  It’s quite a beautiful location and Cage suggested they use it.  The 2-minute “Two Minutes in the Future with Jessica Biel” is a solo interview with Biel – imagine that!  Finally there’s the 2-minute theatrical trailer.    

Just like Chinese food, after watching Next you’ll be hungry in about an hour.  That still doesn’t change things as far as the Blu-ray goes. 

The movie isn’t bad and it has some good action, but it just is missing that something that makes you want to watch it over and over again.  

Next [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon. Visit the DVD database for more information.