‘Next’ movie review: Nicolas Cage is a Vegas magician in gimmicky thriller

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Hopelessly mediocre Nic Cage actioner, based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, aims low and mostly succeeds.

Cage has fun in the role of Frank Cadillac, a Vegas magician who can see two minutes into the future, and for a while the film coasts solely on his lazy charm (a brief Peter Falk appearance also helps).

Then comes the romantic subplot with Jessica Biel as Cadillac´s object of obsession, followed closely by the terrorist subplot with some amazingly bland baddies, and everything is wrapped up in cliché and predictable fashion.

Julianne Moore is wasted as the FBI director who needs Cadillac´s help to prevent the terrorist plot.

Director Tamahori does give the film a slick style and presents the “powers” in an interesting fashion; we´re never quite sure – whether Cadillac is preventing a casino robbery or trying out pickup lines – if what we´re seeing is actually happening, or if it´s just Cadillac looking into the immediate future and trying out different scenarios.

Though fun at first, the technique quickly becomes overused and repetitive; no points for being able to guess the ending.

While the film does mostly succeed on its own meager terms, it feels like a waste when considering the source material.

Dick deserves better than forgettable popcorn fare like this, or Imposter, or Paycheck. Similarly, director Tamahori has come a long way since Once Were Warriors.

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Jason Pirodsky

Jason Pirodsky has been writing about the Prague film scene and reviewing films in print and online media since 2005. A member of the Online Film Critics Society, you can also catch his musings on life in Prague at expats.cz and tips on mindfulness sourced from ancient principles at MaArtial.com.

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