Next (2007)
Directed by Lee Tamahori
***
Philip K. Dick stories have exploded across the last decade's film scene. There have been hits and misses, but mostly misses. And some common themes seem to be emerging: radically gifted people are really cool; the supernatural is great, but only if it doesn't cause damage to large numbers of people; and since that kind of damage is inevitable with imperfect people having extraordinary ability, radically gifted people end up being an unwitting source of damage to large numbers of people. In Next, it's Cris Johnson, the guy who can see into the future. With that kind of skill, it's no surprise that the FBI wants his skills, to help them prevent a nuclear terrorist attack (strangely, it's like Shooter gone right). When Cris falls head over heels for Liz Cooper, whom he's been having visions about, she gets pulled into his future just a little too much. Excitement, adventure, a few clever ideas, and actors like Nicolas Cage, Jessica Biel and Julianne Moore who are interesting to watch. It's not brilliant, but fun.
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