My Review of "Next"

Next is an older movie that came out back in 2007. It's really funny how much you notice fashion trends when you watch older movies. This movie actually had a really great concept that I was really wishing they'd play more with. Instead they kind of got drawn out with an overly dramatic romance story that took away a lot from this movie.

The movie starts off with a guy named Cris. He doesn't seem to be living a lavish lifestyle and it doesn't seem like there's anything special about him and then it cuts to him going on stage in Las Vegas. He has a very small show in Las Vegas and when I say small it's like a handful of viewers in a huge venue. It's a magic show where he does tricks and the big part of his show is that he can read minds.

The show goes fairly well and in the narration Cris explains that unlike other magicians he's actually got a superhuman ability to see 2 minutes into the future. He utilizes this to his advantage by being able to see what possible outcomes may happen with his multiple decisions. Just thinking about this this happening in real life is a pretty high concept. Who would be able to remember and retain all that information in one sitting like Cris?

Unfortunately for Cris an FBI agent kind of clues in that he might have these powers and she's onto him. She wants to use his powers to help them find some sort of nuclear weapon threatening to kill the world population. The problem is Cris doesn't want to help.

You'd think that Cris not wanting to help sounds selfish but they wrote a good explanation for his reluctance. He grew up with people testing him because of his powers. Helping the FBI would only mean that he would be given a life sentence of being studied and forced to help the government. Not too many movies take this approach to their movies when they consider super powers.

This is why they added the love interest for Cris. It's kind of a really hokey story of her being in his dreams and allowing him to see further with her around. I understand why it's there and it does help the movie keep pace but the whole chemistry and vibe of the whole thing felt kind of wrong. There's something about the relationship that didn't really sit well with me. It didn't quite seem too genuine but it did seem overly dramatic.

They pretty much use Cris' love interest as a pawn but it's not the only weak point in the movie. I thought the careful over explanation of his power was kind of unnecessary either. At points it was confusing as to if he was actually doing something or if it was one of his possible decisions. At the mid point of the movie I got it. It's a Hollywood movie and this guy isn't going to die so just assume any wrong moves is a wrong decision in his head. He's just analyzing the situation until he finds an optimum solution.

I just wish he used his powers more for just hijinks things. There's only the beginning part where he uses his powers to win money from the casino but really he could use his powers for more than that. I'm sure anyone would have tons of fun with this set of powers. Then again he was probably keeping a low profile so that he doesn't get caught by the authorities. They could have did a flashback as to how he escaped the tortures he endured as a child though.

Overall, I still enjoyed this movie for what it was. It's an entertaining time despite the questionable acting and wooden relationship that the two leads share with one another. I loved the concept and wish they could have done more with it. I have to give this movie a 6 out of 10. It's worthy of a viewing if you really like movies about people with superhuman powers.