In this adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 'The Golden Man', Nicholas Cage plays a man who can see into the future and change it any way that he wants. As he tries to avoid capture by a government organization, he must win the love of a woman (Julianne Moore) who he learns will be the mother of his child. (from MovieWeb.com)

A few months back, Nicholas Cage graced the silver screen playing the part of the crazed skull-headed Marvel hero, Ghost Rider. I genuinely like Cage, but Ghost Rider was a horrible scar on his resume. Only three months later, Cage descends to bring us a new offering to the table hoping it fares better commercially and critically.

The story of Next, combines something of a likeness to Minority Report, and doesn't seem to bring anything new to the big screen. I'll admit that this isn't exactly a rip-off of the film and adds a few elements that manage to entertain, but the plot and story don't delve any deeper than, say, last October's Deja Vu. Therefore, it simply works as a popcorn flick relying on action and cool special effects to carry the movie.

Prodding along, the movie is a fast-paced highly addictive thriller. As a viewer, you enjoy the many different takes Cage's character indulges in before he makes his ultimate choice, or path. You also enjoy his acting and performance, despite his long and horrid hairdo. But you have inner conflicts with Jessica Biel's performance, which is borderline good, or everybody else's acting. A film has to rely more on Cage's ability than everybody else's. The antagonists of the film, a terrorist faction simply called 'The Russian Federation' are hardly believable. At times, I felt like I was watching more an extended trailer for a movie than a feature film. Next zipped by, and before I knew it, it was over.

Which in turn, exposes the major flaw: the movie's ending. Horrid. Wrong. When the movie faded out and the theatre lights faded in, I guessed the movie had finally come to an end. As I watched the credits roll (backwards, mind you) I shouted to the other movie attendants, "Is this legal?" The movie was really just getting started. All of a sudden, it ended; and it was the ending that killed it. I understand that some movies abruptly end sometimes for the viewer's pleasure of imagining how the story might continue. But this one not so much.

As far as content goes, it was relatively mild for a PG-13 film of this kind. Some mild action sequences and a few scenes of people, mostly cops, getting shot are shown, but not very graphic. Language was surprisingly low, so kudos here. Sex is a somewhat noticeable red flag. Cage and Biel kiss and then it leads to implied sex. In another scene, Biel comes out of the shower wearing only a towel around her body, leaving little to the imagination. One of the ruffians of the Russian Federation squad is seen reading a Playboy magazine, but you can hardly make anything out.

Overall, I thought the movie was set for total coolness and then it ended seemingly prematurely. It provides some cool special effects and neat "watch-what-he-can-do" tricks that never seemed to get old. But fickle acting and a less than easy to follow plot leave little to be desired for in this popcorn flick. Maybe this should be a lesson that if you're going to end your film abruptly, you better have the credibility to do so.

- Zachary Anderson (reviewed: 4/30/07)