Next - A holnap a múlté

Come on people, don’t be silly! Nick, you better give that hair back to Tom "Langdon" Hanks, he's gonna need it in Angels & Demons. And you, Lee, try to quickly remember what a great, distinctive film you made in your early days and leave routine to the journeymen of the film strip. One thing is certain, Philip K. Dick was undoubtedly a genius, but in the case of Next I sincerely wonder if the final plot twist that shifted the overall viewer experience from "I certainly don't regret it." to "Once was enough" was really from his pen or just artistic license from the writers. Knowing the work of "Mr. Depression" P.K. Dick, I would bet on the latter, and the result would be all the sadder. (2007.06.25)

It’s a relatively enjoyable watch. Next lacks any tension (at least I didn't notice any), it has some rather inconsistent special effects, and Nicolas Cage has a terrible hairstyle (but you get used to it :). But the biggest disappointment is the end, which on the one hand is unexpected (that's the good side), but on the other it leaves the audience really disgruntled. Tamahori should leave this over-engineered madness and return to his roots, à la The Edge, because he's just better off outdoors. But, hey, it's cool to watch, Cage is pretty relatable here (when you get used to the hair) and Jessica Biel is as much of a fox as ever. (2007.06.22)

Routineer Lee Tamahori did the usual and so here we have another average action sci-fi movie based on a short story by Dick. It’s watchable, but absolutely nothing here could be described as even slightly above average. Just how little this interests her simply oozes out from Julienne Moore, Cage gives his usual performance and Jessica makes nothing more than an appearance. In view of the subject matter, the movie deserved a couple of visual ideas, but Tamahori is evidently incapable of having any. Instead, he forcibly stuffed in a few terribly rendered CGI scenes that are completely unnecessary (jumping across ahead of the train and the falling beams; could this really not have been done using a stuntman?). A solid average movie to pass time on a rainy morning. (2007.06.10)

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for Lee Tamahori. This guy is a really bad director, and if Next didn't convince anyone, then XXX had to. Starting with unbelievably bad visual effects, ending with a completely insane plot twist, his latest piece has countless mistakes, and the finale gives the film the proverbial crown of stupidity because it contradicts the entire essence and outlining of the main character and his natural abilities. Similarly interesting is the portrayal of Jessica Biel's character, who only needs two minutes in a restaurant and suddenly it's love for a lifetime. In short, the viewer can expect nothing but quality throughout the film. (2008.02.07)

The premise is definitely attention worthy, as is Nicolas Cage with his Robert Langdon haircut, the delicious Jessica Biel and a good portion of technically brilliant and well thought out action scenes. Yet, I can't shake the feeling that more could have been squeezed out of it, that the bad guys weren't worth much and that the last two minutes should have been deleted from the script altogether. But given Cage's "form" in recent years, I think that's a bit much to ask... 3.5* (2012.10.06)