Back Of The Line

I'll say it right here and now... the ending of "Next" aggravated me to no end. I absolutely HATE it when screenwriters try to get cute and do that thing where... the first 90 minutes or so mean nothing. Surprise. Ha ha. I guess I had the same reaction to "Next" than I had to John McTiernan's "Basic"; "Basic" being another film that decides to add an annoying twist that renders the rest of the film insignificant. It only leaves me wondering... why the heck would you invest 90-95 minutes of your time, only to be jerked around? No wonder "Next" and "Basic" both tanked at the box office.

While I'm taking a whack at the screenplay for "Next," I might as well focus in on the sequence where Johnson (Cage) is asked to use his psychic abilities to help the FBI defeat a terrorist group. At first, this is a pretty neat sequence.... director Lee Tamahori using stop motion and distortion techniques to show us Chris and his visions. Problem is, this sequence goes on and on and on. Johnson walks a few feet, points out a bad guy, the FBI opens fire. This sequence goes on so long, it starts to feel like that old Nintendo game.... "Duck Hunt." Or in this case.... it's more like a clairvoyant version of "Duck Hunt."

You want more? I have a ton of issues with this screenplay. Actually, another qualm I have with the screenplay for "Next" is more of a continuity flaw. All through out the film, the Johnson character (Cage) tells everyone within ear shot that his clairvoyant abilities are limited in terms of how much time they cover. Yet, even though Johnson lets the FBI know about his limitations.... the FBI agent in charge, Ferris (Julianne Moore) keeps asking Johnson to see further in time. Interesting. Wait, it gets better. Somehow, someway, Johnson actually starts seeing further into the future when his lady love, Liz (Jessica Biel) is kidnaped. I call this.... a plot device gimmick.

Before I get to the plot synopsis, I want to talk Nicholas Cage's performance in "Next." To me, Nicholas Cage is somewhat of an enigma. Sometimes I think that he really has chops and sometimes I think he's grossly over rated as an actor. After viewing his Oscar winning turn in "Leaving Las Vegas" I'm willing to blame Cage's sub par work in "Next" on post oscar-career autopilot syndrome. See, Cage's performance is the key here. Since he plays the Chris Johnson role on auto pilot, it makes it hard to warm up to his character. I really didn't feel anything for Cage's character and in turn....that made me less inclined to forgive the action heavy/special effects happy nature of the screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh (writer of Die Hard With A Vengeance) and Paul Bernbaum. What do I mean when I say that Cage's performance is on auto pilot? Take a look at the scene where Chris (Cage) and Liz (Jessica Biel) discuss his clairvoyant abilities and the danger that they represent sometimes. Cage doesn't dig deep here, he just delivers his dialogue in this almost incoherent kind of whisper. By playing it so flat, Cage doesn't really give the audience a chance to feel what is at stake for him. Still, Cage isn't squarely to blame for the fact that we really don't see what makes the Chris Johnson character tick, Screenwriters Jonathan Hensleigh and Paul Bernbaum don't bother to actually take the time to DEVELOP the Chris Johnson character. Right after the big moment with Liz, we're treated to a long winded chase scene involving Chris-The FBI-and the terrorist group that Chris has been asked to thwart with his clairvoyant abilities. Lots of off target shooting by the bad guys, tons of slo mo...... especially when Johnson sees a boulder that's about to roll over him.

Plot: Chris Johnson (Nicholas Cage) is a low level magician living in Vegas. Johnson is also a clairvoyant, by the way. This is a talent he uses to scrape out a living in and around the Vegas strip. One night..... Johnson, despite his abilities, ends up working a casino when it gets stuck up. Naturally, Chris goes on the run from the police in order to keep his abilities a secret. While on the run, Chris hooks up with a waitress named Liz (Jessica Biel.) They meet cute and within a few days... Chris feels confident enough to share his secret with Liz.

Meanwhile.... FBI Agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) has gotten word that a terrorist group has planted a rather huge bomb at an undisclosed location in LA. Out of answers, Ferris reviews the surveillance tapes and begins to suspect that Johnson isn't some ordinary Joe mixed up in a robbery. When she finally tracks Johnson she does indeed learn about his clairvoyant abilities. So.... Ferris (Moore) offers Johnson (Cage) a deal. He helps her find the bomb, she clears him of all involvement in the casino robber. I'll stop there, you can decipher the rest of the plot on your own.

I hate to do it to Jessica Biel..... But.... the woman just doesn't have the "gear." This was the case in "London" and it was also the case in "The lllusionist." Heck, it's still an issue for Jessica Biel in "Next." I'm thinking of that scene where the terrorists kidnap Liz. The bad guy SUV pulls up.... the camera cuts to the bad guys and then it cuts to Liz' face. Biel plays this scene awfully flat for a woman who's about to be taken hostage. Although, she DOES breathe in a rather dramatic way. I don't know....maybe Ellen Page's performance in "Juno" has forever spoiled me. Maybe I'm used to Page and her uncanny ability to blur the line between her and her character.

Julianne Moore? Basically, she's relegated to playing the "one note" cop. That is to say, she huffs and she puffs and she usually clashes with her superiors. Plus, most of the scenes with the Ferris' character usually involve some sort of gun play. Hey.... it wouldn't be a Hollywood action flick without that one moment of ESP from one of the characters. It's amazing.... the fact that Ferris (Moore) gains intimate knowledge of Johnson's abilities by simply studying surveillance footage. Somewhere.... Philip K Dick is wondering to himself..... can anyone make a decent film based on one of my novels?
Good question.