Should have seen that coming
Cris Johnson is a part-time magician and someone who loves to gamble. The difference between him and you is that he can guarantee a winner. Johnson has the ability to see two minutes into the future, if it personally involves him, so he knows what is going to happen before it actually happens. When the government comes calling though, for a national crisis, and he is unwilling, they take away what he believes is his destiny, Liz Cooper. The government needs Johnson to sniff out a nuclear bomb before it decimates the west coast (and pretty much the northern hemisphere). The government convinces cooper, who has just met Johnson, that Cris is crazy. So Cris reluctantly offers his ability to the U.S. and in turn they offer to keep Liz out of the plot. Regretfully, the terrorists bring Liz into the miz and Cris now races to save not only the west coast, but maybe the love of his life.
Like I said at the beginning of this review, this movie certainly had great potential. It was a neat concept that probably looked great on paper. I have run into a situation where I’ve looked at an idea and said, “OH! This looks great!”, but have clearly failed on the execution. I didn’t fully think it through and by the time I got it all figured out, it was too complicated to deal with. I think this is how the movie got tangled. It had this fabulous character named Cris Johnson who could look two minutes into the future. When they started writing they probably didn’t fully think about the entire picture with this ability. At the beginning of the movie they state that he can only think two minutes into the future with the ability he has. Then he gets out of jail free with Liz Cooper who mysteriously allows him to see really far into the future, beyond his two minute rule. I think that’s a horrible out and just makes the movie even more full of holes than it already is. But the writers push on and it shoes in the story. Without giving too much away, the ending just makes you ask ‘why’.
Disappointment is the only word that comes to mind when the film ends.
Are there any good moments? I felt like Julianne Moore’s character was straight our of Hannibal. It was rough and demanding, but she played it well. As for Nic Cage, I like the guy. I like him in this role and if it wasn’t for the awful story, he could have pulled this off. I’m not sure where people started hating him, but he’s a good actor. He need s a bit more respect. Excellent acting, but a movie that failed them badly.
So, the faulty story really didn’t help the actors out, and when you have something like that it just doesn’t do much for the movie. Again, good idea, bad execution.
Saw this coming
Paramount’s first big release list into the Blu-ray format is not bad. They certainly know what they’re doing when it comes to transferring movies to high-def. I still get goosebumps when I see the old Paramount logo come up and then it turns into a high-def logo. Still gives me chills, love it! Next certainly looks and sounds spectacular. It looks and sounds better than it deserves to, but it certainly does look like a Blu-ray should. You won’t be disappointed.
As for the features, here’s what you get:
-Making the Best Next Thing
-The Next “Grand Idead”
-Two Minutes in the future with Jessica Biel
-Visualizing the Next Movie
-Theatrical Trailer
All of these features are good. They’re also in HD, which makes them worthwhile. This is one of those moments where the features are more entertaining than the film. The making of featurette gives a bit more insight into what they were shooting for in the film. You won’t be disappointed.
Two-minutes to conclude this
I don’t hate the film, I just wish it was a bit more thought out. Again, I know I’m beating a dead-horse, but it was a great idea with poor execution. It could have been so much better. Without a doubt so much better. The cast was good, the concept was good, the story just fell apart too quickly. Excellent looking Blu-ray though with some good features.
Rent before you own, and decide for yourself.
