Imagine being able to see two minutes into the future, having to rush through the Student Union during lunch hour and being able to get to class in Knox on time.
Think about it. You could have avoided the person who came rushing out of the register line and spilled soda on your newly-washed UB hoodie. That janitor who ran over your foot with their cleaning cart wouldn't have to replace that wheel, and you could have walked into the lecture hall through the right door and signed the attendance sheet on time.
In "Next," Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage, "Grindhouse"), is an underappreciated Las Vegas magician who has some paranormal tricks up his sleeve. His superpower: he can see up to two minutes into his future, a gift that would come in handy at the blackjack table, a bar fight, or even a sports video game.
"It's one of those things that you sometimes wish you were able to do," said Jenna Clark, a freshman pharmacy major.
While Johnson sometimes uses these opportunities to bag some extra cash, the security guards at his place of employment wonder how he consistently beats the odds. The FBI takes notice of Johnson's ability when he foils a robbery attempt that would have been fatal if he didn't have the power to see what was coming.
FBI agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore, "Children of Men") seeks to use Johnson's future vision to help prevent a possible nuclear attack in the city of Los Angles. At the same time, a French terrorist group is also in pursuit of Johnson to prevent a breach in their plans.
The story gets deeper when Johnson meets a very special woman named Liz (Jessica Biel, "Home of the Brave"), and he can see far more than two minutes into the future when he is with her. A romantic spin is thrown into the mix of conflicts when the French terrorist group kidnaps Liz and uses her to get to Johnson.
"Music was made to enhance the viewing experience without pulling your focus from that experience, and the score did exactly that," said Elizabeth Bukys, a freshman accounting major.
The cinematography of the film is similar to that of "Memento," a 2001 adaptation thriller starring Guy Pearce. The difference is that in "Memento," Pearce's character has flashbacks that need to be pieced together.
The movie also seemed to take a piece out of the "Spider Man" movies. Whenever Johnson was visualizing his next move, the camera would zoom in on his face. Additionally, a very focused ambience would take over when there was any outside action, similar to Spider Man's "spider sense" that warns when danger is approaching.
"I liked how it wasn't a typical seeing into the future thing, because it was limited to two minutes into the future, which is different from most movies," Clark said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
