Next: I Knew I Was Going To Like This Movie Two Minutes Into Watching It

Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
Starring: Nicolas Cage (Face/Off, National Treasure 1 & 2) as Cris Johnson, Jessical Biel (Stealth, Blade Trinity) as Liz, Julianne Moore (Children Of Men, Hannibal) as Agent Ferris, Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong) as Mr. Smith
Directed by: Lee Tamohori (Die Another Day)

The Story
Next [Blu-ray] sees Nicolas Cage plays Cris Johnson, a man who has the ability to see 2 minutes into the future, or more accurately, his own future. He lives in Vegas, and uses his powers in a magic act and also by winning small stakes at the casinos, hiding in plain sight. But now his unusual powers have come to the attention of FBI opperative Callie Ferris (Moore) who needs his help to find the whereabouts of a stolen nuclear bomb being hidden somewhere in Southern California by a group of terrorists led by Mr. Smith (Kretschmann).

Because of bad experiences at the hands of scientists as a child, Cris is somewhat hesitant to help; besides, he’s more interested in meeting the love of his future life, Liz, played by Jessica Biel. On the run from Ferris, he hitches a ride with Liz where they fall for each other - all the while with the FBI and the terrorists in hot pursuit. The terrorists want him dead because he is the only one who can locate the device. When the terrorists capture Liz, Cris reluctantly agrees to help Ferris. Can Cris save Liz and can he save the residents of Southern California from nuclear annihilation?

This movie is based on the book “The Golden Man” by sci-fi novellist Philip K. Dick, author of The Minority Report, Blade Runner, and A Scanner Darkly. Being a fan of his work, I was eager to see how this film turned out, and I liked it immensely. It had all that i liked - a good cast, plenty of action, and fantastic special effects. Many people were not too keen on this movie, and even more were not keen on the ending. I liked its unique twist. I was a bit concerned about Nic’s haircut, but it wasn’t too distracting. As always, Jessica Biel is pure eye-candy, but played her part well here. Moore was good also as the sometimes ruthless FBI agent hell-bent on getting the bomb found at all costs. A very good movie. My score: 8.5/10.

The Visuals
Next is framed in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Paramount have used a very high AVC video encode that simply looks stunning. The Grand Canyon looks amazing - you can see every grain of sand. Blacks are deep and velvety, though sometimes, I felt that shadow detail was compromised because the blacks were just so deep. Skin tones are natural, though there is a golden tint on many scenes, but I believe this is the filmmakers’ intent. I dont know how this compares with the now defunct HD-DVD disc, but this is a real stunner. I have to say that I am very impressed with this Blu-ray. My score is 9.5/10.

The Audio
Next comes to us with a very high bitrate uncompressed 5.1 PCM soundtrack which is simply awesome. My favourite chapter (13) sees Cris being pursued by the Feds and has Liz run her 4×4 into a water tower and old steam train. The sound of all that stuff crashing down after Cris and the Feds is simply mindblowing - you really feel that you’re in the thick of it. Vocals come through loud and clear. Paramount have done a great job with this Blu-ray. My score: 9.5/10.

Note that there is also Dolby Digital 5.1 in English and Spanish, and Dolby Digital 2.0 in French. Subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

The Extras
Next comes to us with a fair selection of extras (not over-abundant), but they are all in glorious High-Definition. First up, is Making the “Next” Best Thing, which is an 18 minute making of featurette. Visualizing The “Next” Move is an 8-minute featurette showing how the special effects were created.

The “Next” Grand Idea goes into why and how the Grand Canyon was utilized in the movie. Two Minutes In The Future has Jessica Biel talking about the advantages and disadvantages of being able to know your own future - this runs for two minutes.

Finally, we have the Theatrical Trailer. Like I said, not overflowing, but nice, nonetheless. My score: 5/10.

Overall Impact
Next is an enjoyable sci-fi romp with a good cast, top class audio/visual presentation, and nice extras - highly recommended. My score: 8.5/10.

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