On HD-DVD: Next

Directed By Lee Tamahori

Starring Nicolas Cage, Jessica Biel, Julianne Moore

Phillip K. Dick is one of the true icons of science fiction having written some of the greatest short stories and novels in the history of the genre.  The most famous big screen adaption of one of his stories is Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott.  There have been less successful adaptations but anytime one of his stories gets made into a film I have to see it.

The Movie

I remember when this film hit theaters and it seemed to just come and go in a matter of a few weeks.  I wanted to see it but for one reason or another I didn't make it to the theater before it was gone.  The trailers looked good and the premise sounded interesting so I couldn't understand why it wasn't more successful.

Chris Johnson is a magician doing shows in Las Vegas, doing traditional magic tricks as well as predicting the future.  He has a special ability, he can see two minutes into his own future.  Rather than play super hero he tries to live a low profile life.  He does magic and then he gambles at casinos winning only enough money to sustain himself.  Every day he eats at the same cafe in the morning and at night waiting for a woman that he can see in his future.  This woman, played by Jessica Biel, allows him to see further into the future than he normally can.  In fact, the reason he goes to the cafe everyday is because he doesn't know how far into the future he has actually seen her.

One night in the audience of one of Chris' shows Agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) observes with extreme intent every trick that Johnson performs.  Somehow she knows about Chris' abilities and she's willing to do whatever's necessary to get Chris to use those abilities to discover the location of a nuclear device that has made it into the United States.  Chris fears that he'll be turned into a lab rat so he refuses to help Ferris and he goes on the run.  As things work out Chris finally meets his dream girl and she actually takes him on the road with her.

So, there's a lot happening in this film that is truly underdeveloped.  First off, the bad guys have a line on the FBI and are always a step ahead of Agent Ferris and through her they have learned about Chris and are trying to kill him.  We don't know these bad guys at all or what their motivations are.  Also, why does it not seem like a big deal at all in the FBI headquarters that Chris has the special abilities?  Is this a special division that deals with people who can do stuff like this?  Here's another thing, Chris does have special abilities but that automatically mean he knows kun fu and can throw tools blunt instruments like a professional knife thrower?  Chris is built up to be a normal guy with a special talent but when the chips are down he become somewhat akin to Daredevil in his ass kicking ability.  Finally, did anyone else notice that Nicolas Cage is old enough to be Jessica Biel's father?

In the end the premise is interesting but a lot of character development and back-story is sacrificed in favor of the gimmick of Chris' ability.  The creators of the film admit that the film is only loosely based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick.  In the end I wish the film had been a true adaptation of the short story.  

5/10

The Video

The widescreen hi-def presentation is rock solid with only a few issues here and there.  Overall color representation is fantastic and for most of the film's running time detail and contrast are excellent.  Surprisingly though, there are a few scenes, especially darker ones, where things get soft and a little murky.  On a standard def presentation you might not notice these scenes as much but in comparison to the rest of the film they stand out.  The other issue is that the film often looks so good that CGI sequences stand out too much making the effect appear cheaper here than it might have in theaters.  Overall though, this is another great hi def presentation from Paramount.

7.5/10

The Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track here is extremely energetic throughout the entire film.  This is an action film so you'd expect big action to blare through all five speakers and it does but also quieter scenes get some nice attention with little ambient sounds to make the entire film immersive.  Dynamic range is great with top notch use of the bass during explosions.  There are a couple of instances where I had to boost the volume just a little to hear dialogue only to get my head blown off by some big action sequence.

8/10

Packaging and Bonus Features

The single HD-DVD comes in a standard amaray case with floating head artwork.  The cover gets headshots of all three lead actors but at least those head shots seem to have a bit of energy to them.  Still not my favorite kind of cover art.

First off let me say I was a bit disappointed with how the menus for this film are set up.  Part of what I love about the HD-DVD format is how you can bring up the menus at any point during the film and access extras or whatever option you want.  During the film I was able to bring up the menus without leaving the film but I was only able to choose the main choices.  When I wanted to jump into the various extras I had to go back to the main menu screen before I could do that.  Paramount has done better menus with other releases.

Making The Best Next Thing is your standard making of featurette with the cast and crew commenting on seeing into the future and making the film.  While it is a standard making of featurette it does go a little more in depth than I expected.

Visualizing The Next Movie is a close look at the special effects of the film.  Again the is pretty standard stuff.

The Next Grand Idea focuses on the shoot in the Grand Canyon and the work done on the film to build romance between Nicolas Cage and Jessica Biel.  We do get some behind the scenes footage in this featurette.

Two Minutes into the Future with Jessica Biel is a brief chat with Jessica on what she'd do with the power that Nicolas Cage's character has in the film.  This is short and could have easily been integrated into the making of featurette.

So, there's some interesting stuff in these bonus features but they really feel last generation.  There's also no commentary.  What's with that?

5/10

The same man that brought us Total Recall and Minority Report was behind the writing of this script so I have to say with that pedigree this film should have been better than it is.  It's not horrible, but it's just not great either.  Give it a rent.

Overall (Not an Average) 5.5/10

The Movie 5/10

The Video 7.5/10

The Audio 8/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 5/10

Overall (Not an Average) 5.5/10

-Stephen Lackey