The weirdness of actor Nicolas Cage and the weirdness of
science-fiction author Philip K. Dick seem like a natural fit. The
premise, taken from a short story by Dick, is a good one: A
mediocre Las Vegas magician named Chris Johnson (Cage) can see into
the future--but only about two minutes at the most. Just enough to
pull off his act and to make some money at the gambling tables, so
long as he's discreet. Unfortunately, he hasn't been discreet
enough; a government agent (Julianne Moore) has sussed out his
precognitive talent and wants to use him to track down terrorists.
But all Johnson cares about is a beautiful young woman (Jessica
Biel,
The Illusionist) that he can see in his future--much
further in his future than he's ever seen before.
Next has flashes that point to a much, much better movie
than it turned out to be. A sequence in which Johnson,
clairvoyantly explores all the different permutations of how he
might approach his mystery woman is both funny and
thought-provoking, and when Johnson avoids pursuers by knowing just
the right moment to turn a corner or duck his head, it's smart and
suspenseful. Unfortunately, the terrorist part of the plot is
utterly perfunctory and precognition is reduced to an action movie
gimmick. Somewhere in there is the kernel of a romantic comedy
about precognition that's just waiting to be made. Cage gives a
solid if unsurprising performance, Moore is basically earning a
paycheck, but Biel is unexpectedly good (and her part is
considerably better-written than your usual romantic interest); her
performance suggests a better future than anyone might have
predicted.
