In the meantime, FBI Agent Cassie Ferris (Julianne Moore) is seeking Cris because she suspects his abilities and needs his help to locate a missing nuke before the terrorists in possession of it use it to kill millions of innocent Americans. Unfortunately, she doesn't understand that Cris' powers only work if he is directly affected by something, so since the nuke isn't directly affecting him, he can't tap into its future.
While all of this is going on, Cris keeps having visions of a beautiful girl (Jessica Biel) he sees in a particular diner at 8:07. So he goes to that diner every morning and evening at that time in the hopes of seeing her. The vision of this girl is the only time his psychic abilities have ever extended beyond two minutes, so he feels she is his destiny. As fate would have it, she does happen into the diner one day and he is able to interact with her, after trying numerous pickup lines and activities and failing, over and over, then retrying - using his psychic abilities. You see, as Cris sees the future and interacts, he changes it.
Unfortunately for Cris, the terrorists who stole the nuke have also been watching him, along with the FBI, since they know he is the only one that could possibly stop their plot. As Cris becomes involved with Liz (Biel), the terrorists realize that they can use her against Cris. The FBI comes to the same conclusion and then Liz is in trouble, even as she finds herself falling in love with Cris. Once Liz gets on the radar of the terrorists and becomes ensnared in their plot, then Cris' psychic powers kick in on the nuke and it's a race against time and fate to save the love of his life. He joins forces with the agents to change his destiny, along with that of Los Angeles. The grand finale is action-packed and with quite a twist that caught me by surprise.
When Next was in theaters, I thought it looked like another Déjà Vu clone, which would not necessarily be a bad thing since Deja Vu was a thrilling movie. But once I realized it was a Phillip K. Dick adaptation, I was far more intrigued. Having seen the film, I can say that it is a phenomenal action thrill ride. Cage, Biel and Moore all play their parts perfectly and will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way to the wild end. Although there were no deleted scenes and this was a bit disappointing, there are a few commentaries that delve into the thoughts and challenges behind making the movie. The reservation where some of the filming was done was extremely difficult to get to, so it presented a huge challenge to the filmmakers. It also is the location of Cage's first date with his wife, so it holds a special place in his heart and it was important to him for it to be in the movie. Eagle-eyed fans of Cage will spot his wife, Alice, as the lovely audience member he calls onto stage during his act. I would advise you not to watch the special features until after seeing the movie, however, because there are plots spoilers contained within. While they are interesting, your time will probably be better spent watching the movie again, because not only is it exciting enough to warrant a second watch, you may pick up additional things as you see it a second time. Good stuff and highly recommended.
