Next

If you want science fiction that respects its own premise, Next is available in the US on Hoopla, and in the UK on Amazon Prime Video right now. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. Its 6/10 TMDB score, built from 3,303 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Nicolas Cage anchors it with a performance that grounds the bigger ideas in something human. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Hoopla.

There is a reason Next keeps coming up in conversation. What makes Next work is that the ideas never crowd out the people having them. Las Vegas showroom magician Cris Johnson has a secret which torments him: he can see a few minutes into the future. Sick of the examinations he underwent as a child and the interest of the government and medical establishment in his power, he lies low under an assumed name in Vegas, performing cheap tricks and living off small-time gambling "winnings." But when a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles, government agent Callie Ferris must use all her wiles to capture Cris and convince him to help her stop the cataclysm. Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2007. Next resists the temptation to explain everything, trusting the audience to sit with ambiguity. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Next is satisfying on multiple levels — something to watch and something to think about after. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Nicolas Cage anchors it with a performance that makes the more abstract moments feel personal. If you have been burned by ambitious sci-fi before, this is the exception.