NEEEEEXT!

Or rather, just 'Next'. This film is Nicholas Cage's latest outing on the big screen, and having attended a showing with two of my friends we had mixed responses between us ranging from the complete 'wow that was great' to 'I want two hours of my life back'. The latter statement which is unfair, as the film is only 95 minutes long which is pretty short as far as films go these days.
Since this is a new film I won't dish out spoilers lest you read on and spoil it because the film would be ruined if you knew what was coming like Mr Cage's character certainly does. I will however divulge the main plot.
Cage plays a man making his living as a small time magician in Las Vegas who also gambles at the tables on the side. The twist is he can see the future, but only two minutes ahead and only the his own future (or things that effect his own future). Both blessed and cursed by this power, he is hunted by the American FBI who are in need of such powers to address a matter of national security (yeees, nuclear junk again) and enemies who want to blow him up.
The plot has some real promise, and the film is blessed in that the typical slow starting that sets up most films is not present here, instead a short snippet of his life on stage and in the casino is followed up with ACTION. The film has some great comic moments and truly awesome fight scenes of a unique style comparible only with the Matrix in their logic. The film however, for me, falls short of being great as the cgi used to animate certain elements is....well, shoddy. A few years back it would have been grand, but don't go expecting to see super realistic effects - you'll quite easily be able to pick up whats a real prop and what was editted in a la blue screen. The fight/action secuences, while super cool, are short lived and the film could have really capitalised on this. Finally I feel the film is too short. With such a plot and excellent acting crew this could have been so much more, but you can't help but feel 'oh' at the end. It is a neat ending with a twist, but there is a sense that certain elements could have been explored to a much greater level of depth.
All in all this is a very watchable film I'd recommend to anyone needing a fix prior to Spidey 3, though it falls a bit short for me in terms of being a DVD purchase. Certainly a cheapy dvd purchase, but not brand new on release. This is just my humble opinion and for some (including one of my crew) this is a real gem.

Oh, and the trailers for Spiderman 3, Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End and Transformers look dang fine!