Man, I've just watched it right now on tv. Again. I looked for "next2" on the net to see if there's a sequel and I bumped into here. I created an account especially to write in here.

Next is so consistent in its complexity. It's so hard to make a SF story (movie) and keep it natural. And the subject is, indeed, a source to harvest, so far not too taken into account. At a little more careful inspection one could see it's a so deep philosophy as it is common. So to harvest a SF subject there are 2 directions: extensive and intensive.

Extensive is like when a hero has several powers and in the same movie there are more heroes, each with different powers. The events happen as results of those powers and though they're logical, the events seem scattered, thrown about, as if the first thing that come in mind is written, careless. An example of this kind of movie is "The Last Mimzy".

Intensive, on the other hand, is when there's one hero with one ability and all the events are based on different implications of the one and only power. The events take place at different levels and each adds to the contour of both the character and his ability, like they dress the character. But the action wrapping the character, gets substance, that is, personality. An example is just "Next". It's even more: the intensive approach comes not only from a single power but, unlike other movies that treat prediction - an ability to pre-see from days to years ahead, in Next the power is limited (inspiredly) to few minutes. The less exaggeration, the more good taste without missing the sci-fi genre.

It's clear that I like more the intensive thing and I hope they decide to make a NEXT². They could have an income much bigger than the first Next, as this was a success. And it would be a pity if the subject were left to die.

It's imperative that Nicolas Cage remains in the main character's boots. He has a personality apart from the rest; he has this special halo, making him a complete artist. unlike those dozen hundred macho action men each bearing success more or less, he is like Yin-Yang: on one hand you feel the cold must-taken action, decisive iron man and on the other hand you see the goodness-radient saint, balancing the blizzard with warmth, kindness, patience, humanity - features that qualifies one to be the Man to run to, to trust and to put your life in his hands, in order to get out from any trouble. Many heroes try to achieve this by different situations in-movie, in which to show some moral, to gain the viewers, like a "captatio benevolentiae". Nicolas Cage doesn't need this. He transmits all the morality from the first seconds on the screen, just by looking at him.

The second Next
Maybe, just maybe, it's necessary to raise the temperature a little, like puting in an as able counterpart negative character, and we could see epic battles between the situations created by the ability of each one. It would be the test of his life.
Based on a few facts:
1. "when you look into the future, it changes"
2. He could see his stream of his life only
3. The couterpart enemy
some kind of paradox would happen, so sometimes he can see a different future from the actual one, and has to rely on the experience, morality, law of averages and why not, his friends.

Or, the next Next could have a slightly different point of view: the most of the time the action is seen through his foreseeing; so we see him living in present (actually objective future) and returning into the past to change it (actually the objective present).

In any way, as many many others, I'm looking forward to seeing a "2" next 2 "Next" :)