10 Terrible Movies That Wasted A Truly Brilliant Concept

10. Next

The Concept: Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) can see into the future - but only two minutes into the future.

As you'd expect, his powers make him a target, and throughout the movie, he's pursued by nuclear weapon-wielding terrorists as well as the FBI, who wish to work with Cris so he can help them stop said terrorists.

The core concept of limited clairvoyance is a fantastic one, and gives the protagonist just enough power so that they're still a threat, but not so much power that the movie becomes a cakewalk.

Why The Movie Failed: Back in 2007, Nicolas Cage wasn't known for those sh*tty, direct-to-DVD movies he regularly deals in today, so Next was looked at as a high-concept blockbuster with a strong leading man, whose involvement was cause for excitement.

But for most, that's where the excitement ended, because Next has a ton of glaring problems.

The special effects look like they were done in one weekend by a chimpanzee, the characters are one-note - and some, like Jessica Biel's Liz, feel frustratingly unfinished and archetypal - and the ending is a giant middle finger to anyone who's just invested their time watching the movie that came before it.

That ending - with Cris realizing that the last third of the movie was just an extended vision/dream - is essentially a cheat, and it's lazy, lazy writing. Next has a great basic outline, but everything else is just embarrassing.