![]() ![]() In light of all that, then, the fact that this comedy also packs some ugly baggage in its self-referential trunk is disappointing. Nick Cage and company present a deft, meta-balancing act of engaging humor that’s both self-aggrandizing and self-deprecating at the same time.Īnd then this buddy action comedy (featuring a very well-paired Cage and Pedro Pascal) shifts gears in its latter chase scenes to deliver some almost surprisingly warm messages about being a good father, and the rewards of friendship and making wise family choices. But there are few, if any, who have done it with such panache.Īs odd and quirky as the trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent may seem, the movie itself plays out as a fresh and well-constructed bit of entertainment. Nicolas Cage isn’t the first Hollywood actor to play himself in an offbeat movie. During a kidnapping, a young woman is punched in the face and knocked to the ground unconscious. The imaginary young Nick slaps and later punches his older self. Two teen girls are kidnapped and held at gunpoint while bound and kneeling together. We don’t see the bloody results of any of these violent clashes, but we do see some slumped-over bodies of people who have been shot and killed. A couple people jump off a high precipice into the ocean water below. Men are shot in the shoulder and back, stabbed in the leg and chest. He’s told to kill someone or be killed himself. A guy has a gun shoved into his temple threateningly. Some moments are played for laughs, but others are much more serious. Multiple gun fights involve combatants with pistols and automatic weapons. Several different individuals get hit by vehicles and thrown to the ground-in a couple cases flying off speeding motorcycles. We see car chases in which vehicles careen through the streets, smashing into bikes, walls and other vehicles. ![]() What starts out as something of a character study eventually evolves into a thumping thriller. … though truthfully Nick always did think he might be cut out for the spy game. Just as he finds a friend, that guy turns out to be a ruthless killer. The universe has given Nick another swift kick just as he felt that something good might be leaning his way. And if Nick doesn’t man-up and help the US government, that girl may even be killed. His men have kidnapped a politician’s daughter. Javi is the head of a ruthless cartel, they tell him. Nick is approached by agents from the CIA who tell him that his million-dollar paycheck isn’t exactly legit. In the midst of this positive vibe, however, the oddest thing happens. And Nick hasn’t had a good friend in a good a long while. They even sit and cry together while watching Paddington 2. And when they start hanging out and goofing around together it almost feels like a schoolboy sugar rush. They have the same taste in films, literature … booze. But there’s something else surprising here: Nick can’t help but like this guy. And he gushingly hopes that Nick might just read his screenplay. I mean, yes, this Javi guy is a bit of a fanboy who’s not only seen all of Nick’s, uh, lesser-known films, but has collected memorabilia from them. But still, he’s afraid this dude will want some kind of kinky sexual favor or something. Ugh.ĭo Nick reluctantly flies to the exclusive property of this guy named Javi Gutierrez. Still, this party is bound to be a geeky gawk-fest. And it will allow Nick to pay off his $600,000 hotel bill and start a new non-acting chapter in life. (Can you believe that!? Nick Cage as a birthday clown!?) But it pays a cool $1 million. He’ll have to take some cheesy birthday party gig his agent pushed his way. In fact, his only viable course of action feels like a depressing one. But he still can’t muster the oomph to keep being … legendary. He’s even gone through a typical argument with younger Nick-an imaginary, blazing young version of himself that pops up to urge him forward in his more downcast moments. It feels as if the world as he knows it is crumbling. And he’s slightly drunk and slumped down in front of a hotel room that he’s been unceremoniously locked out of. His ex-wife and daughter both kinda hate him. Nick recently lost the role of a lifetime he was vying for. A legend always knows good! He also knows … when to call it quits. In fact, some have been direct-to-video bits of dreck that have simply paid the bills and little more.īut he was good in all of them. Sure, he’s done some less than Oscar-worthy films recently. ![]() Nick Cage is sure that he belongs in that latter category. ![]()
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