To give you insight into my relationship with Nicolas Cage, I will quote the end of my review for his movie Jiu Jitsu, which I gave 1 star:
"This is just a straight-garbage movie. Damn you Nick Cage!
... I wonder what movie of his I'll watch next."
I've been a fan of his for so long. I think he's very talented and has a certain crazy appeal that you don't see from other actors. And I keep watching most of his movies even as they plummet in quality and rarely make it to cinemas. He still makes them entertaining, even if they are awful. This is a huge contrast to other former A-list actors who have gone down the same path but with unwatchable movies. Like fellow Face/Off star John Travolta or Bruce Willis (we will miss you!).
So when they decide to make a movie that's essentially all about Nick Cage, of course I'm 100% in. And I have to say, this is his best movie in years. It's levels above the quality of his recent direct-to-video movies and is definitely cinema-worthy.
I laughed a lot. A couple parts had me crying from laughter. And when I wasn't laughing I was generally amused. It felt so refreshing to laugh with his movie rather than at it. And with the lack of comedy movies lately, this came at a perfect time.
Other than the comedy, this is a mostly well-made movie with a story and characters that kept me invested. I love the meta aspect. Nick Cage's performance in this role is perfect. It has a good supporting cast with the standout being Pedro Pascal. He's so likeable and has great chemistry with Nick Cage. Their relationship drives the movie. Pedro Pascal is a star.
I had a great time with this movie. I think most will enjoy it, but the ones who will appreciate it the most are the fans who are familiar with his work. (2 viewings, early screening 4/13/2022, 3/26/2023)
My favorite Nick Cage movies:
(1) Face/Off
(2) Kick-Ass
(3) Matchstick Men
(4) The Rock
(5) The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
(6) Con Air
(7) National Treasure
(8) Next
(9) Knowing
(10) Lord of War
I didn't know if I should count Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse since his role is so small.
