Movie Review: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Imagine “Nicolas Cage playing a version of Nicolas Cage in a parody of Nicolas Cage and the many, many Nicolas Cage films,” Deborah Ross said in The audience. If that sounds like too much Cage, that’s exactly what this action-comedy “plays with, and it’s a hoot.”

Cage plays Nick Cage, a Hollywood movie star known for his unbridled intensity. When his “quick and easy” take on spending leaves him with a $600,000 hotel bill and no acting jobs on the horizon to pay it, he accepts the offer of $1 million to attend the birthday party of one billionaire on a Spanish island. Javi (Pedro Pascal) is a superfan who wants his idol to read a script he wrote. Javi is also being pursued by two CIA officers who believe he has kidnapped the Catalan President’s daughter – and who hire Nick Cage to help rescue her. The plot is as “insanely ridiculous” as any Cage film (think Face/Off or Con Air), and while it pokes fun at Cage’s public persona, “it’s lovingly made, and there are moments of genuine vulnerability.” I smiled so much “my own face hurt at the end”.

“Hats to Cage,” Brian Viner said in the Daily Mail. He apparently rejected the project several times before finally giving in, and the result isn’t bad. Its problem, however, is that it’s not quite fancy enough. The conceit of Cage playing himself is full of potential, but here it’s used to serve up a “freaky comic book caper” that ends up being pretty conventional.

The film “has some funny lines,” especially for those familiar with Cage’s work, Matthew Bond said in The Post on Sunday. But when the mood shifts from clever satire to violent action, the pace falters and the film feels like an overdrawn “one-note joke.”