Film: The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Jacob Scipio, Demi Moore, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Lily Sheen, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish
Director: Tom Gormican
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 107 mins
This film is about Nicholas Cage playing himself. The story plays thus ; Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin - with no takers for his acting talents and with a divorce and child support hanging fire, Nicholas Cage is forced to accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan Javier ( Pedro Pascal). But once in Spain, Cage is recruited by a CIA operative and forced to live up to his own multiple screen personas, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters.
For those who&rsquo;ve seen &ldquo;Con Air,&rdquo; &ldquo;Moonstruck,&rdquo; &ldquo;Raising Arizona,&rdquo; &ldquo;Honeymoon in Vegas,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Rock&rdquo; and &ldquo;Face/Off&rdquo; it&rsquo;s really hard not to be a Nicholas Cage fan. My guess is that director Tom Gormican and his co-writer Kevin Etten have basically written a part of themselves into this movie that allows the A lister to showcase his legendary talents to the fans. This film proves beyond a doubt that Cage is not a spent force and he still has it in him to entertain us in a style we have gotten accustomed to.
The filmmakers craft a symbiotic narrative that has the actor and his on screen persona, living up to expectations of his fan. The aggrandized narrative works up quite a lather while careering through the shifting goalposts of contemporary expectations. The narrative begins with a scene featuring a teenage girl referring to Cage as a &ldquo;fucking legend&rdquo; while watching the 1997 action film &ldquo;Con Air.&rdquo; The next moment we see her being kidnapped. Cut to Cage cruising down Sunset Blvd on his way to a meeting with a director at the Chateau Marmont. We are privy to his neurosis when we see his dysfunctional family life. He is busy hoping for a role of a lifetime while his divorced wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) and 16 year old Daughter Addi (Lily Sheen) are getting further alienated from him. Since he&rsquo;s got living expenses to take care of he has no way out other than playing a fictionalized version of himself called Nick Cage at billionaire super fan Javi Gutierrez&rsquo;s (olive-exporting magnate who may also be an international gun runner) &nbsp;birthday in Mallorca for a cool million. Adding further complexity to the narrative is Nicky a surreal version of Cage&rsquo;s &ldquo;Wild At Heart&rdquo; persona butting in with reminders that he is still an actor of repute.
The script is stuffed with self-referential dialogue and generic action-flick beats. The actor gallantly lives out a plot resplendent with car chases, shoot-outs, leaping off cliffs and macho posturing. You see Cage go through real and fake moments, pandering to his own vanity and artistry, taking a few potshots at himself along the way and generating comedic moments that are astonishing in their conceit. Sequences reminiscent of &ldquo;Gone In 60 Seconds,&rdquo; &nbsp;&ldquo;National Treasure,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Leaving Las Vegas&rdquo; also flit through this highly imaginative and daringly witty entertainer. This is a fun ego trip for the actor and likely to be well loved by the fans.

The script is stuffed with self-referential dialogue and generic action-flick beats

The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent Movie Review: A fantastic ego trip

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Home / Entertainment / Hollywood News / Article / The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent Movie Review: A fantastic ego trip

The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent Movie Review: A fantastic ego trip

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast