The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent [Blu-ray]

This is a review of the July 2022 Region B2 Blu-ray from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. It comes with masses of additional material, and the overall quality of the picture and sound are both exemplary.Nicholas Cage is, more than most Hollywood stars, a Marmite actor. And his films vary considerably. He is emphatically not someone who has ever been type-cast. Many of his works do however, share a certain dark, wry or self-deprecating humour, which must be more to do with the man himself than his directors, as it is a common thread.This film certainly represents Marmite Cage at his most divisive. Looking at reviews here, and also on sites like Rotten Tomatoes, and IMDb, whilst the majority approve, there is a sizeable ~ and scathing ~ minority, who SERIOUSLY dislike it. ‘Vapid’, ‘dull’, ‘an ego trip’ and ‘unfunny’, are comments I have seen. One reviewer even said that you’d only like the film if you were ‘an idiot’! Which made me quite nervous when I played it for my husband and myself, last night.Well folks, we are clearly idiots! We liked it; we enjoyed it; we found it funny.I would say at the start that it is not, to my mind, the best Cage film ever. My favourites are a pretty eclectic bunch: I adore ‘Con Air’(1997), also ‘Joe’(2013) and ‘Pig’(2021). ‘Face/Off’(1997), ’Moonstruck’(1987) and ‘Lord of War’(2005) are also excellent. This film is different again ~ a comedy action thriller. It plays as a sort of real life adventure, with Nicolas Cage playing … Nicolas Cage. And ‘the real’ Nic Cage in the film, down on his luck, disillusioned with Hollywood and the movie system, and in need of a speedy boost to his finances, gets himself involved, quite by accident, in the sort of high stakes adventure that Nic Cage, the actor, might star in. It is a clever premise, with real possibilities.This is not, of course, the first time that a genuine Hollywood star has featured in a film, and a film title. In 1999, the incomparable John Malkovich starred as a satirical version of himself in the fantasy comedy ‘Being John Malkovich’. It was pretty good, but I think this film is better. Cage is excellent, and quite brave: the Nic Cage portrayed is not entirely successful as an actor and Hollywood star, nor as a husband and father. Whatever the genuine ups and downs of his career and private life, it takes some guts to put failure front and centre, in a film plot.Whether the film is funny, and an ego trip, seem to be the biggest matters of debate. The film does reference a lot of his work, but it doesn’t really come over as egotistical. It is rather that Cage has had these successes, but they’re now emphatically in the past. And the film is very funny, with Cage himself and his wonderful co-star Pedro Pascal, playing a brilliant double act. There are a lot of humorous moments and some good gags (Nic Cage using a Land Rover as his vehicle of choice in some high octane car chases is funny in itself), but Cage very endearingly actually makes himself the butt of much of the humour: again, there is that self-deprecating humour that we see so often from Cage.So, not quite a solid gold 5 Stars, but an engaging and endearing 4½.

is a 2022 American action comedy film directed by Tom Gormican, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Etten. It stars Nicolas Cage as a fictionalized version of himself, along with a supporting cast including Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Neil Patrick Harris and Tiffany Haddish. Filming began in Croatia on October 5, 2020.The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 12, 2022, and was released in the United States on April 22, 2022, by Lionsgate. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances and chemistry of Cage and Pascal, but performed poorly at the box office, grossing only $29.1 million against its $30 million budget.Nic Cage playing Nic cage what more could a Nic cage fan want.

Super corny at times but it is absolutely hilarious. I have watched this so many times now, I have no regrets.

...with some excellent performances. Pascal is just wonderful in it as if Cage, of course.

Kooky movie, with a good cast, went a bit too predictable at the end. Almost as if they couldn't keep up the spoof. Enjoyable if you want a non serious jaunt.

Nicolas Cage was at one time one of my favourite Hollywood actors with roles in films such as 'FACE-OFF' - 'CON AIR' - 'THE ROCK' - 'WINDTALKERS' - and yes movies such as 'GONE IN 60 SECONDS' and 'NATIONAL TREASURE' ...to name just a few, however, for myself in recent years his choice of roles has been questionable., is this the latest offering the beginning of better things ?in this movie we see Nic Cage play Nic Cage.....mmm...Wel, disillusioned with his lot after being turned down for a major movie role coupled with his daughters seeming rejection Nic fly's off to Majorca to be a guest at Javi Gutierrez, (Pedro Pascal ) sea-view villa.At the airport Nic has already attracted the attention o9f C.I.A agents who have intersest inthe goings on of Javi.It sewms the C.I.A believe Javi believed to be the head of a crime outfit has kidnapped of Maria, the daughter of a Catalan anti-crime politician, with the hope that he will drop out of an upcoming election.Nic is recruited to by the C.I.A to investigate, however, Nic and Javi have really hit it off and are becoming close friends, turns out that Javi is a big fan of Nic's movies.Things begin to get tough when Javi's cousin the real crime boss turns against Javi and also kidnap's Nic's daughter as a hostage.The body-count begins to grow, and Nic becomes an unlikely hero.What can I say, I actually enjoyed the viewing, it was funny and hugely offbeatNot anything close to what i've seen before......give it a go even if you wait for it to be available to stream - free.

I am glad I didn't pay full price to watch this film. However, I did enjoy it. A nice cheesy and funny easy watching film.

Found it very funny