Nic Cage: Still the man
By TYLER WILSON
For Coeur Voice
When Aubrey Plaza hosted this year’s Independent Spirit Awards, she made a joke about attendee Nicolas Cage being a “national treasure.” The (lame) punchline: Cage wasn’t actually a national treasure; he starred in the movie, “National Treasure.”
I believe it both ways. Cage, an Oscar winner for 1995’s “Leaving Las Vegas” and a nominee for 2003’s “Adaptation, is a national treasure, despite how most feel about his recent output. He likes to work, or perhaps he needs to work because of oft-reported tax problems, or maybe a bit of both.
The majority of Cage’s film appearances over the past decade have been in direct-to-video or low budget films, with the major exception being his scene-stealing vocal work in 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” He likes to be the lead of the movies in which he appears, and those opportunities are simply more plentiful on the DTV scene.
Admittedly, many of Cage’s DTV movies aren’t very good. The DTV market caters to easygoing Redbox users looking for little more than 90 minutes of diverting gunplay and far-fetched plot twists. Cage, however, tends to bring his A-game to every new installment.
I didn’t believe that until recently. Like many, I assumed Cage’s DTV efforts were similar to other faded action-star performances. Bruce Willis appears in quite a few of these movies while half-asleep, Steven Seagal can barely hold himself upright, and even my man Jean Claude Van Damme takes a few “easy” projects with minimal kicking scenes.
Also like many, I skip most Cage DTV titles unless I’m tipped off to an “Uncaged” performance. A lot of people love Nic Cage when he’s hooting, hollering and acting crazy (think the climax of “The Wicker Man” or the entirety of the forgotten gem, “Vampire’s Kiss”), and that love is certainly justified. Nobody goes bat (expletive deleted) crazy quite like Nic Cage.
Thanks to the efforts of the folks at the FThisMovie podcast and website (FThisMovie.com), I’ve come to realize there are many more excellent Cage performances out there. Even when he’s not yelling, Cage brings nuance and passion to every project. Yes, some of the dialogue he’s forced to recite stinks, but it can be fun to watch Cage try to sell even the shoddiest of lines.
For a good mix of crazy-introspective Cage, check out “Mandy” from 2018. It played in theaters and made a bunch of top 10s that year. As for the numerous other underseen Cage performances, you can start with some of the stuff available easily on subscription streaming services:
Netflix
The Trust (2015)
Cage and Elijah Wood play cops who discover a vault full of drug money in the back of a convenience store. They hatch a plan to steal it, and Cage slowly unravels into a murderous nut as the plan goes awry.
The Runner
A scandal-plagued politician tries to do some good around New Orleans following an oil spill. Sincere Cage!
Mainline Cage on Netflix: Oliver Stone’s 2006 drama “World Trade Center” isn’t particularly good, but Cage is solid. “National Treasure” is still on Netflix but will soon move to Disney+ alongside its sequel. “Ghost Rider” is terrible, but there’s charm in Cage’s face morphing into fiery skull. The Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is also currently streaming, and it’s awesome.
Hulu
Mom and Dad (2017)
A contagion causes parents to violently turn against their children, and Nic Cage goes hog wild chasing around his terrified teenage kids.
A Score to Settle (2019)
Cage plays an ex-con with a case of fatal insomnia (a real thing!) who tries to reconcile with his drug-addict son while taking revenge on the gang that betrayed him. The rest of the cast flounder with the stilted script, but Cage delivers (and sings and plays piano!).
Running with the Devil (2019)
Cage plays a more subdued lead alongside an especially wily Laurence Fishburne in a movie about cocaine supply chains and the people who hijack them. Admittedly not great, but the Cage-Fishburne combo is better than what you get in most of these small budget thrillers.
Mainline Cage on Hulu: The objectively-compelling drama “The Frozen Ground” from 2013 follows Cage as a detective investigating a serial killer in Alaska. “Lord of War” from 2005 sees Cage playing an arms dealer against Ethan Hawke’s federal agent. The apocalyptic-alien symbol movie “Knowing” from 2009 has Cage playing a professor! Honestly, it’s not even as good as the DTV titles mentioned above.
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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com. He’s been writing professionally about movies since 2000 and is the co-host of Old Millennials Remember Movies, available everywhere you get podcasts and at OldMillennialsRemember.com.
