This review of Army of One is spoiler free
*** (3/5)
A SEMMINGLY NEVER-ENDING career drought has been affecting Nicholas Cage for many years now, trying to regain that once fateful terminus the prestigious Oscar win and he has been given many championing roles during that time and no matter how good they are or how goo he is, he can't seem to regain that glory. It seems that his career is in need of a restart or a miracle and a lift – thankfully miracles come in the oddest of places, here he joins forces with director and frequent collaborator with comedy giant Sacha Baron Cohen, Larry Charles, with whom he has made a couple of hilarious funny flicks Borat, Bruno and The Dictator one of which has been recognized as one of the funniest films in the world and has become a cult classic. While, his latest Army of One is an enjoyable and funny adventure about an ex-convict turned alcoholic unemployed Handyman who suffers from chronic schizophrenia Gary Faulkner (Nicholas Cage) who goes to Pakistan armed with a knife and a samurai sword after he receives a message from God (Russell Brand) with a strong English accent to find and capture the world's most ruthless assassin and leader of the Al Qaeda group Osama Bin Laden, who here is played very convincingly by Amer Cadha-Patel.
For the most part Amy of One is a hilarious mitigated by an annoying voice from Cage and some funny moments, unfortunately as the story goes on it's meted by poor continuity, a bland plot and terribly incessant plotting. For these moments when the movie falls into a seemingly bottomless abyss, there is only one person that you rely on to bring it out of the deep hole Cage's Gary is albeit annoying but he terrifically funny and it seems like this is the role he needed to give his career a well deserved and long-awaited boost, he plays it well and you can always rely on him to put a smile on your face, although there is some good support from Brand, Wendi McLendon-Covey (Marci) and Rainn Wilson who add a little bit more likability to the story and some sensitive human touch.
And so, the movie opens with Gary as a 12 year old school boy who is constantly bullied by his classmates, destined for greatness, and he receives a message from God for the fist time telling him that those bullies will come to an unfortunate demise by being a heroin addict. 35 years later in 2004 we meet Gary in a hospital awaiting his dialysis that he has to undergo twice a month, and in the madness state he receives another message from God to go to Pakistan (filmed in Morocco) to find and capture Bin Laden, and after he receives the message he thinks of some pretty convoluted and nigh impossible ways to get there, either he decides to travel that way by sailboat, or to hand-glide from Israel, both of which end in disaster but it is hilarious to see him try.
Unfortunately as the second and third act rumble on you'll be shuffling in your seat wondering where this is going, it is disjointed by some bland moments and this is when the incessant plotting takes over, however there is a moment of bliss when Gary sees his old classmate and long-time friend Marci (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and he falls in love with her and he moves in with her and her daughter who suffers from Cerebral palsy, this gives the film a much needed human touch which was lax from the beginning and it gives Gary a more likable edge. While this is ambitious comedy to add to Charles' ever-expanding career it doesn't quite meet the hilarious comedy standards of Borat and while there are some funny moments to this story including and an Anchorman-esque narration that states that this is sort of a true story. It started out as a decent story with some ingenious moments to it and a decent performance from Cage, but unfortunately along the way it is strung together by poor continuity, some bland-ish moments and incessant plotting and is left lumbered and horrendously empty.
VERDICT: A hackneyed comedy with decent performances to pull it through, but mostly suffers from lumbered dry moments and incessant writing.
6/10
*** (3/5)
A SEMMINGLY NEVER-ENDING career drought has been affecting Nicholas Cage for many years now, trying to regain that once fateful terminus the prestigious Oscar win and he has been given many championing roles during that time and no matter how good they are or how goo he is, he can't seem to regain that glory. It seems that his career is in need of a restart or a miracle and a lift – thankfully miracles come in the oddest of places, here he joins forces with director and frequent collaborator with comedy giant Sacha Baron Cohen, Larry Charles, with whom he has made a couple of hilarious funny flicks Borat, Bruno and The Dictator one of which has been recognized as one of the funniest films in the world and has become a cult classic. While, his latest Army of One is an enjoyable and funny adventure about an ex-convict turned alcoholic unemployed Handyman who suffers from chronic schizophrenia Gary Faulkner (Nicholas Cage) who goes to Pakistan armed with a knife and a samurai sword after he receives a message from God (Russell Brand) with a strong English accent to find and capture the world's most ruthless assassin and leader of the Al Qaeda group Osama Bin Laden, who here is played very convincingly by Amer Cadha-Patel.
For the most part Amy of One is a hilarious mitigated by an annoying voice from Cage and some funny moments, unfortunately as the story goes on it's meted by poor continuity, a bland plot and terribly incessant plotting. For these moments when the movie falls into a seemingly bottomless abyss, there is only one person that you rely on to bring it out of the deep hole Cage's Gary is albeit annoying but he terrifically funny and it seems like this is the role he needed to give his career a well deserved and long-awaited boost, he plays it well and you can always rely on him to put a smile on your face, although there is some good support from Brand, Wendi McLendon-Covey (Marci) and Rainn Wilson who add a little bit more likability to the story and some sensitive human touch.
And so, the movie opens with Gary as a 12 year old school boy who is constantly bullied by his classmates, destined for greatness, and he receives a message from God for the fist time telling him that those bullies will come to an unfortunate demise by being a heroin addict. 35 years later in 2004 we meet Gary in a hospital awaiting his dialysis that he has to undergo twice a month, and in the madness state he receives another message from God to go to Pakistan (filmed in Morocco) to find and capture Bin Laden, and after he receives the message he thinks of some pretty convoluted and nigh impossible ways to get there, either he decides to travel that way by sailboat, or to hand-glide from Israel, both of which end in disaster but it is hilarious to see him try.
Unfortunately as the second and third act rumble on you'll be shuffling in your seat wondering where this is going, it is disjointed by some bland moments and this is when the incessant plotting takes over, however there is a moment of bliss when Gary sees his old classmate and long-time friend Marci (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and he falls in love with her and he moves in with her and her daughter who suffers from Cerebral palsy, this gives the film a much needed human touch which was lax from the beginning and it gives Gary a more likable edge. While this is ambitious comedy to add to Charles' ever-expanding career it doesn't quite meet the hilarious comedy standards of Borat and while there are some funny moments to this story including and an Anchorman-esque narration that states that this is sort of a true story. It started out as a decent story with some ingenious moments to it and a decent performance from Cage, but unfortunately along the way it is strung together by poor continuity, some bland-ish moments and incessant plotting and is left lumbered and horrendously empty.
VERDICT: A hackneyed comedy with decent performances to pull it through, but mostly suffers from lumbered dry moments and incessant writing.
6/10