Nicolas Cage plays Nicolas Cage in an action-comedy-thriller about an actor who's paid $1 million to hang out with a suspected drug lord/huge Nic Cage fan (played by Pedro Pascal), and the complications that arise when the CIA simultaneously recruit Cage to spy on him.
Does it sound too good to be true? Sort of. I was very excited to see this and hate to admit it, but found it to be a slight letdown.
There were definitely positives though. Cage and Pascal are great, and without their committed performances, I don't know if the movie would have much else by way of entertainment value. Things shine when they're on screen together, and I loved their chemistry. Their dynamic made for many of the film's funniest moments, mainly in the first hour. It's in that first half to first two-thirds where the creative premise is a fair bit of fun, and decently executed.
Problems come up in the final act. Without too many spoilers, they try to acknowledge the direction it takes with some meta humour, but the meta humour is pretty lazy (meta comedy has advanced to the point where merely being meta isn't enough). Also, the focus on action in that last act wouldn't be a problem if the action was good, but it's weirdly flat and toothless. It doesn't have much bite or excitement or fun to it at all.
Still, at least there's some good comedic moments at a few points, and Cage + Pascal make it watchable. I wish it had been a little more consistent and been more engaging when it came to the action/thriller elements though.
Even if it's not as wild or fun as it could've been, it's still likely to be a pretty decent time for fans of Nic Cage.
Does it sound too good to be true? Sort of. I was very excited to see this and hate to admit it, but found it to be a slight letdown.
There were definitely positives though. Cage and Pascal are great, and without their committed performances, I don't know if the movie would have much else by way of entertainment value. Things shine when they're on screen together, and I loved their chemistry. Their dynamic made for many of the film's funniest moments, mainly in the first hour. It's in that first half to first two-thirds where the creative premise is a fair bit of fun, and decently executed.
Problems come up in the final act. Without too many spoilers, they try to acknowledge the direction it takes with some meta humour, but the meta humour is pretty lazy (meta comedy has advanced to the point where merely being meta isn't enough). Also, the focus on action in that last act wouldn't be a problem if the action was good, but it's weirdly flat and toothless. It doesn't have much bite or excitement or fun to it at all.
Still, at least there's some good comedic moments at a few points, and Cage + Pascal make it watchable. I wish it had been a little more consistent and been more engaging when it came to the action/thriller elements though.
Even if it's not as wild or fun as it could've been, it's still likely to be a pretty decent time for fans of Nic Cage.