I've said this elsewhere, I think, but what really killed Nic Cage's career for me was when he went from being the loser in films (Raising Arizona, Moonstruck, Fast Times, etc.) to thinking that he was a hero of some sort. Pretty much all of his worst movies are ones where he's the alpha male that saves the day; conversely, his best are ones like Matchstick Men and Adaptation where he's seriously flawed. Hell, this arrogant bastard had the temerity to think that he could/should play Superman.So it's no surprise that he'll be going full-on Mentor in this stage of his career - he's getting a bit long in the tooth to be a traditional action star (someone tell Sly Stallone this), and I'm sure he'll relish being seen as someone who's the best (or at least used to be the best) at a given activity (in this case sorcery). Though good luck, future Cage hirers, at convincing this jerk to play a character that gets killed nobly - he's the hero, goddamnit!
This movie is decent. The effects are pretty sweet, and Alfred Molina is always fantastic. Clearly, Jon Turtletaub can craft an inoffensive, mildly entertaining action flick, and the "New York comes to life" aspect to it was clever and welcome. Best of all, Cage is in ridiculous mode, all posing for the camera trying to look at cool as his near-50-year old ass can with his long hair and ridiculous clothes. You could do worse, but if you're seeing this over Inception, you're, to borrow from the great Robert Downey, Jr, a full-on retard.
Fletch's Film Rating:
 | Expectation: "Would I lie to you?" |
| Reality: "Would I lie to you?" |
9 people have chosen wisely: on "Fletch's Film Review: The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
Didn't you see this instead of Inception...
I'm passing on both and I'll hold out for Salt.
"Didn't you see this instead of Inception..."
You should check out the post labels, not to mention the ratings given. There's something meaningful there (this time, anyway).
Seriously? Nice fake out.
And what LAMBScore does this equate to?
I'm not sold on Salt. Borderline anorexic Angelina kicking people's asses? Nope.
Inception looks lame and overrated, not everyone has the same crush on Dicaprio that forced them to see Titanic 25x in theatres like you and couple of 13 year old girls. And has Nolan made a good flick since Memento? Thats a pretty long dry spell...
Also when you talked about Cage going from his wheelhouse into playing supercool guys, it sounded like you were talking about Sandler, that loser should just back to making comedies where he's an egg-shaped headed loser... he doesn't have the chops to pull off a hero like Cage did in Rock and Con Air...
-KV
i really like how you broke down Cage's career in a couple of sentences. and you are spot on when you say he was much more fun to watch when he was a loser than when he's the alpha male. i gave up on him when he had a fire proof jeri-curl mullet in con-air.
i will say he did have his day in Wild at Heart where he's about as close to the middle (1/2 alpha and 1/2 guy in over his head. all pretty awesome) in that one. he needed to make a few more like that
flipping around i caught a snippet of an interview at the premiere of apprentice. when asked "why did you chose this role?" Molina answered "to put a kid through college." honesty like that you can't buy.
Sounds about right. I think I've had the same feelings for virtually every film Cage has done since 1986.
Kano - gracias! Long-time and/or astute readers will recall I did one of these for Next awhile back.
Rachel - good question. 666?
Fitz - your description of Salt there actually has me wanting to see it more... ;)
KV - Totally, dude. Nolan's worse than Shamalamaman, right? You're not related to Armond White, are you? (Look him up if you must.)
Outside of Zohan, what are you talking about with Sandler? Pretty sure that's the only flick he's been wildly in shape for, and even that was used to comedic effect.
wiec - Ugh, I still need to watch Wild at Heart. Though it's in the queue, so it's only a matter of time. I've had my Lynchian reservations...
Molina's the best. I do love that kind of honesty; if you're gonna sell out, cop to it and I'll love you for it.
Brian - c'mon, I'm the preeminent Cage hater, and even I'd say 1986 is a bit early for that kind of assessment. 1995 seems about right to me. How dare you make me 'defend' Cage! ;)
Post a Comment