The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

The wild career of Nicolas Cage is filled with many crowd pleasers yet with also so many forgettable straight-to-streaming duds of late it seemed he had set himself on the same path as Bruce Willis and Liam Neeson as retirement beckoned. It's not what I'd want from any of my favourite actors but Cage has occasionally kept that creative spark alive with the likes of critically favoured films such as Mandy that sprinkle his career in the last twelve years even if they are all too far and few between with the best of Cage. And then arrives The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent in 2022 like a fresh breeze. 

In his first feature film as director, Tom Gormican delivers an unusual story where Cage plays himself as a washed-up actor in Hollywood trying to land a leading role in an industry that has moved on without him. His marriage with Sharon Horgan has come to an end, his daughter is growing up faster than he can keep up with and he is constantly tormented by a vision of his wild younger self. Without any work, he takes an offer to be a guest at a millionaire's birthday party, played by Pedro Pascal, in Majorca who is a big fan but Cage soon finds himself embroiled in a dangerous mission with the CIA. 

This feels like a film that only Cage could lead, and sure enough he is one of the producers but it's hard to imagine any other actor in Hollywood would take such a self-deprecating angle on their career as Pascal's Javi gushes over Cage's better, older films. And both he and Pascal deliver great comedic performances in this action flick against a sunny backdrop in just over 90 minutes making for some perfect light entertainment. 

Granted the third act becomes a little too formulaic and loses some of the comedy from earlier on but for anyone who has enjoyed Cage's work or in search of a satirical take on Hollywood as seen in Tropic Thunder, then this is an easy recommendation. This film just needed a bit more of the young Cage alter ego which gives the film its unique flavour but I still had a fun time and am sure anyone who enjoyed Con Air will do the same.