The once-in-demand actor Nicolas Cage is going through a prolonged midlife crisis: his career demands a comeback; his ex-wife and 16-year-old daughter are tired of his inflated ego; the hotel where he lives already owes Cage $600,000. And all the agent has to offer is a million-dollar flight to Mallorca for the birthday of a fan favorite, Olive King Javi Gutierrez. On the island, Cage is approached by the CIA, asking for help, claiming that the darling Javi is a major arms dealer and has kidnapped the Catalan politician’s daughter before the election.
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Every actor has a career peak – the time when he is most in demand. Of course, it’s different for everyone, some actors have it almost their whole career (De Niro), some have it in several stages, in their youth and in their maturity (Sean Connery), some have just a passing role, and so on. And after this peak, most actors become depressed, moping, embroiled in scandals, change the field of activity, in general, all kinds of resentment, as they are so talented cease to be called in good films. And everything is quite simple, time passes, the demand for a particular genre drops, actors are getting old and no longer look respectable in their former roles, and the new ones do not see them as directors, and the younger generation steps on their toes and take their place – the usual cycle of roles in movies.
And what to do once famous litsedeyam who such a way of things does not suit? Of course, they keep acting, but in simpler, cheaper movies, which don’t even need your talent so much as a once famous name to lure an audience. And they do, of course! Well, we (the audience) begin to resent the fact that our favorites are flashing in all sorts of slag and thrash. But they’re just doing their job, as they know how.
There are, of course, many examples, and almost all of the actors out of circulation go down this path, but sometimes they do it in different ways. Here, for example, the world-famous tough nut Bruce Willis, went down an easier path – to trade his face on the posters of niche paintings, which often do not even reach the proverbial category ‘B’. The viewer sees his childhood idol on the cover, goes to see if he still has the powder in his powder box, but in the end he sees our Bruce for a couple of minutes of screen time and looks puzzled and shrugs his shoulders, “Is that all? Well, Bruce in the meantime, not really overworked, gets his check, spends on the set for a couple of hours or days at most, and with a clear conscience goes to a new studio to sign another contract (just business and nothing personal).
But our hero today Nicolas Cage, being almost in the same situation, has chosen a completely different path, and it is the way of the worker. He continues to earn his bread honestly, he starred in major roles, even in those films that are unlikely to reach the big screen. And that is why I do not throw stones in his garden, and do not resent the fact that another trash came out with Cage. Cage is plowing, indiscriminateness in roles is understandable, famous directors are no longer invited, you have to take pictures of those who call. And even among these pictures, from time to time something, yes shot (Mandy, Mom and Dad, Willy Wonderland), though not very loud, but it is absolutely deserved. This is what he does, and of course nostalgically pines for the film era, when his name never left the posters, and The Rock, No Face and The Prison of the Air were watched through the cracks on video players. Needless to say, I often miss those childishly carefree times myself…
‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ is a striking title, somewhere humble, somewhere ironic. Cage essentially does this, he makes fun of himself, his career and life, his financial problems, but he does it with enthusiasm, zeal and pleasure. Honestly, it’s a pleasure to look at him – fit, youthful, a spark in his eyes. What is only an imaginary he same 30 years ago, their dialogues and claims to his present.
The picture, of course, is not autobiographical, but a free fiction on the theme of how Nicolas Cage returned to the top. And I will tell you that he returned brightly, with adventures and spy games. Seemingly unremarkable hack job – an appearance at a birthday party of a Mexican bigwig, led to a series of curious and dangerous incidents. You will not find anything new in the plot, the action is predictable, but the dynamics and the sufficient drive are present.
Perhaps the main plus in the movie, besides the ringleader himself, is the humor, it is divided here into two parts: the first is purely American – a little primitive, based mostly on the eccentricity and silliness of the actors, and the second is a specific humor, based on the characters relations and imbued with delicate life irony of Cage. Note the dialogue about the three favorite movies, amusingly played. And, of course, lots of references to the filmography of his own beloved. You’ll even see a real Cage museum here.
Nicolas (maiden name Coppola) certainly reigns supreme in the picture, and essentially outshines everyone but one character, the birthday boy. Pedro Pascal is simply inimitable, and those puppy-dog eyes with which his character penetrates his idol, a very lively image. The duo is a sight to behold, the chemistry between them can be seen a mile away. On-screen kinship is more of a background here. The fictional daughter (in real life, he has only sons), by the way, played by the daughter of other famous parents: Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen, but it is so, incidentally.
Regardless of how Nicolas Cage’s future film career turns out, I’m sure he enjoyed the filming and the energy boost he got, and he’s not going to give up. In fact, that is the main message of this caper, and the final phrase only confirms it: “I didn’t go anywhere…”.
Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (76.2 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English, English SDH, French, Spanish.
