The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Whether or not you like Nicolas Cage, there's no questioning that he's carved out a special place in film history. Lurching back and forth between method acting meticulousness and scenery consuming hamminess, between critical acclaim and international mockery, from Leaving Las Vegas to The Wicker Man. I've always been a fan of his, admiring his gusto, the effort he puts into his roles, and the genuine love he has for the art of cinema. In The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent, he pays a fictionalised version of himself. Yes, Nic Cage is playing Nic Cage, with all the inherent insanity that setup suggests. It's a meta film in all the best ways, poking fun at its subject matter without indulging in thenthings its criticising. Cage is more than willing to laugh at himself for some of the decisions and choices he's made throughout his career, and he takes all of it on the chin. Pedro Pascal, another actor I love, manages to approach Cage's legendary craziness, and this is a role he's clearly having a lot of fun with. The great thing is, if you take away the Cage element the film still works as an enjoyable spy thriller. I laughed so much and at so many things, mostly as all the Cageisms I adore, but I can certainly see nonfans finding these elements more annoying than endearing. But as a Cage fan, this is exactly what I was hoping for. It's a shame it underperformed at the box office, but it doesn't feel like a film that was made for the money. TUWOFMT might not be one of 2022s most profitable, but so far it's certainly one of its best.

"The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" suggests the kind of clever and wildly imaginative storytelling that one might expect from Charlie Kaufman or Spike Jonze. In its adoption of Cage as a fictionalized version of himself in his own film, it suggests a breathtaking meta-commentary that will stun us by breaking that fourth wall in a brilliant and innovative fashion while perhaps utilizing Cage's trademark eccentricities in ingeniously funny ways. It is, in other words, loaded with the kind of obvious potential that elicits high expectations from the very outset. Admittedly I found myself laughing quite frequently in the early stages of the film, even to the extent that the story's shocking level of inanity and superficiality seemed, for the most part, forgivable. Yet as the film progressed towards its action-oriented climax, I found myself increasingly annoyed with the glaring lack of creative inspiration, eventually tuning out as the story became irrevocably stranded in that no man's land of comedy wherein a film seems to be part of a joke that the audience is not completely in on. In what could have proven a film-viewing experience of the most delightful caliber, I instead found myself lamenting the unbearable weight of massive disappointment.

This is the best movie of the year. Amazing as crap!

Original and fun, the "best of" Nick Cage, unbelievably fun

Nick is back- about time !!!

For the few true Cage enthusiasts/completists out there, the references and meta stuff that serves as a tribute to the iconic actor's career are fun but as a feature film it's nothing more than a predictable comedic action film filled with some character and plot cliches we've all seen repeatedly.

Hilarious !!! Facking loved it!

I don't know why Nicolas Cage decided to take part in so many stinkers of recent years, but it was nice to see him back to taking roles that showcase his talent. He was fantastic and what a great actor match to put him with, Pedro Pascal. Loved the mix of comedy and action in this movie. Will definitely keep this in my Cage movie vault for future viewing.

So ridiculous and so hilarious

There is no way people can give this good reviews unless you are being paid to do it. Has to be one of the biggest waste of two hours of my life. I almost thought it was a joke.