Why so serious, Mr Cage?The reason I bring this up is because his new film Bangkok Dangerous (2008) is out in the States this week and the reviews have been less than great. Rotten Tomatoes reports, in fact, that it is the lowest-reviewed film of his career, which is saying something if one has witnessed the atrocity that was The Wicker Man (2006).
Bangkok looks utterly mediocre. Not bad, or good, just forgettable. But film critics will of course start spouting off predictable "what has happened to...", "career down the toilet"'s yada yada as if there is no hope for the man. I sincerely believe that this general consensus has placed a giant negative bias on the reviews for the film. I truly wish reviewers would work within their own bubble, discounting cultural views and filmic backgrounds. If they did this surely they would save their scorn for Disaster Movie 2.
My question is: should we judge an actor or any type of filmmaker based upon their most recent film/s, or on their cumulative career? And if we are that short-sighted, why do we give such people so many chances?
I mean, c'mon, everyone makes mistakes, and everyone stuffs up. Some of the greatest legends make utter crap, hence we have Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Boring Waste of a Film (2008). Steven Spielberg will live on.
And so will Nic Cage. Because for every Next (2007) he has a Knowing (2009) in the pipeline - directed by Australian Alex Proyas of Dark City and I, Robot fame.
The shadows cover his receding hairline.Convenient?
Here is a list of all his fantastic films of the past:
Raising Arizona (1987), Moonstruck( 1987), Wild at Heart (1990), Red Rock West (1993), Guarding Tess (1994), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), The Rock (1996), Face/Off (1997), 8MM (1998), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Adaptation (2002), Matchstick Men (2003), Weather Man (2005), Lord of War (2005), and World Trade Center(2006).
That is a consistent list of hits. Now, mind you, mixed in between all these there IS a Zandalee (1991) and whatnot, but to discredit the man entirely is insanity.
Give the guy a break. For him to make serious films he needs a Ghost Rider (2006) to boost his marketability. Because yes, that utter piece of poo did make a large dime...and so did Bangkok, although an admittedly low debut at 7.8 mill according to imdb.com.
He has to make generic tripe to allow funding for the more risky pictures. Isn't that a saying in Hollywood "one for me, one for them"??? So yay for us, we're due about "3 for him"s in the near future.
Bottom line? Even though his hair is falling off, his talent is still there. It's just the material that lets him down sometimes.
Although I must admit that the waft of The Wicker Man may never leave my nose...
Do not watch this.That is not a dare.
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