Dying of the Light

Plot synopsis:
The novel takes place on the planet of Worlorn, a world which is dying. It is a rogue planet whose erratic course is taking it irreversibly far from its neighboring stars into a region of cold and dark space where no life will survive. Worlorn's 14 cities, built during a brief window when the world passed close enough to a red giant star to permit life to thrive, are dying, too. Built to celebrate the diverse cultures of 14 planetary systems, they have largely been abandoned, allowing their systems and maintenance to fail.
The cast is a group of characters who are also flirting with death. Dirk t'Larien, the protagonist, finds life empty and of little attraction after his girlfriend Gwen Delvano leaves him. Most poignant of all, the Kavalar race, into which she has "married," is dying culturally. Their home planet has survived numerous attacks in a planetary war, and in response they have evolved social institutions and human relationship patterns to cope with the depredation of the war. Yet now that the war is long past, they find themselves trapped between those who would recognize that the old ways need to be reviewed for the current day and those who believe that any dilution of the old ways spells the end of Kavalar culture.
The battles, then, of all these varying actors are played out beneath the dying light falling on Worlorn. By the novel's end, many of the characters have died, though the author leaves some endings deliberately ambiguous. Nonetheless, they have all faced their fears of death and of life.

Tags: revenge

Review:
I guess it's meant to provide an atmosphere that parallels what is happening in Evan Lake's (Nicolas Cage) mind, and the murky atmosphere is one of the few things Dying of the Light has going for it.
Nicolas Cage carries this movie on his shoulders because his character is really the only semi-developed part about it.
Granted, one interesting character is not nearly enough to save this gloomy mess of a film.I can't blame writer/director Paul Schrader because he and the producers had some sort of fallout and the producers ended up changing a bunch of stuff in post-production, so I blame the producers.
It plays it relatively safe and straightforward despite having an interesting premise and an empathetic protagonist.Now, Nicolas Cage can definitely pull off the salt-and-pepper look.
Nicolas Cage is Evan Lake, a dedicated veteran CIA agent in the last stages of his career.
The most elevating moments are the motivational speeches he is asked to do for the new CIA agents in training.When the trail of an old enemy, presumed dead for decades, surfaces and coincides with Lake being diagnosed with a terminal form of dementia, the choice is easy.
The big story associated with this film is that its director, Paul Schrader, was locked out of the editing room and denied final cut.
Nicolas Cage gives a decent performance as Evan Lake, a veteran CIA agent with recently diagnosed dementia.
From what I saw, Nicolas Cage put in some good character work, and even gets to "rage" a little bit, but he was still hampered by an editing job that seemed to be going for a more streamlined thriller.
A nice, although dark thematically, thriller about a CIA veteran agent who has the opportunity to settle his differences with a long time enemy.This film was taken away from director Paul Schrader in post-production and re-edited by the producers.
So it could be better if the director has the chance to present it the way he intended.Anyway, Nicolas Cage is sufficient as the CIA veteran who struggles with serious health issues and against the willing of his Agency to catch a terrorist who is presumed dead.
His mousy baby face is suited to neither of those roles and he doesn't manage to pull off the innocent-looking tough guy act; in fact it seems never to have occurred to him to try.As for Nick Cage, he takes his usual gawky, brooding, bipolar demeanor to its logical conclusion and totally loses it, both as the character he plays and the way he plays him.
This isn't Cage's best film, but his performance was good, and it was different in that he depicted a superannuated CIA agent with an illness and who was still obsessed with taking down a terrorist before his time is up.
I've always been a fan of Nicolas Cage's enthusiastic patriotism & the sense of justice he portrays in his films & this movie is no exception, he embodies the virtuous CIA agent that won't take compromise as an option.
I'm sure if your a fan of espionage films you won't be disappointed.I don't normally write reviews, but due to the recent events with the CIA this film really hit home for me, it was a beautiful reminder that there are still people in our government that still stand for the values the country was originally built upon."you've got your head so far up Obama's a$$, all you can see is the $h!t!" -Nicholas Cage.
The Movie may not be Appreciated for what it is, as Opposed to what it Could Have Been, it is still Worth Catching, as is all of Their Work, both Schrader and Cage are Interesting, No Matter the Product..
I did not watch the trailer, but I usually like Nicolas Cage's movies.What a mistake...
There were so many ways to turn the movie into a decent one, but I believe that neither the actors nor the director tried their best to make it work.Terrible plot.
If you like Nicolas Cage, do yourself a favor and don't watch this movie.
Like most Nicolas Cage flicks, the movie lies somewhere on the boarder line of very good and very bad.
Although, unlike most action movies this guy gets to live a pretty awesome two days before retirement scenario, but it may have been a better movie if we did not have to rely so much on the Nick Cage school of bad acting.
The movie is not great, but is a decent film with good production values (other than distracting and excessive use of Steadicam shots).
"Seeking Justice" and "Dying To The Light" are our two favorite Nicolas Cage movies of the past few years.
We rent every movie Nicolas Cage makes and have enjoyed all of them because he is a great, underrated, totally believable actor in every film.
I stopped watching when the terrorist at the meet looks across at Cage and Yeltchin, playing two highly experienced CIA agents, sees them staring at him and, strangely enough, takes off!Yeltchin, at this point, shouts "Damn he's seen us!" Of course, he saw you.
The weird thing is that neither Paul Schrader or Nic Cage wants you to see this movie.
At the end of the film, something happens which I found exceptionally impactful and powerful and could have been a great ending, but the next scene completely stabs us in the back and reverses that decision.The editing is unpleasantly sloppy in places which is most apparent during a brief action sequence halfway through the movie.
The main character is also fascinating and while Nicolas Cage does a great job, he just isn't explored enough.There is a great film here but it just doesn't make it's way to the surface.
Action Movies Dying of the Light is about Evan Lake (Nicolas Cage), a veteran CIA agent in retirement process.
However, in the entire period, one of her buddy Milton Schultz (Anton Yelchin) found evidence of Lake 's Nemesis of a terrorist named Muhammad Banir(Alexander Karim) which have a long disappeared but now suddenly reappears.
Old history with Muhammad Banir make Lake ignored about retirement then led a mission to defeat international terrorist groups and mostly Muhammad buttresses.Film Dying of the Light was originally to be directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and led by Harrison Ford, but Ford and Refn has a different version.
Finally Paul Schrader directed this film with major stars Nicolas Cage and Anton Yelchin .
In the film Dying of the Light, Nicolas Cage plays as an intelligence agent who wants to do something to keep in mind....
A film which will always be best known for the fact that towards the end of 2014 it's director/writer Paul Schrader (writer of such classics as Raging Bull and Taxi Driver), producer Nicolas Winding Refn and stars Nicolas Cage and Anton Yelchin campaigned against its very release due to what they felt was a severe case of studio interference in their product, Dying of the Light is an incredibly "random" film that has moments of utter madness in an other wise unspectacular plot that creates a film that could've benefited from allowing it's zanier elements to take hold to ward off the feeling that this is in fact, an incredible boring thriller.You get the sense that at it's very core Light wanted to be a much more kookier tale, a vision no doubt concocted by the unique minds of Schrader and Winding Refn, but whatever Light was intended to be the studio clearly got spooked by what is was seeing.
This generic nature of the tale is the predominant feature of the film but we get slight moments of madness and downright bizarre dialogue that will be source of long standing joy for Cage fans, that makes Light a must see for fans of the wild eyed maniac.With a prosthetic ear and typically noteworthy hair, Cage's performance as dogged CIA agent turned rouge revenge seeker Evan Lake is often a joy to behold.
It's in Cage's off kilter performance that Light could've been something truly special in an off the chart way but it's not hard to see why the studio could sense that it may have just been too much for the world to handle.With a seen a million times before revenge tale of CIA agent vs.
the big bad (here a sick, chair bound terrorist), Dying of the Light has been made to feel like a safe and uneventful thriller that so dearly wanted to be something let loose from the chain.
There are moments of pure madness that against better judgement one can recommend, but in the end this is a lesser "Crazy Cage" film that fans of his particular line of work would be better suited to watch a repeat viewing of Wicker Man for their kick of looney.1 and a half anti Obama rants out of 5.
As a fan of Nic's in the nineties (back when he actually made good movies) I've religiously given every film he's done since a try, just on the off-chance he's somehow been able to recapture that 'Leaving Las Vegas/The Rock' spirit (and, yes, I even watched the remake of 'The Wicker Man').
I would say, but the scenario, the movie sets, director, just awful.I am very disappointed, and I had some hard time to see it until the end.Cage used to be a top star in Hollywood, but somehow he is just falling and falling into B category.
Review: I really thought that Nicolas Cage had finished paying off his debts so he can start making some decent movies, but he obviously hasn't.
The storyline is about a CIA Agent (Cage), who gets brutally tortured by at the beginning of the movie and then it jumps to 2 decades later were he's working as a desktop clerk in the same agency, due to signs of dementia.
His fellow agent, played by Anton Yelchin, gets some Intel that points to Cages torturer, still being alive, due to the fact that he is getting medicine from a doctor for his fatal condition, so they end up on the hunt for this man whose in hiding.
The fact that his acting is still quite good, makes his films even worse because of the terrible scripts and poor story lines.
This is what made the movie unrealistic and I really didn't think it was that good.Budget: $5million Worldwide Gross: N/AI recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/thrillers about a ex CIA agent who sets out to capture the terrorist that damaged his life.
Evan Lake (Nicholas Cage) was a legend at the C.I.A., but after years in the game, and a particularly horrible experience at the hands of the Taliban, he was diagnosed with dementia, and forced into retirement.
This film is more interesting in the story of it's release than the film itself, it's director Paul Schrader (writer of such classics as Raging Bull and Taxi Driver), producer Nicolas Winding Refn and stars Nicolas Cage and Anton Yelchin campaigned against its very release due to what they felt was a severe case of studio interference in their product.
The story is unbelievable, Cage with terminal dementia hunts down the bloke who tortured him who also is dying, I think Nicholas Cage over acts so in this film it is Nicholas Cage as the dying CIA agent, mind you the laugh out loud moments is near the end when he turns his car into the lorry to kill himself, obviously the poor trucker driving back to see his wife and kids does not matter being African does not matter as only American life's count..
And should it turn out to be that particular movie that surprises, once in a blue moon, then it is that much more pleasant to watch.However, "Dying of the Light" is one of those types of movies that has potential to be interesting, but it was squandered at the hands of director Paul Schrader.
And while it was scripted, then the movie also progressed way too fast, which essentially made the movie seemed forced and shallow.You know what you are getting yourself into here if you take a minute to read the synopsis, and with the thought of it being another one of the assembly line produced Nicolas Cage movies.
Dying of the Light follows veteran, decorated CIA agent Evan Lake (Cage) who receives intel that Muhammad Banir (Alexader Karim), a former nemesis and terrorist, long believed to be dead, may actually still be alive.
So, along with eager and supportive younger agent Milton Schultz (Anton Yelchin), Lake heads overseas for the proverbial "one last job," to find Banir and take him out, before his disease consumes his brain.Dying of the Light is not an action film as the trailer may depicts.
STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning CIA agent Evan Lake (Nicolas Cage) was, years ago, held captive by vicious terrorist Muhammed Benir (Alexander Karim), who inflicted some savagery on him.
But with the help of eager young recruit Milton Schultz (Anton Yelchin), he puts together his own private crusade to track down Benir and settle an old score.Arriving seemingly out of nowhere, this marks what seems like part of a downward direct to DVD spiral for Nicolas Cage, which he seems to have brought on himself with a lot of bad choices over the years.
The end result is something that's not that bad, but just could have been a lot better.He may have just been getting in to character, but it's hopeful Nicolas Cage isn't really looking that old these days.
Dying of the Light featuring Nicolas Cage, well that's the reason I chose to watch the movie.
I'm used to seeing Nicolas Cage typically play himself in every film and I'm typically sure of what to expect; so I didn't feel that watching this movie could be any different.
It's not a bad movie, though it is one of those films that is hard to hold your attention.Dying of the Light did have some really good potential it just didn't come through, great attempt..
Looking over Schrader's filmography, I think he would be wise to give up trying to both direct and write the same film.I will add that I had to laugh at one reviewer (and wouldn't be surprised if there are more I didn't see), who predicted this movie would irrevocably damage Cage's career.
Its intended message of patriotism is buried underneath weak script, missed chemistry and overwhelming lack of thrill for a crime drama.Evan Lake (Nicolas Cage) is a veteran agent of CIA, he is still vexed by the escape of one terrorist who tortured him decades ago.
22-years ago, CIA Agent Evan Lake (Nicolas Cage) was tortured by Muhammad Banir (Alexander Karim) who is believed dead.
I see they are swooning now.Truth be told, this is not a good Nicolas Cage movie.
Would have liked to see the bad guy killed by Cage, but I think it's due to the fact that he realized they were both gone anyway.What I find truly disgusting, is that this movie had poor reviews.
The story idea is interesting and Nicholas Cage played reasonably, so this could have been good.
I can't say I've ever seen a bad Nick Cage movie.
The ending did have a somewhat typical Hollywood drama associated with it, like Mike Myers rising after you think he's dead, but even with all that, I found the movie carried itself well, acting was very good and any plot holes were easily dismissed.
In future maybe just have a better contract before you take the King's shilling.....And so the story goes...Evan Lake (Cage, sporting his probably natural grey hair) is a seasoned CIA agent looking at a terminal illness that will rot his brain is suddenly given the chance to take down the terrorist that tortured him decades earlier.
It says "Evan Lake refuses to retire from his career in the CIA and goes rogue to hunt down his terrorist who tortured him during a mission gone awry years ago." What they left out is that he has dementia, is actually dying from it, and he is trying to find ways of dealing with the oncoming symptoms while searching for the terrorist.
I think the real terrorist in the movie was the storyline.If you want to watch this movie because you're a big fan of Cage's action adventure films, I do not recommend this movie.
Its Nicolas Cage and he's always fun and entertaining to watch n pretty much all his films next to that "literally" god forsaken "left behind" piece of #####################OTHER THAN THAT...
If you want a Nicholas Cage movie, go watch Lord of War.The whole premise was interesting, protagonist has a grudge for twenty years and shows symptoms of rapid onset dementia.
Nicolas Cage plays the CIA agent undergoing rapid brain degeneration, and he is pretty convincing.
The film was shot in Romania and features a slumming-it Nicolas Cage who plays a CIA agent haunted by memories of torture at the hands of an Arab terrorist in years past.
For Cage haters, this is your film as he gets beat up and tortured in the opening scene.
Cage plays decorated CIA agent Evan Lake, who now sits at a desk.
Unfortunately Lake has Frontotemporal Dementia and goes through all kind of mood swings and mental fits.Cage has two major speeches in this film.
A Light Not Worth Dying To See. Nicolas Cage plays a veteran CIA agent confined to a desk in "Dying for the Light" who refuses to let an Arab terrorist similar to Osama Bin Laden–get off the hook who tortured him 22 years ago.
Like any good 1980's character, our world-weary hero Evan Lake (Nicolas Cage) suffers from an incurable disease that will destroy him.
At one point, when he discussed Banir with the head of the CIA, Lake's superior acted as if he didn't want to pursue any leads and let the terrorists die in selection.