Nicolas Cage Films

The following article is dedicated to the review and analysis of various films starring American hero and questing enthusiast Mr. Nicolas "Nicky" "The Cage" Cage.

## Joe (2013)

### Synopsis

An ex-con, who is the unlikeliest of role models, meets a 15-year-old boy and is faced with the choice of redemption or ruin.

### Initial Notes While Viewing

* “Hey JOE!”
* G Daawg is the worst
* Felt very real
* Throughout most of it it just felt like they were doing their normal routine
* Scar man is a furry and went through a windshield and does not care
* Backstory for G Daawg’s jacket
* Backstory for scar man
* Ripip G Daawg
* Nick Cage is great
* The lady staying there goes nowhere
* Dog
* Joe has a smoking problem
* Sponsored by Coca Cola
* Very slow chase
* G Daawg forgets how to stand up
* G Daawg is himself in real life and can actually breakdance
* So many characters
* Joe can meat
* Everyone can beat up Scarman
* Nicolas’s son Weston did the soundtrack
* Nick said it was like he was playing himself
* Very good 8/10

### Review

Joe (2013) is a dark, endearing, realistic, and often humorous look at redemption and growing up in Southern rural America. Nicolas Cage delivers an incredible, layered performance and the rest of the cast is also incredible, particularly Ty Sheridan and Gary Poulter, who plays a fictionalized version of himself and whose untimely death shortly before the film's release, comparable to that of Heath Ledger's before The Dark Knight, makes the film even more meaningful as a final tribute to a complicated man. The direction is sound but sometimes unfocused, which is arguably good for the movie's tone. Joe is a movie that thrives on realism, with much of the film feeling as if we are simply watching the characters going about their daily lives, which by consequence leads to the film feeling rather unfocused at times. This is exemplified by many loose strings being left untied and several plotlines that fail to go anywhere interesting. However, the film makes up for this with gritty atmosphere, superb writing and acting, concise editing, heavy themes (and still several lighter moments), fully fleshed-out characters, and of course the well executed father-son dynamic between Nicolas Cage and Ty Sheridan. All the characters and places in this film feel real, with no small thanks to the inclusion of many real people in acting roles, and watching it feels less like watching a movie and more like spending a little under two hours observing the tragedies and triumphs that befall a southern town. Gary Poulter's G-Daawg makes a terrifying and fascinating villain, with moments of sympathy to contrast with his characteristically erratic and evil behavior. The semi-love-interest played by Adriene Mishler and somewhat comedic secondary villain played by Ronnie Gene Blevins are less developed, but their shortcomings are made up for by an amazing cast of supporting characters. Overall, Joe is a great film, and not only that, a great Nicolas Cage film to boot.

### Ranking

#1 of 4 Nicolas Cage movies so far

## USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016)

### Synopsis

During World War II, an American navy ship is sunk by a Japanese submarine leaving 890 crewmen stranded in shark infested waters.

### Initial Notes While Viewing

* Nicky speaking directly to the camera
* Extended dance sequence
* No one cares about the soldiers let’s just get to Nicky
* VERY SPECIAL EFFECTS
* Nicolas Cage just looks so...tired
* “LOOKIT DAT NOSE” (dies)
* We wanna know about...SHARKS.
* How did they get a color high quality image of a shark and why was it necessary
* Unlit cigarettes
* How did they spend so much on sets and so little on CGI
* Many many explosions
* Slow motion underwater Nicolas Cage with a shark is my favorite thing
* (SHARKNADO FLASHBACKS)
* Casually holds leg
* Why oh why does Nicky not have more screen time
* We came here for Nicolas Cage not these unlikeable characters
* I’m rooting for the sharks
* HAHA GET SHARKED
* THE BOAT IS A PIANO PIANO BOAT WOO
* This movie is mostly filler
* Very necessary Nicky voice overs
* Nicky’s PJs!!!!!!!!
* Trial feels very tagged on
* Kinda a bummer :(
* This movie really didn’t do these people justice
* Genuinely feel bad for Nicolas Cage’s career and don’t blame him for so so performance
* So utterly forgettable
* 3/10 just plain bad

### Review

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage is an utterly subpar and rather boring so-called "tribute" to the real life "men of courage" that the story is based on. Its budget is clearly constrained, and it shows in its laughable special effects that bring insult to the terrifying true struggles of the men of the USS Indianapolis. Nicolas Cage is clearly not having very much fun and phones in his performance entirely, which is understandable, because it is certain even he knew that no one would willingly watch this movie. What's worse than a subpar Nicolas Cage, however, is an absent one, and unfortunately we get the worst of both worlds as the producers of this film clearly could not afford Nicolas Cage to be the actual main character, despite that being what was marketed, and instead opted to focus on an unsavory ensemble of of uninteresting and widely poorly-acted side characters. The film is tedious to watch, not only because it consists almost entirely of uninteresting filler and features far too little Nicolas Cage, but because a film paying tribute to the fallen heroes of WWII should have and could have been so much better. The film lacks any and all tone, atmosphere, suspense, taste, intrigue, and realism that makes great war films great. Robert Shaw's famous monologue from Jaws does a better job of conveying the horror that the crew of the USS Indianapolis faced in under four minutes than this movie manages in its entire painfully boring runtime of over two hours. Almost every aspect of the film is deplorable, and one cannot recommend *not* watching it enough.

### Ranking

#4 out of 4 Nicolas Cage movies so far

## National Treasure (2004)

### Synopsis

A historian races to find the legendary Templar Treasure before a team of mercenaries.

### Initial Notes While Viewing

* Nick Cage is very Nick Cagey and also an exaggeratedly perfect person
* Haha NERD
* Very unnecessary finger stab
* Very America!! Yes America good!!!!!
* Stealing it in the first place would’ve caused less damage than the whole thing of the movie did in the long run
* Long friendship over immediately when treasure exists
* Disney’s version of an action movie
* This movie has ALL OF THE PLOT HOLES
* This movie IS a plot hole
* “””I’m gonna steal the Declaration of Independence””” classic
* Much convenience
* Oh my god no you do not know all of this off the top of your head you’re reading from a script Nicky
* Who wrote this and how high were they, like this plot is so holey I cannot stress this enough
* “Hey Nick what’s your religion?”“AMERICA”
* Many cool cool montages
* Aha yes because hacking
* Aha yes because science
* High tech wire van go brrrrrrr
* Nick makes it very obvious, like you’re stealing the Declaration of Independence chill with the simping and sly references to  what you’re doing there
* Very early 2000s editing
* No wonder the capital attack happened like Jesus this movie was a warning get better security
* How does the Declaration not die
* Nicolas my friend why are you annoyed that she’s mad, you just stole the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
* Why do they say “steal the Declaration of Independence” so many times it just hammers in how ridiculous it sounds
* Maybe this is like in Joker and Nicky’s life is actually really sad and delusional and this whole movie is his fantasy
* (Squeezes lemon directly onto several hundred year old historical document)
* Hostage situation- but romantic!
* How are the two groups figuring out the clues simultaneously the bad guys put in so much less effort
* Stop excluding nerd man 🥺
* EXTREMELY Stockholm Syndrome
* And no one else has found these? As the movie goes on the clues get very obvious
* “””early American x-ray specs”””
* ACTION YES GOOD
* WHAT NO STOP SHOOTING AT HIM HE HAS THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ON HIS BACK THATS WHAT YOURE LOOKING FOR
* They are not very careful
* The villain is literally not a bad guy he has the same motivation and means as Nicky
* Very hype music
* Nick Cage’s unfortunate hairline
* This is gettin pretty Indiana Jonesey
* My brother asked if Nicolas Cage was “the actor of Captain America” and that makes me happy
* He also asked if there really was a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence so maybe it’s not that far fetched if he can believe it
* I like it when Nicky gets emotional
* Best line in movie history: “it’s a big bluish green man with a strange goatee...I’m guessing that’s significant” (hugs statue)
* Nicky’s not going to jail............why...?
* Riley’s face at the end when they kiss says it all
* Googled it they said “declaration of independence” 40+ times
* 6/10 not bad if you turn your brain off but better watched ironically than unironically

### Review

A true Nicolas Cage classic, National Treasure makes up for its logical and intellectual shortcomings with an entertaining plot and a top-of-his-game Nicolas Cage. The film is illogical, unrealistic, corny, and unintentionaly (and sometimes intentionally) hilarious, and that's what makes it great. The plot is so ridiculous one must wonder who on earth thought it was a good idea to make, and where on earth they are so you can find them and thank them. The basic editing and direction and over-reliance on convenience and action movie cliches make it the ultimate movie to watch with a crowd and laugh at, though sometimes admittedly at its expense. It is not expert film-making and it could almost be considered a B-movie, but it wears that title as a badge of honor and offers a surprisingly entertaining and endearing adventure for you to turn your brain off to. However, to its credit, it does have frequent moments of unironic enjoyment that make it easy to put on for almost anyone's taste. It's certainly not for overly demanding viewers, but it is a fun ride regardless, if you're willing to suspend your disbelief farther than the farthest logical limit can allow. It's just a purely fun movie to watch, and Nicky seems to be having just as much fun as the audience.

### Ranking

#2 of 4 Nicolas Cage movies so far

## Stolen (2012)

### Synopsis

A former thief frantically searches for his missing daughter, who has been kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a taxi.

### Review

Stolen is an interesting case in what happens when a down-on-his-luck Nicolas Cage at a low point in his career decides to make a movie that actually isn't as terrible as you would expect. By the looks of it, Stolen is nothing more than a low budget Nicolas Cage remake of Liam Neeson's Taken, and in many ways that is true, but Stolen is also perfectly entertaining, if not particularly good, on its own. It's a fine movie in its own right, not in a so-bad-it's-good way, but in an actually-not-half-bad way. Nicolas Cage surprisingly gives his all, especially considering being surrounded by actors not nearing his caliber, and his character itself is not uninteresting. The cinematography, practical effects, and colorful, chaotic setting (New Orleans during Mardi Gras) are all admirable and make the film an entertaining ride, albeit one with no shortage of better alternatives. Besides Nicolas Cage, the acting is mediocre but inoffensive, with no characters of any depth, but the film makes up for some of its shortcomings in that regard with its surprising amount of suspense and Cage's irresistible charm. It's a movie one could fall asleep to while another remains engaged, making it a great movie to watch with your family of varying tastes. Stolen is a film that knows what it is, and what it is is casual, undemanding B-movie fun, but it does get points off for ripping off Taken.

### Ranking

#3 out of 4 Nicolas Cage movies so far