The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent: Movie Review

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Tiffany Haddish

Director: Tom Gormican

It doesn't take a genius to work out the appeal of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, a film wherein Nicolas Cage plays actor Nick Cage and ramps up all the Nic Cage-isms you've come to know through the years of his onscreen acting.

And given it opens with the iconic bunny scene from Con Air, it's clear exactly where The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is going.

In this, Cage is an actor in need of a gig, but when his latest attempt to get a role falls flat after an utterly appalling unsolicited read during a meal with a director, he decides to quit acting. However, with massive bills to pay off and family problems to assuage, Cage is offered the chance to earn a quick $1 million - just by attending a party run by super fan Javi Gutierrez (The Mandalorian's Pascal).

When Cage makes his way to the island party though, he's approached by the CIA who recruit him into trying to bring down Javi, who is the head of a drug cartel...

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a comedy bromance, that relies on a meta premise, and an appreciation of Nicolas Cage's back catalogue to fully enjoy. But it's not unwelcoming to those less interested in Cage's wildly haphazard career, with plenty going on to satiate those looking for an entertaining action meta-flick and a chance to just unwind at the cinema.

With plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, a great deal of chemistry between Pascal and Cage, and a big dollop of increasingly absurd situations, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent aims to provide a good time at the cinema and easily does so.

But it's Cage who excels here. Whether it's the Wild At Heart Nicky who acts as his impulsive conscience or the actual real age Cage, there's an understanding and acceptance of all of the actor's output that has led to this point - and an acknowledgement of what audiences expect from Nic Cage films that fuels this movie to absurdity and beyond. Yet it never loses its heart, whether it's a pathetic Cage imploding his family or a Cage wracked by insecurity, this is the most vulnerable that Cage has ever been - and he's all the more likeable for it.

There is a potential argument that the action flick trappings of the final act are a bridge too far, but given by this stage, the film has gone completely meta on the process and has become exactly what it set out to without the philosophising of a Being John Malkovich, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is an utter joy from beginning to end - and a celebration of an icon that never lapses into blatant fan worship.