The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

UK Release Date: 22 April 2022

Certification: 15

Director: Tom Gormican

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris, Sharon Horgan, Paco León, Pedro Pascal

Rating: 50%

Nicolas Cage is Nick Cage.

Review:

I'm not a hundred percent sure where I land surrounding Nicolas Cage's acting capabilities. At times he can come across as amateurish, almost as if he isn't putting in any effort. But simultaneously, as with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, his unique style is energetic and often quite contagious. It's the perfect casting in the most meta of roles with Nic Cage playing a glorified version of Nic Cage to the full Nic Cage in a movie about Nic Cage. His chemistry with superfan, Javi, played by Pedro Pascal makes the film. It's electric, the two actors bounce off of each other with every single line somehow creating a strong, emotional bromance-like relationship in the middle of an action-adventure comedy. Their constant back and forth had me grinning at various points during the film's runtime. 

On the other hand, the supporting cast is truly dreadful. Neil Patrick Harris is an appalling actor in my opinion. He's never been good and he never will be. Sharon Horgan felt out of place within the film especially the jarring Irish accent that provided a huge contrast to the rest of the American cast. The FBI and drug cartel characters didn't work either leaving me utterly bored. 

But this movie attempts to fit in five different films in one and it doesn't work at all. The only aspect of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent that truly works is that bond between Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal. The generic action story that the film ends up as during the film's third act is nowhere near as entertaining as Cage's and Pascal's friendship.

Because the movie is so meta there are so many cultural references. There are the obvious, self-aware nods to Cage's filmography - the dual golden guns in Face Off and the appearance of Nicky, a young Nic Cage persona seen previously in Wild at Heart. But more delightfully, there are multiple mentions of one of the greatest movies of all time in the form of Paddington 2 as well as a huge admiration for cult classic The Cabinet Of Dr. Cagliari.  

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is by no means a great movie - in fact I would describe it as averagely average - but it's unique. And the industry is currently struggling for originality so if certain aspects of a film like this can be improved then by all means let's see more films just like The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.