I walked into Lionsgate Films and Tom Gormican’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent already a fan. The trailer introduced Nicolas Cage playing himself, attending a birthday party for a man played by Pedro Pascal. Two of my favorite people in Hollywood in an action-comedy film that promises one of the best bromances of 2022? Sign me up. But I’ve been burned before. Two great actors and a fantastic trailer don’t equal a great film. But in this case, it was everything I wanted it to be.
The plotline of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent isn’t complex. Cage is having a mid-career crisis. He is broke, getting divorced, and has a strained relationship with his daughter Addy (Lily Sheen) but all he seems to really care about is his acting career and himself. After losing the chance to star in another film, he heads down to a wealthy guy’s birthday party. But it isn’t just any old guy. Javi (Cage) is a massive Nick Cage fan, complete with a shrine of all kinds of memorabilia.
But life isn’t that easy for Cage and soon after meeting Havi, he meets Agent Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) and Agent Martin (Ike Barinholtz). They need his help uncovering some secrets about Havi and his misdeeds. Now Cage must decide if he wants to side with his new best friend or help his country. And while the story isn’t complex in the slightest, it does have some pretty hysterical (and surprising) twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.
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The best part of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is just how ridiculous it allows itself to be. It never takes itself too seriously, even in the action scenes. This leads to some pretty hysterical car chases, cliff jumping and golden gun stand-offs. But it isn’t all comedy either. While widely played up for the film, the struggle Cage is going through isn’t that far-fetched. Chances are you have had at least one time in your life where the massive weight of a job or trying your best at something as had you struggling with your friends/family.
What makes The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent such an incredible watch is the film’s cast. Cage and Pascal play the bromance role perfectly. I honestly couldn’t imagine anyone else in those roles. Sheen as Addy and Sharon Horgan as Cage’s wife, Olivia, round out the Cage family nicely. Haddish and Barinholtz fit the secret agent stick perfectly against Javi’s crime family featuring Alessandra Mastronardi as Gabriela and Paco León as Lucas. And finally, who doesn’t love Neil Patrick Harris?
If comedy, action, Nick Cage and a golden retriever version of Pedro Pascal is something you have always wanted in your life, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is it. Between tears over Paddington 2, laughing so hard you snort (sorry to everyone in the theater) and action that will have you forgetting that this isn’t just an action film, you will be utterly satisfied. The film is in theaters now, so don’t walk, run and check it out!
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Who I Am: A nerd by the strictest definition. I enjoy diving straight into my favorite fandoms without a care in the world. I live on video/board games, fantasy movies and TV, and all things geeky.
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